Time Between Section Hikes

[Jagger]

I am planning a thru hike of the John Muir Trail beginning August 10, 2014 but also want to hike the section of the AT from I40 Davenport Gap to Damascus, VA. My question is about timing. My goal is to be as fit as possible for the JMT, but I want to have some time off between the AT section and beginning the JMT...So how much time should I take? I know this is a somewhat individualized question based on lots of factors, but any general input or past experiences is helpful.

[Slo-go'en]

I'm not sure I'd want to do that section of the AT in July. June might be tollerable, May would be better. Either way, that leaves a lot of down time between hikes. If you could continue to do a lot of walking or hiking in other places between times, that might not be to bad. But ideally, I would guess maybe 2, 3 weeks at the most between big hikes would allow you to recouperate and not loose too much conditioning.

[Pedaling Fool]

If you need recovery time between a hike from Davenport Gap and Damascus before thru-hiking the JMT, then you really need to question your level of fitness.

I Don't mean to sound harsh, but that's just fact. I would recommend starting and maintaining a workout regimen so issues like this are not an issue.

[MuddyWaters]

I would leave yourself as much time as possible before starting the JMT. At least 6-8 weeks. I say this, only so that if you get an injury on the first trip, that you have time to rehabilitate before the JMT. Sprains, tendonitis, and stress fractures (OVERUSE injuries) will heal in that time. That is the kind of thing you really need to worry about .

It has nothing to do with fitness. If you are going to plan, get permits, purchase plane, train, and bus tickets, you dont want to cancel that one. Its not necessarily one you can re-schedule easily. You have a short window to do it in, then that window is closed for another year.

If you live close by the JMT, and dont have to worry about significantly higher airfare with no lead time,etc, then maybe you could wing postponint it. But you still only have another month or so of possible delay time.



Staying in shape is easy with cardio machines and weights.

[Coffee]

For my John Muir Trail hike this year (started late August), I was only able to do three multi-day backpacking trips in preparation and the prep was more related to getting my trail routine down than fitness. In April, I hiked the Northern district of SNP. In May, I hike the Grand Canyon from the south rim to north rim. And in June I did a circuit backpack in the central district of SNP. In addition, I did three long day hikes with a full pack in SNP. My cardio fitness was kept up almost entirely by distance running which was easier to fit into my schedule than multi day backpacking trips.

In terms of comparing the JMT to the AT, I would say that a 17 mile day on the JMT was roughly comparable to the longest day hike I did (central SNP ~25 miles). The JMT is obviously at higher elevations and some of the passes are pretty demanding. On the other hand, there are places in SNP (old rag, whiteoak canyon) where the trail is quite a bit harder than anything found on the JMT since the JMT is built for horses as well as hikers.

If conditioning is a concern, my suggestion is to see what you're comfortable with on lower elevation trails like the AT and then set a daily average on the JMT for maybe 60% of the mileage you're comfortable with on the AT. You can always speed up on the JMT if feeling up to it. The JMT was the best trip I've ever taken - ever - and by a long shot!

[Jagger]

Thanks for the input. FYI, Pedaling Fool, I didn't say anything about needing "recovery time", I was looking for input on how long people had taken off the trail and not experienced a loss of their "trail legs" or other symptoms of losing peak fitness. I want to take some time off for personal reasons ( new grandchild coming! ).

[Astro]

Jagger,
I went from Hot Springs to Pearisburg this past July, and other than the record rain the weather was fine. I thought the temperatures were pretty mild most of the time. Of course I grew up in South Florida, and have lived in Houston, Singapore, and Brazil. The key being since I noticed you live sometimes in AZ, I would not be concerned about the temps.

[Pedaling Fool]

I am planning a thru hike of the John Muir Trail beginning August 10, 2014 but also want to hike the section of the AT from I40 Davenport Gap to Damascus, VA. My question is about timing. My goal is to be as fit as possible for the JMT, but I want to have some time off between the AT section and beginning the JMT...So how much time should I take? I know this is a somewhat individualized question based on lots of factors, but any general input or past experiences is helpful.

Thanks for the input. FYI, Pedaling Fool, I didn't say anything about needing "recovery time", I was looking for input on how long people had taken off the trail and not experienced a loss of their "trail legs" or other symptoms of losing peak fitness. I want to take some time off for personal reasons ( new grandchild coming! ).

OK, I can see that; I guess I was thinking of recovery time.

That's probably an even more difficult question to answer, depends a lot on how fit you are to begin with; a fitter person could take more time off between hikes (w/o activity) than someone not so fit.

However, all that's a moot point from my point of view. I recommend (regardless of your current conditioning) that you stay very active between hikes, understanding not being so active to burn yourself out. And if you're not too fit, there is even more reason to stay active between hikes.

I recommend running as a primary activity, but I know a lot of people are against that, mainly due to the MYTH that running is bad for the knees -- total myth.

The other thing you can do are crossfit-type exercises, such as seen on youtube (couple of examples below). And the great thing about crossfit, you don't need to go to the gym, just do it without weight, or if you want weight use your backpack...Just use your imagination and there are tons of things to do between hikes to maintain some fitness. Trying to decide how long you can go without doing anything is not a good alternative.

A good mindset is fit for life, not just for a hike; with that mindset you're always ready for a hike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrKokRDSZYg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zvqNHDTf8Y

[Pedaling Fool]

BTW, what's your window for hiking the AT prior to the JMT?

In other words, how much time Min/Max between the AT and JMT that you're looking at?

And do you have an estimate of how long you think it will take you to hike from Davenport Gap to Damascus?

[Jagger]

Pedaling Fool, thanks for additional thoughts. I am fairly fit...hike 1500 to 2000 miles/year although a lot of that is day hikes of 10 to 25 miles/day. I'm not concerned about being ready for either hike, but I would love to still have my "trail legs" when I begin the JMT ( thus the question ). I have never done a 200 mile hike then come off the trail for 1 to 4 weeks then started another so I was looking for someone who might have done this. Regardless of when I do the AT section, I will definitely stay active before beginning JMT. To answer your question, I can hike pretty much when ever I want to, other than I want to be home between mid-May and mid-June for the arrival of my first grandchild and then have some time at home before I begin the JMT on August 10.

[Del Q]

My 3 cents, until this past April my last 5-6 section hikes I was back in the gym a week later. Took a week off just to chiil, eat, relax my body.

What has crushed me are back issues, this one has been the worst in 37 years, bulging disk, from April 1st - yesterday actually. Today is honestly my 1st day of no pain in 7 months.

Besides that I think that it is ALL MENTAL. If you are in good shape and can handle carrying an X lb pack day after day and do decent miles, my experience is that its - like most things in life - mostly mental. I guess that there should be daily aches and pains of some sort with this amount of rigor on the body, only normal. Bet that even the cavemen were sore after a long day or whatever they did.

[Slo-go'en]

Pedaling Fool, thanks for additional thoughts. I am fairly fit...hike 1500 to 2000 miles/year although a lot of that is day hikes of 10 to 25 miles/day.

If you do that much hiking every year, I don't see how you'd loose you trail legs at all. I find that if I do a big hike in the spring, it doesn't take me long to recoupe months later for another hike in the fall.

[Cookerhiker]

In 2005, I was determined to hike the 700+ miles I needed to finish the AT as a section hiker. So starting February 1, I did a series of section hikes exceeding 400 miles, the longest of which was 150 miles. The next-to-last section hike was the 44 miles of NY from the Hudson to Pawling which I finished June 10.

So when I started the 300 mile Gorham-to-Katahdin stretch in mid-August, I thought I was in great hiking shape, even after a 2 month "rest" period in which I still did some day hikes. I was in for a rude awakening as the first week of my last hike nearly killed me. I knew it wouldn't be easy but I thought I was in better shape than I was.

So while some break between hikes will help you, don't make it too long. Maybe start your hike from Davenport around June 15.

And BTW, the JMT is challenging but once you're acclimated, it's not as hard as that Gorham-to-Bigalows stretch in northern NH and western Maine.

[fredmugs]

I would say minimize the amount of time. A few years back I did a 170 mile section hike from Davenport Gap to Dennis Cove. A week later I did the Grand Canyon from South Kaibob, across the river, and back up Bright Angel. I did it in 6.5 hours and that was over 1.5 hours faster than I had ever done. I could believe how easy it was compared to my other GC hikes.

Last year I did the JMT and did mostly cardio to train here in flat Indiana. I drove to the trail and spent one day in Denver and then hiked Mt Elbert (14,440'). I had no issues on the JMT at all. Climbing over the passes will slow you down and as long as you realize that and don't try and over power the trail you'll be fine. The trail itself is very walkable.

[redseal]

As you mentioned in your first post, the answer depends on the individual.There are so many factors that go into this...one being how active you are in your "rest" time. For myself, if I do absolutely nothing except work for 2 weeks after a section hike I can certainly notice a difference in my trail legs. However, if I remain active and run, etc. I notice very little change even after 1 month. When I maintain a strict fitness program I can go upwards of a month or so without noticing any difference.

[Del Q]

I vote that this thread be closed, sounds like if you are excited enough about your next hike the time in between doesn't matter.