get together at hikernutt's
If any of you would like to join us, please do so.
Hmmm, I think my name says it all. What do you do when you want a group to slow down? Put the slowest hiker in front. That's me PaceCar. And yes that's how I got the name. I ended up chaperoning a group of Venture Crew girls on a 20 mile hike last minute (the female chaperone had to cancel out last minute which left my hubby heading into the mountains with 4 teen girls NOT - really wouldn't go over well) I was in no condition to do it in the first place and then got a stress fracture in my right foot 5 miles in. Long story short I finished the hike, last one off the trail!
PaceCar
In everything give thanks.
very admirable PaceCarTo finish is always an accomplishment regardless of WHEN
thanks for the invite Hikernut. I looked at that prior as well in your thread. I was put in a soft cast today (well Wed 10-8-08) ... just getting home 9th technically. I have to wear it 6 weeks. I am also sponsoring (and still going cast and all) to 6 flags on the 25th so that date conflicts. I shall look forward to meeting another time or joining in another gathering in the future!
I'm new and probably really slow, but as long as I enjoy it and forget about what other people think, I have lots of fun. It's always good to know I'm not alone
Journey vs. Goal
Well, I hike slowly because it's the hike that matters to me...not the destination.
Lemni Skate away
The trail will save my life
I'm not just one thing every time ... sometimes I go so fast even men can't keep up with me, other times I'm so slow you could pass me if you were standing still. That's one reason I don't care to hike in groups ... it's just too hard to match up my pace with others.
Yeah, Trailtalker and I were talking about this today. She has got longer legs than both Bluegill and me put together so she hikes faster than both of us. She waits, then hikes again. I dont rush. I dont care if I get left....I will catch up sooner or later.
|.............| Put this on your
|... *..*....| profile if you have
|....\o/.....| ever walked into a
|.....|......| Patio Door that was
|..../.\.....| CLOSED!!!!!!
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Well, I say I'm a slow hiker, and the majority of the time I am. I get exceptionally slow on the ups, but don't seem to have problems with my knees so the downs are much better. I love to pick up the pace on those gradual downhills and cruise or even jump into high speed and keep up with the teens. Doesn't last long, but it's fun while it lasts!
PaceCar
In everything give thanks.
Whoever finished first...loses! That's just a joke, fast is fine but not for me, by choice and by natural slowness. Don't let it intimidate you to be slow. It can be very enjoyable, seeing much more, being relaxed. I never did a 20 mile day on my thru, in large part to my slowness, but I made it! A funny thing is I often hiked with the same people much of the way, all of whom were faster than I. The joke was that I never went fast, but I rarely stopped (as in too many zeros). Even if they got ahead, I always caught up, and I wasn't really trying to. I just kept walking and enjoying myself. Funny how it works...
WOW...I too, am a slow hiker, partly knees and I hike alone so I am extra careful in case I fall etc, Like you all too, I love to SEE things along the trail, I have SPURTS of kicking up the pace, usually uphill but downhill, I am very slow. I think (even in groups) folks need to hike their own pace...hiking speed means different things to different people.
I love this forum and so happy to find it!! SLOW HIKERS UNITE!!!
So pleased to find this thread. Thought I was the slowest hiker on earth. Ergo my February start date for my 2010 thru-hike. Have done a lot of winter backpacking in Wisconsin and the UP so not too concerned about the cold. Slow and steady, and if I have to do high miles (for me), I start early and end late. Once had to bail out of a backcountry trip due to a family emergency and did 22 miles in a day to get back to my car. That's double my average daily mileage, but I did it even though the last hour or so was by headlamp. 2mph is me on a good day on flat terrain with no camera, no views, and nothing interesting to stop and admire.
Im not necessarily a slow hiker, but if i see something i like, I definately will stop and enjoy it, and thats often. So that may result in about the same milage per day as a slow hiker. My concern is being able to get to Katadyn on time. I heard if your not their by Oct. 15 then your SOL. I really wanna take my time as well and enjoy everything, but not at the expense of the finale summit!
opps...katahdin....in not on a race to summit my waterbottle i guess
Two miles per hour is actually a pretty average pace on the AT. If you get up at dawn and hike until late afternoon, you can easily do 20 or more miles a day, at a 2 mph pace.
If you want to make miles, you don't have to go fast, just go steady. We saw the story of the tortoise and the hare enacted time after time on the trail. A fast young hiker would do a 30 mile day, then take two days off to recover. Or they would hike quickly to town, but take several days to leave town. Or they'd hike shelter to shelter - arriving at 1:00 and staying put all afternoon. OTOH, some of the older hikers would hike all day, every day - stopping at 5:00 or so. They finished the trail a month or more before the younger jackrabbit hikers.
There is plenty of time to finish the trail, if you don't take a lot of time off. I averaged 12 mpd and finished in 5 1/2 months, with a lot of zero and nero days. Starting April 1, I finished by mid-September. If injury slows you down more than that, you can always flip flop. A number of hikers do that every year.
I had originally planned to thru hike, but somewhere around Erwin I pretty well decided to take it slow and enjoy it, even if that meant I wasn't going to make it all the way to Maine. I had gotten to the point where I could do 20 mile days, but it just wasn't as fun as the times when I'd sleep in a bit and then hike 2 miles down the trail and stumble upon a really cool campsite that most people would just pass by because they had only gone 2 miles...I'd pitch my tent...sometimes I'd find a book in a shelter and lay there for 2 days reading it. I took more zero days than I'd care to count, but 90% of them were taken on the trail...I just love being in the woods more than I like hiking I think, though I do love hiking too.
I spent a lot of time smelling the roses along the way...it took me 4 months to make it to Waynesboro where I got off the trail...but I have no regrets...from time to time I think about doing it again.
Bronk, you hike like me. I take more zeros in the woods than in towns. Just reading, listening to the wind through the trees or sitting by a brook is my idea of a rest day.
If you're in a hurry, why are you walking?
slow hiker
well I feel better now. I would like to do a thru hike but have been concerned about finding a partner because I too am a slow hiker. Factors- age, asthma, bad knees. I have decided my trail name should be Trail Snail. I don't get out as much as I would like to because, as my son says, the local hiking club walks like death is chasing them. Still get to the same place just a little later. The trail is the thing- not the destination.
Yay! So glad to read your post! I am a slow hiker, always have been, always will be! I actually lead a local hiking group, and when we start out in the morning, I tell them the planned route, they all have maps, and I tell them I'll see them at camp! 1- No one has to worry about "babysitting" anyone on the trail, and 2- I can hike my own hike at my own slow speed!Originally Posted by firefly
So glad to hear that there are other slowpokes out there still enjoying the journey anyway, and that you're okay about it. Just got back from 10 days on the Trail with my fit, 20-something daughter. Our 3rd year of this and we have a workable system: she goes on ahead and waits for me every couple miles, and never leaves the trail without leaving me a very visible sign. We each stop to rest when we want to, but meet to share special overlooks, major road crossings etc. So we get the benefit of both a solitary hiking experience and someone to share it with at the end of the day. I know she could go much further/faster without me, but luckily she's willing to put up with that in return for having me to share this wonderful experience - and as long as she's willing to do that, I'll cherish these moments and keep plodding along behind!
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