No pain no gain?

[TurboPants]

I did a week of vacation in the Smokys and did some long day hikes to test the waters and see how my body handles trail life. I started with a 12 mile hike with ~1500 ft elevation gain. Handled that well, no real issues oher than slight shoulder tenderness. Then I did a 15.6 mile round trip on the Boulevard trail from Newfound Gap to LeConte and back. My pack was ~19 pounds wand afterwards my shoulders were sore almost like a deep bruise, my knees were hurting going downhill, and my feet/soles were pretty sore. Do your feet get used to it? I assume the shoulder pain was just due to me living office life, and it would go away?? I have a GoLite Jam 50L pack, Montrail Masochist trail shoes and used merino wool socks. Only had one small blister. How long does it take to get your "trail legs" and stop feeling like you lost in a fight?

[bigcranky]

How long? At least a week for me, but I'm 20 years older than you. Trekking poles help with the knee pain on downhills. 19 pounds in a frameless pack is about the limit for me, and it will make my shoulders sore until I can eat a few pounds out of it.

[daddytwosticks]

Soreness is part of the hiking experience for me. As long as it "moves around" and doesn't settle into one spot for too long I'm OK. :)

[BobTheBuilder]

I used to get shoulder soreness untill I got a bag that put the weight more on my hips instead of on my shoulder straps. Infinitely more comfortable, worth every penny.

I find that foot soreness is one thing that does go away rather quickly. If you ever had a job like cashier where you had to stand all day, the first week is painful but you do get used to it after that.

Not sure about the knee thing. My first section hike up the Approach Trail left my knees so sore I almost couldn't walk. I got some poles and have since done 778 miles without any knee pain.

[mountain squid]

I used to get shoulder soreness untill I got a bag that put the weight more on my hips instead of on my shoulder straps. Infinitely more comfortable, worth every penny.Concur. You want the weight on your hips not on your shoulders.

You also probably hiked too many miles per day. I would think about 3 weeks to get some 'hiker legs' and that is with a gradual increase of daily mileage. Often times you might feel good at the end of a long day . . . . unfortunately you might not feel the aches and pains until the next day or so.

Just my .02 worth . . .

See you on the trail,
mt squid

maintenance videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/mountainsquid04/videos)
how to hike (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?73587-how-to-hike)

[TurboPants]

Considering I sit at a desk 10+ hours a day... yeah 12 miles the first day was probably pushing it. And following that with 16 miles with 3000 ft elevation gain is probably not the best but I wanted to push it. I had a set of $30 mountain smith poles, which I left at newfound gap because the spiral locks died. Forgot them on a pee break and didn't even go back for them they were so bad. But while they lasted they definitely helped me going up and especially down. But if I get poles I'll stick to Leki or nothing at all. I had a bum left knee from running too long with poor form and wrong shoes.

The Jam 50 does have a foam stay in the back, but it's nothing like a framed pack. I may have to try carrying it around with 25-30# to see how it tows. The hip belt wasn't super tight so maybe I need to cinch it tighter to put more load around my hips.

[Old Boots]

Some level of discomfort is just part of long distance hiking. If your shoulders are sore you need to adjust your straps so that your pack is balanced and the weight falls on your hips. Your shoulders are just to keep the pack square to your back. If you do not know how to make the adjustment, go an outfitter and they should help you.

[Another Kevin]

You're not alone!

As far as the shoulders go, I for one cannot carry a frameless pack. Even my day pack has an internal frame. It's a 28 litre Tough Traveler Super Cay (http://www.toughtraveler.com/lug/supercay.asp). I know the manufacturer; she's local to me. The frame of the 24 litre model doesn't fit me - I'm too long-waisted for it. It was a great day for me when I got it. My Samsonite Chiropak was worn out, and Samsonite discontinued that model without replacing it with anything remotely similar.

Are you sure your pack is tall enough for you? Did you get your torso measured? A too-short pack will kill your shoulders because the load-lifters won't actually shift the balance of the pack. If the ladder straps bear on the tops of your shoulders, it's fitted or adjusted wrong. The small fraction of the pack weight that rides on your shoulders should rest on your collarbones.

Being a clueless weekender, I never really get my trail legs, so 8-12 mile days are all that I ever plan. My personal Naismith rule, given my poor level of conditioning, is 30 minutes per mile plus 40 minutes per 1000 feet of elevation change. That can leave me hiking less hours than it would appear that I could. But if I were to put in a 20+ mile day, hiking from sunup to sundown, starting from where I am now, I'd wind up hurt. I have two questionable knees; one from a hiking accident in NH before you were born, and the other from falling down on my own goshdarn front walk while running the snowblower about 5 years ago. The snowblower tipped over backward on top of me and sprained my LCL. :mad: Trekking poles are knee-savers. I don't know anyone with twist-lock poles who's satisfied with them. My Komperdell poles have lever locks and cork grips, and they work well for me. I've not yet seen the point of springing for Black Diamond or Leki.

If I were to plan a LASH (Long-A**-Section-Hike), I'd start with the 8-12 mile distance and see how it went gradually increasing the mileage. I can easily find other things to do than grinding out the miles. If I have extra hours to kill, there's always compulsive photography. (In fact, if I had big miles to make, I'd have to make a conscious effort to control the compulsive photography!)

And one of these years, I will do a longish hike, because I've long wanted to see the Northville-Placid Trail in the fall colours. That's "only" 133 miles, but there's one stretch of over 40 miles without a road crossing, so with my short days, I'd have to plan resupply pretty carefully. I'd want to make sure to hit Blue Mountain Lake by Columbus Day, and take a zero there to spend a day at the Adirondack Museum. It's not going to happen this year, because the fall colour season conflicts with a conference that I'm already committed to.

[MuddyWaters]

I did a week of vacation in the Smokys and did some long day hikes to test the waters and see how my body handles trail life. I started with a 12 mile hike with ~1500 ft elevation gain. Handled that well, no real issues oher than slight shoulder tenderness. Then I did a 15.6 mile round trip on the Boulevard trail from Newfound Gap to LeConte and back. My pack was ~19 pounds wand afterwards my shoulders were sore almost like a deep bruise, my knees were hurting going downhill, and my feet/soles were pretty sore. Do your feet get used to it? I assume the shoulder pain was just due to me living office life, and it would go away?? I have a GoLite Jam 50L pack, Montrail Masochist trail shoes and used merino wool socks. Only had one small blister. How long does it take to get your "trail legs" and stop feeling like you lost in a fight?

First problem was the pack. Everyones shoulders get a little sore after a while, especially going downhill where the load impacts them more with every step, but it shouldnt be debilitating. Usually you loosen shoulder straps and let the wt drop on your hips more and lean back from your back , and keep going till your next pack-off break. But it shouldnt be like its bruised, more like a temporary ache from being overloaded. The jam , if packed properly, can keep 19 lbs off your shoulders sufficiently, so I have to suspect it wasnt packed properly. It is a frameless pack and you need to use a pad as a frame for support. You can forget about it getting any better with 25-30 lbs most likely, probably much worse.

Downhill is harder on knees than uphill for sure. Sore feet just means they werent use to it most likely. My son has been wearing mountain masochists with no complaints, its pretty beefy for a trail runner. Im surprised you even got one blister, that indicates to me somethings not right. Id expect zero for only two days with medium mileage with a light pack.

My legs dont have much problem, they are always in shape from doing cardio/running and lifting weights. But they usually begin to hitting a groove around day 4. When I finish a trip, there is usually a noticeable improvement in my cardio shape. (which is good to start with, mind you), but breathing hard 8 hrs per day forces your body to adjust in a way that 30-40 min just doesnt do.