Any short hikers out there?

[TwoSpirits]

Yep -- 5'5", and starting SOBO going up Katahdin was eye-opening and even more challenging than I anticipated due to some of the climbing up nearer the top. It's one thing climbing up, when adrenaline and excitement help, but coming back down when your legs are feeling like jelly and you're tired...well, those same spots were a little unnerving. Same at other spots further down the trail, when you have to butt-slide over a little ledge with a full pack and you can't quite see where your foot is going to land and if you're going to snap an ankle.... But other than all that, it's lots of fun!

[runt13]

5'5''...................The call me RUNT, doesn't phase me a bit, kinda used to it, since i been practicing for 48 years.

RUNT ''13''

[Pedaling Fool]

Average height of Sherpas is about 5' 6".

[perrymk]

I am 5'6" and have had two different tailors tell me I have proportionately short legs. Torso is average for 5'8", legs average for 5'4". I recall in army basic training walking behind a 6+ footer (estimate; he was noticeably taller than me) and counting steps taken. For every 4 steps I took, he took 3.

The only time my lack of stature really hit me is when I tried online dating. Seems women prefer 5'10" and taller.

[sbhikes]

I'm average height for a woman on this Earth. I look up at most people and so to me everybody is about the same height. I don't even notice. I don't feel any advantage or disadvantage. I guess the main advantages are that torso pads are nearly full-length, regular sized sleeping bags and tents are always roomy I don't bump my head as much as taller people.

[plodalong]

My wife is 5 ft tall and she did have trouble finding a pack that was right for her. We were lucky to be in Maine one day and the great folks at Hyperlite Mountain Gear let us drop in to their factory and she was fitted with a pack that fits her perfectly. It made a tremendous difference in her ability to not only carry more weight with less effort and helped her balance as well. Like others have mentioned she has mastered the 'butt slide' style (which came in real handy one morning coming off Mt Kinsman in a monsoon) but makes for a rather comical stain on her shorts for the rest of the trip. She does enjoy letting me take the lead on those mornings when the branches are low with snow, ice or soaked and I keep ducking and getting my face slapped or find myself spittin out cobwebs!

[rocketsocks]

I been lyin' on my lic. for years, I'm really 5'-6 3/4" but there wasn't a spot for that.

[Smoky Spoon]

What part of NJ are you from? Always thought you were from Maine.....

I been lyin' on my lic. for years, I'm really 5'-6 3/4" but there wasn't a spot for that.

[Smoky Spoon]

Sorry, I meant Massachusetts. ....darn tablet and autocorrect....

What part of NJ are you from? Always thought you were from Maine.....

[betsi]

I'm 5'4" and BigFish is 6'2". We've also estimated a 5:3 ratio on our steps. However, in rocky stretches, my 8.5-size feet can usually step between the rocks and his 14s have to step on them or around. The last 50 miles of PA on the AT into Delaware Water Gap were somewhat zen for me as I just looked for the spaces in between the rocks. Him, not so much.

[Pedaling Fool]

http://www.realclearscience.com/arti...rt_109581.html

[handlebar]

Rafe, I don't think height makes any difference. I just completed the FL Trail. For the most part, I hiked with a fellow about 5'6" at my best guess, noticeably shorter than my 6'. I found that on level stretches I was falling behind. He more than made up for his shorter strides by a faster pace taking about seven steps to my 4 or 5. I just couldn't speed up my pace without shortening my stride a lot; and try as I might, I found myself falling behind, though we stopped for 5 minute hourly breaks and I made up the 50-100 yard shortfall. I finally just "hiked my own hike" and we met up at breaks and did trail chatter as we hiked out from the breaks until I was out-distanced. (Of course, my hiking buddy was 33 years younger and that might have something to do with it.) Here are some advantages: 1) you can use a more compact shelter; 2) you will get more cushioning from a short sleeping pad; 3) you may be able to use a shorter lighter sleeping bag and a smaller lighter pack.

[rafe]

For the record, I do believe there might be a few minor advantages to being short, as others have cited. But considering just the speed issue, I don't see how it can help, relative to someone of similar fitness level, body mass index, etc. but with longer legs. One possible advantage is lower center of gravity and being more "compact" overall, which might reduce chances of injury.

On those occasions where I do hike with a partner, I find that I'm marginally faster or hold my own on long uphills, but usually fall behind on long downhills. And I think that's because a long stride isn't all that useful on uphills.

[Another Kevin]

For the record, I do believe there might be a few minor advantages to being short, as others have cited. But considering just the speed issue, I don't see how it can help, relative to someone of similar fitness level, body mass index, etc. but with longer legs. One possible advantage is lower center of gravity and being more "compact" overall, which might reduce chances of injury.

On those occasions where I do hike with a partner, I find that I'm marginally faster or hold my own on long uphills, but usually fall behind on long downhills. And I think that's because a long stride isn't all that useful on uphills.

As a tallish hiker, I can only comment that I'm passed by shorter ones all the time! (I'm anything but fast.) I think that the "vertically challenged" might be at a disadvantage on some of the tougher rock scrambles, aside from that it's pretty much a wash.

[rocketsocks]

What part of NJ are you from? Always thought you were from Maine.....

Right smack in the middle but closer to the river.