speed hiking

[Moose]

i am 16 years old and am veery near earning eagle scout. Next summer, 2006 i and my friend (who is also 16), have decided to hike as much of the At northbound as we can in roughly 70 days. currently we have about 500 hiking miles undr our belt. and have done 180 miles in a straight hike at most. we are capable of 25+ miles a day with our old packs (50 lb) but now have our base weight under 10 lbs and are just getting into the cult of ultralight trekking. we calculated a rough 20-25 lb total load for 5 days and maybe less because of our rapid pace. TO ALL THRU-HIKERS do you think it will be possible to hike the Entire AT in our time constraints

[rgarling]

possible, but very unlikely.

[chris]

Yes, but unlikely. With a few exceptions (see Pony Express' 2004 AT Trailjournal at www.trailjournals.com), most speed guys are older.

The biggest problem you'll face is injury. Your young bodies are just not strong enough yet to withstand the kind of punishment that that kind of a sustained pace will deal out. Pony can do it as he runs track and cross country and has been toughening his body with other hikes (we hiked a long stretch of the PCT together).

What I would do is this. Set out from Springer and hike as far each day as you like. Try not to think about Maine. Just hike each day. If you roll along at 25 a day, great! You'll end up somewhere in Vermont. If you hit 30 a day, you'll finish.

If you are looking for a long trail that you can complete in a summer, consider the Colorado Trail, the John Muir Trail, the Long Trail, the International Appalachian Trail, or the Bruce Trail. All should be appropriate for your experience level and all can be done in a few weeks to two months time.

[Pencil Pusher]

Don't let anyone tell you what you can or can't do... eh, sort of. Go for it and learn.

[Moon Monster]

Go for it and learn.

I think if you want to be serious about this, then you need to learn as much as possible about this style of hiking before 'you go for it.'

I suggest you take the next year to seek out advice from other speed hikers. Do some research to find them. One thing you'll probably hear is that you'll very rarely need so many days of food at one time. Such a high pace will put you by food stores often.

Also, get your family doctor to refer you to a dietician for advice on how to maintain your health for this. There's waves of research coming out now about how different teenagers' metabolisms are compared to even folks in their mid-20s.

Can you afford to speed hike a couple hundred miles on the AT with resupply for this summer to get a feel for what it'd be like? Say at a 30 mile per day pace?

[Mags]

I think, as Chris suggested, doing a regional trail at a faster pace as a trial run may be a good idea.

It takes time to build the body up physically and mentally to handle the punishment of endurance sports. Most elite mararthon runners, bicyclists, triatheletes, etc. ( and speed hikers for that matter) tend to be in their early 30s.

Not that a person at 16 could not do a 30 MPD pace, but you may want to try a shorter trail at that pace first before attempting a 2200 mile trail at that pace.

To put it another perpsective, a fast 10km runner has to work up to be a fast marathoner.

Only you know what you are mentally and physically capapable of.

Ask questions, lighten up your pack weight as much as comfortably possible, get some hikes in, and above all else have fun no matter what choice you make. If you decide to do the AT in 70 days, keep us informed in how it turns out and we'll root for you both the whole way.

[neo]

i would choose a slower pace my self,i would do it in 110 days.i like averaging 20 miles a day neo

[UCONNMike]

what are you nuts! you are 16 and you have a baseweight uner 10 pounds, and you wanna do the AT in 70 days! Cripes man, or boy, that is a pretty bold schedule. I'd think this over, and be realistic, you are real young and even though you rae an eagle scout, the AT is a different ball game from ay hiking you have done. When blake and I did our shakdown hiek we had baseweight of 20 pounds and had been hiking for years, we set a schedule of 20 mile days, 25 miels days and so on thru CT and MA. We ended up doing about 15 a day, and had a whole new respect for the AT. Just take your time and figure it out, cause if you rush it and get to miles concious you will make youself open to a careless injury. Hike smarter, not Harder. The AT is an experience.

[neo]

do half the trail this year,and the rest next year,i have section hiked from
springer mountain to dalton mass,1554 miles from may 2001 to may 2004
my next hike is sept 2005 from dalton mass to gorham nh. neo

[ImaStegasaurus]

hey forget that, these pretentious old farts don't know what they're talking about.

so anyways, I'm 18 and an eagle scout too and this summer my friend (who's also an eagle scout from my troop) and I are going to go hike the AT.
And really I don't think hiking 25 miles a day is out of the question..I mean, logistically, with a light pack, if you start early in the morning and end a later in the night, and do a bit of trail running, you could go the distance. But, still, it'll be tough.
Personally, I'm a cross country runner and a track runner and on my own I do some biking. About every week I run five miles to school with my books in my Camelbak.
So, for my hike this summer, I only have like around 70 days too to hike before school starts; and so I considered hiking 25 miles a day too; but really, I decided not to push myself, to be in a rush the whole time trying to finish within a time limit. So instead, I've decided to just hike whatever I can each day and just enjoy myself and see where I end up in the Fall. And also, I'll have the rest of my life to do a thru hike..like next year.
Anyways, us young hikers gotta stick together; I'll send you my e-mail so we can keep in touch.

[neo]

go for it then,put your money where your mouth is,do it neo

[saimyoji]

neo: Don't feed the troll.

[Moose]

u guys all have different views but i guess thanks for not shooting it down completely, i have a third person to my crew now so the community gear will be dispersed more and im working at a local ems so i believe my pack weight given my resources, sorry our pack weights, are going to be even lower, and yes i had considerred that at a fast pace wed be hiking past food places more often, i guess with the proper planning it will pan out correctly. i guess hiking the AT before i graduate high school or in other words the first time around is just to see if our determination will preservere in the end. and that this will put me and my 2 best friends in great shape for our fall sports obligations. we will probably do a couple of major warm ups this summer, i know the rocks in allentown pa are terrible. its funny that injury is mentioned because im more seseptable to injury in my first favorite sport (skiing) where i tore my acl and had reconstructive surgery and am going to prove to myslef that i can do everything i was able to do before it.

[neo]

i do 20 to 25 miles a day average on the AT,i have done a couple 30 mile days
i will be 47 in november this year,but i still would not try to do it 70 days,go for it,keep a journal,take lots of pictures,it is do able,but better not take any zero days neo

[neo]

check out this guy,he did the tripple crown,aproxx.7,400 miles in less than 9 months in 2001 neo

http://royrobinson.homestead.com

[Mushroom 96]

I would say do it. Try and go as far as you want too. Just make sure your in shape before you head out so you can start doing big milage right away. In 70 days you can at least make Harpers Ferry in my view. I agree that you should talk to a dietian to figure out how to get the most calories you can. I lost a little over 45lbs when i hiked. Most days I hiked about 20-25 miles. My biggest was 36. And I didn't think Penn. was that bad at all.

[BookBurner]

If a fast thru-hike is your passion right now, go for it! Follow your heart, not the general consensus. This trip may teach you lessons at a young age that most folks never take the opportunity to learn.

"Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail ..." Emerson.

Enjoy and best of luck!

- BookBurner
www.enlightenedthruhiker.com

[Highlander II]

You may want to seriously consider the "communal gear" idea. Hiking paces vary, injuries occur, and sometimes people just don't get along. If you think you can be with your buddies 24/7 when you are all under the intense pressure of making miles, then maybe that's the way to go. If it were me, I'd carry all my own gear, then any issues that come up can be resolved by people going their seperate ways.

As far as milage, I don't see why it couldn't be done if you're dedicated and train for the hike starting now. But this type of hiking is not for everyone and the advice others have given to try this out before you go is very good.

[neo]

it can be done if you do 31.057 miles per day every day and take no zero days.
neo

[Pencil Pusher]

it can be done if you do 31.057 miles per day every day and take no zero days.
neo

Geek alert. Danger, danger, Will Robinson.