They are in their upper 40s.
Not sure if I can persuade them to carry any of my stuff.
I can't take away their allowance . . . but . . .
You could try this approachOriginally Posted by PGH1NC
They are in their upper 40s.
Not sure if I can persuade them to carry any of my stuff.
I can't take away their allowance . . . but . . .
fred-sanford-2.jpg
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
Turn it into a competition?
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
I would not consider giving advice. We are all different, what works for me might not work for you or anyone else. I'm not a thru hiker and never wanted to do so. The only part of the AT I've hiked is most of Maine, with my 2 younger sons. I've also done 2-week hikes in NH, PA, FL, MI, WI, MN, and ND. I can comment on a few things that work for me. I prefer to hike with the lightest shoes that fit and are comfortable. I always use hiking poles. Most of my gear is part of a system; my cooking and eating system, my sleep system, my shelter system... My pack is a Hyperlite Mountain Gear Windrider 3400 and weighs 28 oz. Everything I carry for a week long hike fits inside my pack. I will suggest one thing both from experience and talking with other hikers - be gear independent. No matter how you divide gear with your sons carry everything you need to survive.
Since you said section hike I will let you know my experience..I section hike every year and should finish the AT this year after starting in 2009 ..... Every start is the same ... it takes 3 days for your body to stop complaining about what you are doing to it ....so my advice is don't try to schedule long miles for the first few days ..and by long miles at my age I mean over 10 ...
Once your body is acclimated you'll find the hiking easier but the first few days are always tough....
Good luck, I loved the Shenandoahs
"the legs feed the wolf gentlemen, the legs feed the wolf" from the movie "Miracle"
"Coos in Boots". I like that!
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Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost
Coots, spelling nanny got me again.
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Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost
Thanks. I use trail runners now, but I don't have a rhyme for that.
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
Thanks for the suggestions, thoughts and experiences posted this past week. The topics of pack weight, training, daily mileage and expectations are well noted. This thread and another about "recovery time" put a good perspective on things. Good "heads up" info from "experienced" hikers.
PGH
HI. Another old guy here. I am not sure that I can add a lot to the above other than some experience and ideas.
I have about 18,000 miles in at this point and a couple of thru hikes.
Re getting ready. As I am sure you know as well as me, the body does not respond at age like it did when young. It is really asking for problems if you show up to start and are not near to full condition. This is not a big deal for youngsters but it is critical not to be out of shape when you start if you are older. The breakdown of muscle tissues during exercise and then the rebuilding when you rest to a stronger state is so slow when you are older that it is really easy to cross the line where you cannot get stronger. In my case I seldom hike less than 30 mile weeks during any point in the year. When I am planning on doing a long packing trip I start to ramp up about 2 months ahead of time and, for a really long hike of say 300 miles or more, I will have my weekly mileage up to at least 80 or so with maybe a week at 100+ with a pack for most of that about 2 weeks before I start. I toss in days of up to 25 miles with significant elevation gains and losses. So when I hit the trail I have no issues with 20+ miles days right from the start. This is likely more than you would be interested in but my point is that base training miles directly translates to an easy enjoyable hike, vice the incredible amount of suffering one often sees in those (even youngsters) who show up out of shape.
Re: shoes and feet. You are the best judge for yourself. Lot of folks push their favorite options, but following such advise is asking for trouble. The only thing I would state definitively is that you do not need any shoe which has a top higher than a regular trail runner or hiking shoe unless you are going out in the snow in winter. As to which kind of shoe works best to keep you healthy without foot problems that just depends on you. It may well be that a training weight trail runner is perfect for you, but I would stay away from the racing weight one as an older person is going to have a very high injury rate with them do to their providing virtually no foot protection. Or like me you might find that as you have gotten older stepping on the couple of hundred little sharp rocks every day (these are far more of an issue than big rocks) just eventually destroys your feet if you do not have a hard soled shoe - there are lots of light weight hiking shoes with hard soles. But, if you have not done it yet, go to several stores and try on lots of different shoes to find what you think you like best (take a few small 1-2 inch sharp rocks to stand on in them for testing purposes). When you are happy with a shoe buy it and spend a few gradually building up your walking time in them (never take a new shoe and put in long miles even if you are in shape as this is asking for an injury). Then walk in them exclusively and put in lots of miles. If they are working out - be happy. If not - repeat process until you are happy. It is worth saying here that a lot of the back and forth talk about the weight of shoes is over come by events these days (no one wears 2 lb hiking per shoe mountaineering boots any more while backpacking - as I did 45 years ago). I wear a light hiking shoe with a hard sole. If I switched to the really popular Altra LonePeak trail runners I would only save a total of 5 ozs per shoe. This counts but it also depends on how many miles a day you are hiking. I have no trouble doing every day in the low 20's and can do days of over 30 without getting sore legs. If I wanted to try 40 mile days I would likely switch. But I know with the shoes I have now I am far less likely to get hurt so I stick with them. YMMV
Pack: You really do not need a pack for any reason which is over 3 lbs (you are not going into the mountains in the winter). There are lots of good packs at that weight. You can get way under that also, but comfort (which is more important for someone your/my age as being uncomfortable at age works its way into injury eventually since our bodies do not recover at night like younger folks.) goes away fast as packs get under 3 lbs. A very popular pack for someone with your basic requirements is the Ospery Exos 58 which is about 2 1/4 lbs and can carry a load up around 30 lbs comfortably. My most recent pact is the Z-Pack Arc Blast at about 1 1/2 lbs and I would not recommend it for an older person as it becomes uncomfortable at much over 20 and painful at 30. Hip belts are really critical for older folks. But like anything, take your gear which is going in the pack to the store and load packs up and put them on. This often eliminates packs which just don't work for you in a few minutes. Once you find one where you go "ahh!" then leave it on and walk around the store for 15 minutes with a max weight load in it (they have little sand bags for this which you can toss ontop of your gear). Buy what you like the best as always and understand that sometimes you will end up not liking it for some reason later (me and the Z-pack for instance). If you hike a lot you wear out gear so this process never ends
Take it easy on yourself. I can still do big days (one 35 mile day last summer) but I have a huge base and am never out of shape a long ways and I have a good feel for how I am doing. Don't walk too fast or push hard as it is not necessary to cover a lot of ground. If your base speed is 2 mph and you hike 10 hours that is 20 miles which is more than most young people do. If you hike 8 that is 16 which is plenty fast enough to do a full AT thru hike. If you can still go 3 mph...well I am impressed. If your companions are just walking away from you and you all want to hike together then you get in front of them and go your own pace to protect yourself. I hiked hundreds of miles with a young woman last summer who can do repeated 40 mile days and this is what we did. If she started off in front of me she just disappeared and I would find her waiting for me up the trail a ways.
You will need more water than most younger folks if it is hot out due to the fact that older people slowly lose their bodies ability to sweat efficiently. Take this into account as getting real dehydrated is much harder on you and can cause lots of problems. Unfortunately this also means a slightly heavier pack due to your larger water requirements. On the flip side older bodies don't need quite the calorie input that younger ones do - we must be more efficient
I get cold easier than when I was young and you may also. If this is the case then be more cautious when venturing into harsh conditions as hypothermia can creep up on you a little easier than it used to.
Have a good time.
Wyoming
Lots of great advice in the conversation!
This discussion is food for thought for me.
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Miles to go before I sleep. R. Frost
"go for the cushiest sleeping pad and let the kids carry the food, the stove, the shelter, the first aid kit... " I will add insulated, i happen to like the REI stratus insulated, it has wide edges to keep me from falling off. I often suffer leg cramps, so in prep for a hike and while hiking I take potassium and magnesium, get the expensive stuff, I also drink natural vitality natural calm a magnesium supplement every day. I take gelatin and glucosamine with msm and hyaluronic acid weeks prior to hiking. I stop nose spray and all antihistamines as I think they dry out cartridge in joints. I do wear earplugs they do help one sleep as shelter areas are noisy. Break in any footwear with at least 100 miles. Use pocket rocket type stove and carry small canisters, 1 each. Plenty of water in the park, I would plan on carrying a liter and tank up at EVERY source and soak your feet in the cold water, it is worth it. It is no race shelter to shelter is perfect, be sure to stop and get the $5 blackberry milkshakes, well worth the effort be sure to take the ez path to the waysides, not the straight downhill. ie read your guide book for info. Awol's book. have fun and enjoy
I have made four "backpacking" trips to Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) in the last four years, ranging from six weeks to three months. I went in thinking I wanted to avoid the young, grubby backpackers. Guess what. I love those kids. I made a ton of friends, ranging from hard core hippie types to young hard chargers taking one last trip before joining the professional / corporate world. I had fun with old travelers and young travelers. I am 57.
What I learned in those travels is that the common bond of being a budget traveler, open to experiencing the world, transcends age differences. In some respects, I had more in common with a group of European hippies that I hung out with for a week on Don Dhet (4000 Islands in southern Laos) than I do with my poker buddies at home in North Carolina.
I expect that the AT will be the same. I look forward to meeting everyone out there.
This is not an uncommon problem and it is often unrelated to the remedies you mentioned you are trying. I have this issue now that I am older. I too thought it was related to electrolytes, dehydration and so on and tried all of the fixes to no avail. I would even cramp out when swimming and not just when walking and would have bad cramps when asleep. Went to the doctor, had blood tests and everything. No problem identified or fix found.
One day at the pool I was complaining again after cramping out at about 1 mile and this guy says to me. "My brother is the strength and conditioning coach at Texas A&M and he makes all of his athletes wear compression sleeves when playing as it dramatically reduces cramping."
Hmm. So go down to Dick's and buy a pair and hop in the pool the next day with them on and swim 2 miles. No cramps. That night no cramps. Everyday I wear them no cramps. Days I don't wear them ..cramps. I wear them all the time now when I hike. The legs are so much fresher and have more endurance and I don't get cramps at all any more where I was getting them almost every day and almost every night.
YMMV but you might consider giving this a try. I actually run into a fair number of older hikers doing this. Since I always wear shorts when hiking they can see mine and bring it up that they are wearing them under their hiking pants (for some reason most older hikers seem to wear pants - guess I have pretty legs
Wyoming
Great stuff! Thought I'd chime in. I am a 75 year old section hiker. Have had cancer and quad by-pass. Hike your own hike! Let the young guys speed by. The faster you go, the less you see. Some on this forum recommend ultra light stuff, and I do have some. I use what fits me. I have used Granite Gear packs and they seem to hold all I need. I try to be comfortable at night with a cushy pad and warm bag. I find that at my age, I get cold much quicker. Walking sticks are an absolute must. Shoes are an individual choice. I wear an 8 EEEE shoe, so my choices are limited, but I prefer low cut hiking shoes.
As others on this forum mentioned, I limit my mileage to about 10 per day unless I'm feeling frisky.
I'm not even 60 yet, and have noticed this as well. There must be Leprecauns sprinkling invisible concrete everywhere. I can't imagine camping on the trail without an inflatable pad now.
If WB had a like button, I would definitely have used it on this one--- although it seems to me those posting here, including the OP, are NOT OLD. While hiking the Arizona Trail a few years ago, I had just topped out about a 1000 foot climb in full sun where the temperature was high 70s or low 80s. I came out on a dirt forest road at that point for a couple miles. Along comes a 40-something on an ATV out scouting for an upcoming hunt. Says he, "Hey old man, are you OK?" I was taken aback and replied, "Well you young whipper-snapper, I'm fine; and by the way I'm not old, I have simply reached ADVANCED MIDDLE AGE." Then I yogied a cold soda. No soda, but the beer perked me up even Though I had to add the empty to my trash bag.
Point being if you stay in shape and keep active, you can backpack well into your 8th decade. Even though lots of people the age of the posters here are old, these folks are "advanced middle age."
Lots of good advice here, much of which I had to learn the hard way. One of the disadvantages of being advanced middle age is that we tend to b set in our ways. It took me years and about 7000 miles to swap out my heavy leather boots for trail runners. It als o has taken a long time to get my base weight down to 17 pounds. That forces me into a pack that weighs about 3 pounds since I tend to carry more food and water than many. My Granite Gear pack carries 35 pounds pretty comfortably.
I second the advice given about not trying to match the speed of the 20-somethings. I find out that I need to start out slowly in the morning or after a long break but, once I get moving, I can keep up with younger folks, even fit 20-somethings, on low grades, but not on steep ups and downs with poor tread. That said, I really like hanging out with younger hikers. I think some of their enthusiasm and youthful outlook rubs off on me.
Steep climbs put heavy demand on heart and lungs and at 71+ mine aren't strong as they were when I was 40. Steep downs take a toll on the knees and, on rough tread could lead to a fall. Old bones are indeed more brittle and a break takes longer to heal at 75 than it did at 25. I really slow down on steep descents. I always use trekking poles. My shoulders and arms can help my legs on climbs offload some of the weight from my leg and foot joints on descents. On flats using the poles to push off can extend my stride.
Shenandoah NP is a great choice for your trip. It has fewer long, steep climbs and the wayside can give a break from dehydrated food.
Last edited by handlebar; 01-25-2017 at 13:49.
Handlebar
GA-ME 06; PCT 08; CDT 10,11,12; ALT 11; MSPA 12; CT 13; Sheltowee 14; AZT 14, 15; LT 15;FT 16;NCT-NY&PA 16; GET 17-18
I also suffered with leg cramps everyday until I met a college football player on the trail who said at training camp, the coach makes them drink Alka Seltzer before practice to prevent leg cramps.At 66 yrs old I'll try anything.At the next trail town I bought a box and for me that was the solution.Your mileage may vary.
The Alka-Seltzer without pain killer has the same ingredients as rehydration salts. Exactly. Except no sugar.
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