Are you doing anything to get in shape before you leave?
Are you doing anything to get in shape before you leave?
Yes - eating a lot and walking a lot. I've bulked up by 5 pounds of bodyfat.
SGT Rock
http://hikinghq.net
My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT
BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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NO SNIVELING
I keep to my normal schedule:
- aprox 2 times a week I mountain bike for a few hours.
- Hike trails around the house.
- Back pack, not as much as I want but I get out some.
- Starting to lift weights agian - stopped for a long while.
- Getting rid of or stop using a lot of the privilages of home life.
- Getting used to putting together and shopping for "trail meals".
- will be getting back into upstream Kayaking to build back, shoulder and hip muscle back up.
Bicycling works for me. And of course hiking. Otherwise, I'm a mouse potato.
So far I've just been doing the eating part.
SGT Rock
http://hikinghq.net
My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT
BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
-----------------------------------------
NO SNIVELING
Every now and then I walk around with my pack, mainly just to have a refresher on what the pack feels like. I am generally healthy person, and stay in generally good shape yesr round.
Kirby
From experience and age... "physical preparation" gets more important as one grows older. Young-uns can skip it. Old pharts probably need to work at it a bit.
I'm making a New Years revolution to get me and Margaret outside for at least a full hour each and every day rain or shine. Well we'll see how that lasts.
Best is to get out walking, with weight on your back. Carrying a pack puts stress on knees and feet that is quite different from what you get riding a bike. I've also seen hikers with baby soft feet have to deal with enormous blisters that could have been avoided by doing more walking beforehand. Some end up quitting because of the blisters. Better to prepare your feet for the trail ahead of time.
Exactly this is the undoing of many Army Special Forces trainees. When a blister gets bad and painful enough it changes your gait and how your muscles are loaded, usually favoring the uninjured side. A strain or connective tissue injury on that opposite side often ends that soldiers training...all from a blister.
I walked barefooted on pavement around my neighborhood prior to my '06 thru; probably a little over-doing it for preparations, but it worked great for me - no blisters, not even a hint of one.
If a person has hiked enough, you have the luxury of sitting around for awhile and getting fat; because when you get back on the trail, your body and muscles know exactly what to do, and trust me, that extra weight will come in handy about 4 months into a thru-hike. Enjoy your bowflex!
Just Jim
In regards to blisters, here is a somewhat interesting story.
When I went through the wilderness this summer, I met a thru hiker from acorss the ponds. One morning as I was getting ready to head out for the day. He made the comment(as I was putting my sock liners on), that for the first 30 miles(to Neels gap), he was constantly getting blisters. He said at Neels Gap he purchased some sock liners, and did not have a single blister for the rest of the trip. I have also been fortunate not to get a blister in the lower back heel(where a lot of people seem to get them).
He also used the same pair of boots from Springer to Katahdin.
Kirby
I agree that prepping your feet is the most important thing.
Some people who were in really great shape from the ankles up were among the ones that suffered the most when their feet began to first develop blisters, and then blisters on blisters. And the key to that is figuring out how much your own feet sweat and then being ready to come up with solutions to maintaining dry socks as long as possible.
I thru-hiked the Trail in 2007, and my feet are still screwed up. I sustained in both forefeet that is unrelenting, despite my efforts at ongoing treatment . They both hurt now, even as I type this. If i had it to do all over again , I'd would find a sports oriented podiatrist in my area and get evaluated for a custom foot orthortic, BEFORE I started walking. I don't know if is is available on-line, but the print edition of Backpacking Light magazine ( Issue 8 ) has an excellent article on this whole issue, entitled " Can Arch Support Boost Trail Performance? " by Howard E. Friedman, DPM.