Section hikes just dont cut it..

[ncmtns]

After a few section hikes, I have deducted it is harder on my body to do a section than to do the entire length. Kinda like starting your car in cold weather just to turn it off again soon after. How long you figure it takes for the ol bod to get used to hiking long distance?

[SGT Rock]

A week and a half or so.

[smokymtnsteve]

10 or 11 days

[bearbait2k4]

It really depends on how frequently you get out and hike.

A long distance hike of more than a couple of months will keep you in "hiking shape" for a good year, while a week-long hike, once or twice a year, will not.

[Hammock Hanger]

After 200-300 miles you are trail hardy. (JMHO) Sue/HH

[steve hiker]

It takes me a few days to stop panting whenever I go up the slightest incline. After a week of hiking, I feel great for about a week when I get back. Breathing is deeper, have lots more energy. Then I lose the new lung capacity and go back to shallow breathing and typical sluggishness.

I can only imagine how good thruhikers must feel after a few weeks of all that oxygen pumping into their bloodsystem.

[chris]

There is no break in time for me now. I can hit it at 25 a day from the get go, although I do need a week to start pushing up 30.

[Ridge]

Trail conditioning can range from "ever ready" to "never ready", for me, my legs and feet were ready (from years of day hikes), it was my back/shoulders that had the initial problems, not use to the weight. Things, for me, got better somewhere between NOC and GSMNP.

[Kerosene]

I've done about 15 AT section hikes over the years, usually 6-9 days but a handful of 2-4 week'ers. I keep in pretty good shape with basketball, soccer, aerobics, weights, etc., but those first 3 days with a full pack are always tough. I get to the "next level" on about Day 4, then I seem to hit another level around Day 10-14. Interestingly, my appetite decreases markedly the first week and kicks into overdrive in Week 3.

My ideal section hike regimen is to keep mileage to 10-13 miles the first three days before letting it pop up to the high teens or low 20s if need be. Taking a zero/nero towards the end of the first week helps give your body time to catch up. Don't worry about muscle soreness/stiffness as much as joint/tendon injury.

Also, getting your pack weight down below 15% of your body weight (with consumables) has a big impact on your physical and mental health.

[Kerosene]

There is no break in time for me now. I can hit it at 25 a day from the get go, although I do need a week to start pushing up 30.

That's because you go out every week, Chris (and you're still young)!

[chris]

That's because you go out every week, Chris (and you're still young)!

Hey! My students all think I am old!

[Tramper Al]

Hey,

It seems to me that maybe you are saying your body 'doesn't cut it' for section hikes, despite your heading suggesting it is the other way around. I know what you mean, as it can be pretty hard for sectioners (like me) to stay anywhere near hiking shape when a zero day may last for weeks or months. It's just part of the process, though.

Look at it this way. If fresh from town life I can only manage 12.5 miles instead of 25, well that just means I get to hike the trail another day.

[Skyline]

Agree, physically it is more difficult for MOST section hikers than for thru-hikers, for the reasons given. Tho IMO it's tougher mentally/emotionally for thru-hikers.

If you have the chance to get into shape by dayhiking with a full pack before going off on a section hike of a week or two you will notice an improvement on your ability to adapt to the Trail. Back when I still had unfinished white blazes left to do, I typically dayhiked one or two days a week for up to 10 hours each day in nearby SNP carrying everything I would need for a five-day backpack (still do sometimes). Friends thought I was nuts, but it paid dividends when it counted.

City folks without easy access to mountain trails: Just taking the stairs instead of an elevator, carrying as much weight as possible, would be beneficial.

[Jaybird]

ncmtns:


like the others have said....depends....on whether you are in shape to begin with....or NOT.

Most hikers arent in great shape when they start...even IF they think they are...(most do their practice hikes around their neighborhood with packs on, etc)

but, i've been out a day or so more than a couple weeks on section-hikes & my "stride" wuz just kickin' in when i got off the trail.

But, GOOD LUCK TO YOU & YERS!



p.s. where r u in the NC mtns?

[swamp dawg]

I have been section hiking since 1998 and always suffer through the first few days. I try to adjust my miles to accommodate my flat land out of shape body. Usually by the third or fourth day I am in the zone so my body doesn't fight back too much. After a week I can do the big miles but i still feel the miles in my bones.
Life is good.... Swamp Dawg

[Bilko]

I have been a section hiker since '94. Started out with day hikes, now do week long hikes. I'm hoping to expand on the week longs. I'm a few miles short of the VA state line.

I try to stay in shape all year long, but I hit it hard 60-90 days before I go out. I use a treadmill, stationary bike and stairmaster to get ready. My biggest problem have been with my feet. Nothing can prepare me for hiking on the Trail, except hiking on the Trail. I always seem to get a handful of blisters, I'm guessing my feet just aren't tough enough. I've tried different shoes, boots, socks, and sandles but the same results.

However, forget all that. The excitement of planning, gearing up, buying food, making shuttle arrangements keeps me going all year. The first few days out hiking, I'm on an adrenaline rush. Section hiking is difficult in a lot of ways, but it carries me all year. I can't wait to go out again next summer and cross over into Virginia.

[Kerosene]

Tho IMO it's tougher mentally/emotionally for thru-hikers.

No comparison...the mental challenge has got to be much greater than that of a section hiker when you're going to be out for months instead of weeks.

I left from Amicalola on Sunday, April 4th of this year to do the Georgia section in a week. I was hoping to get a sense of the thru-hiker experience, but it wasn't the same for several reasons. First, my goal was only 100+ miles away (Franklin) and I knew I could only be out for a week. Second, our group of 4 apparently started just "off cycle" from the main pack which started the prior day (40-60 people at the Springer and Hawk Mtn. shelters). Third, after my partner wrenched his knee on the third day and went to visit his parents down in Atlanta, I picked up my pace to shave a day off the trip. Fourth, by picking up the pace (3 consecutive 18+ mile days) I passed by the main pack and only saw a handful of hikers more than once.

But the real implication of section hiking hit me when I walked down into Addis Gap on Day 4. It was the last afternoon of the annual hiker feast (I forget the trail angels who host this) and I really wanted to stop for awhile to visit. Unfortunately, Hikerhead and I were heading into Hiawassee for the night, and I didn't want to risk having him get there ahead of me and lose my ride into town. Since it was already a big mileage day, I was also concerned about tacking on another 1.5 miles or so to get to the feast, so I finally felt sorry for myself and struggled up the mountain in the only rain of the trip. As a thru-hiker, I would have stopped in a second and just camped somewhere convenient. As a section hiker with a partner, I had some form of schedule to keep.

In retrospect, Hikerhead ended up being a good 5 hours behind me, so I could have stopped for a few hours and helped them clean up! Instead, I headed into town, cleaned up, and ate dinner before driving back up to pick up Hikerheadwell after the sun went down. We drove back and had a second dinner with ice cream at Dairy Queen, before Hikerhead drove back up to pick up Photofanatic who managed to cover the 18 miles from Blue Mountain Shelter (50% further than her longest prior day) in only 15 hours.

[Hikerhead]

Hikerhead and I were heading into Hiawassee for the night, and I didn't want to risk having him get there ahead of me and lose my ride into town.

This is me you're talking about, right? Me beat you to the trail head? Ha ha.

You could have stayed for 6 hours and I would have waited on you. I believe in the Marines way of thinking when it comes to hiking with a partner. "We don't leave nobody behind"

Hikerhead (Hokey Pokey)

[Hammock Hanger]

. I believe in the Marines way of thinking when it comes to hiking with a partner. "We don't leave nobody behind"

Hikerhead (Hokey Pokey)

I think I may be in trouble here....


I found it very difficult to have to break my body back into long distance hiking every year. Also to get into the mental mindset. That said I still think a 2000 mile hike is much more difficult then say a 100 mile trip due if nothing else but the duration of it.

Sue/HH