Why afraid of speed and distance?

[jakedatc]

Why are people so afraid of other people's hiking speed and distance? Do folks pull next to people on a run or bike ride and tell them they are going too fast or too far? That they will never make it back to their house at that speed?

I've seen so many times in the last year about how people can't possibly do X, Y or Z with ZERO knowledge of who the person is or what they are capable of. i don't understand.

There are exceptional athletes out there everywhere. Go to a cycling club ride sometime. I do a weekly summer ride with a guy who is 60+ years old and we do 35-40mi at 19-19.5 mph average. (which in the grand scheme is not that fast but for recreational non racers it's good)

I just wish people would answer someone's question instead of butting in and telling them what they can and can't do.

[Rasty]

100% agreement. I'm a 16 to 18 max mileage hiker. If I plan to hike 24 miles I will just have to adjust my plan. So what?

The only time it could be an issue is if you and I planned to hike together and I overstated my daily mileage to match your actual daily mileage.

[tdoczi]

you and i tend to see eye to eye on these things jake, but in the thread i'm assuming youre commenting on here the OP seemingly has never seen what the trail in northern new england looks like and is basing what he can do there in the fact that he can do 25 mile days on what just about everyone would agree is an extremely easier trail. i would never say no one can do 250 miles in 2 weeks in NH/ME, because plenty of people i am sure can and do, but this guy has an air of doesnt know what hes signing up for about him.

[jakedatc]

Yea.. group trips can be adjusted pretty quick.. you can figure out your pace in the first few miles and if it's not adding up then you have to either pick it up or adjust the goals.

But i mean if someone says they want to do a hike in X days. it's like saying someone wants to run the mile in under 7min, 6min or 5 min whatever. certain people on here have an automatic response of "no, you can't do it" it could be Usain Bolt for all they know but.. No, can't do it.

Through rock climbing, cycling, hiking, work etc i've discovered there is ALWAYS someone better than you and you are probably better than someone else.

[hikerboy57]

jake i have no problem with people who like to do heavy miles. there are days i feel like doing big miles, others when i dont feel like hiking far at all.its not a competition, i just dont feel the need to push myself every day. for someone whos never hiked the whites, most would agree to expect to keep your mileage projections a bit more conservative.you want to do 25 mile days, thats perfectly okay, if i want to do 13-18 mile days, that should be okay too. when i wished him luck on the 20 mile days, i didnt mean to imply it was impossible or even overly difficult for a "well conditioned athlete", but many find the whites a lot more difficult than the rest of the AT.

[jakedatc]

Perhaps not. but I believe if you have the fitness to do over 20mi anywhere you can do similar in the Whites. Maybe he won't but I don't automatically say they can't. Maybe he can take an overnight sooner than that in the Pemi or something and see what it is like and adjust.

remember folks told me that Thru hikers *gasp* so special..... do Wildcat/carters in 3 days and then I did it in 1.5days. then folks told me that it takes a month to do LT and was under 3 weeks..

[hikerboy57]

I did pinkham to gorham in2 days too.i agree cant is a word we should stay away from.

[coach lou]

Now i'm agreeing with Tdoczi....scarey. Jake I don't think anyone is afraid, just not in such a big hurry. I just did the math, 200 in 14 is 14+ per day very comfortable, even for us old guys, 250 is 17+, doable, of course, but every day? Most of us are not in that big a hurry. I personally don't like beat up feet and knees. Video was practically running down the street to get to my car, and then he ran into the back seat. I could hear his feet bumping the back of HBs seat as we rolled on towards Stratton.

[brian039]

Some people new to thru-hiking don't know the social aspect of the trail so I always figure it's worth mentioning that if they are pulling huge days then they would be missing out on that aspect. It's not telling them how to hike, just letting them know about something that they may not be aware of. If that's something that they're not interested in then that's where the conversation should stop because that's the only thing you're missing by hiking big miles.

[HikerMom58]

I also think there's an element of perceived "bragging" that I feel is a part of the mix whenever speed hiking and distance is brought up. And ,also, there's a feeling of "pressuring" involved, even if you aren't interested in going fast- you should really rethink that.

All the other points have already been expressed related to the 200 miles in NE thread. Opposing comments are made to achieve some sort of balance & reality check.... not to be misunderstood as a "wet blanket".

Great thread Jake!!

[jakedatc]

It doesn't matter what "your" (universal your) idea of pace is. Whatever the people asking advice what to do is what THEY want to do. 17+ every day sounds very reasonable to me without hurrying. 12-14hours of daylight in the summer. how can you say someone is in a hurry if that is just their pace? What someone's warm up could be another person's best 5k time.

Video kicked my butt my 2nd day out then i had a good night sleep and felt 100% better the next day. He named me Speedy. I went faster up hill.. he was better downhill.

[jakedatc]

Some people new to thru-hiking don't know the social aspect of the trail so I always figure it's worth mentioning that if they are pulling huge days then they would be missing out on that aspect. It's not telling them how to hike, just letting them know about something that they may not be aware of. If that's something that they're not interested in then that's where the conversation should stop because that's the only thing you're missing by hiking big miles.

not every thread is about thru hiking. not everyone wants to be social either. I like hiking with people, but when i'm not I am ok too. I'd rather camp with people than hike with people if i had to make a choice. you can also get groups that can do big miles together.

[RED-DOG]

Yeah i totally agree with you some people needs to learn how to mind their own buisness. RED-DOG

[Creek Dancer]

Yeah i totally agree with you some people needs to learn how to mind their own buisness. RED-DOG

Yup, too many self-professed experts on this board assuming way too much.

[kayak karl]

"Why afraid of speed and distance?"
you think people are afraid of you? that you are a threat to them?

more people on WB talk about doing speed and distance, then actually do it. there are negatives to doing high miles out of the gate. should we keep our mouths shut and just cheer them on anyway?

[tdoczi]

Perhaps not. but I believe if you have the fitness to do over 20mi anywhere you can do similar in the Whites. Maybe he won't but I don't automatically say they can't. Maybe he can take an overnight sooner than that in the Pemi or something and see what it is like and adjust.

remember folks told me that Thru hikers *gasp* so special..... do Wildcat/carters in 3 days and then I did it in 1.5days. then folks told me that it takes a month to do LT and was under 3 weeks..

i have the fitness to do 20 in plenty of places, SNP, PA, MA, NJ the very southern parts of VT and NH. i have little experience on the PCT, but the parts of the CDT ive hiked i have no problem saying i can do 25 miles on.

BUT

i can barely do 15 in the whites and after 2 days of it i'm done.

does that mean no one can do 20 in the whites? again, no, but the ability to do 20 somewhere else is meaningless.

[tdoczi]

Some people new to thru-hiking don't know the social aspect of the trail so I always figure it's worth mentioning that if they are pulling huge days then they would be missing out on that aspect. It's not telling them how to hike, just letting them know about something that they may not be aware of. If that's something that they're not interested in then that's where the conversation should stop because that's the only thing you're missing by hiking big miles.

theres always plenty of people going fast a fast hiker can hang out with.

[jakedatc]

I also think there's an element of perceived "bragging" that I feel is a part of the mix whenever speed hiking and distance is brought up. And ,also, there's a feeling of "pressuring" involved, even if you aren't interested in going fast- you should really rethink that.

I rarely see people telling others to hike faster. I see all the time people telling others to slow down. I find it to be rude.

personally i'd rather see the mtn summit views than the dirt and roots in between. My pace is whatever my legs want to do. If i stick to the same method of being able to still hold a conversation i'm still going to be faster that others. and slower than others too. I'm not in a hurry, i'm just hiking. this weekend my friend beat me to the car from the summit by 15 minutes over 2.5mi.

[fredmugs]

I don't think they are afraid in as much as they have reached their fat, dumb, and happy zone and then project their self-imposed limitations on others. This is not confined to hiking. Why hike so many miles in a day? Why do you study so much? Why do you work so hard? Why are you going to grad school? You don't need to lose any weight (i.e. if you lose 25 pounds it's harder for me to blame everything but myself). You can't possibly enjoy your hike by going one mile farther a day than I do.

My favorite part is when they criticize what you do and end it with HYOH.

Some of us enjoy the physical challenge combined with the mental appreciation of the environment.

[coach lou]

I rarely see people telling others to hike faster. I see all the time people telling others to slow down. I find it to be rude.

personally i'd rather see the mtn summit views than the dirt and roots in between. My pace is whatever my legs want to do. If i stick to the same method of being able to still hold a conversation i'm still going to be faster that others. and slower than others too. I'm not in a hurry, i'm just hiking. this weekend my friend beat me to the car from the summit by 15 minutes over 2.5mi.

Jake, how did you get Usain to come up here to hike with you?