[pct-l] speed hiking, zero days and crawling along slowly

[g l]

I agree with all of what you said Brick.  I don't get the conflict either.  What I "hear", is a control issue and possibly an ego issue.  "Do it MY way" or "My way is the ONLY way" are very closed and ego-centric positions, IMHO.

But one thing I've professed since my thru in '91, and that gets overlooked time and time again is this:  If you carry a 20lb pack, your body adjusts to a 20lb pack.  If you carry a 45lb pack your body adjusts to THAT!!!  Over the course of a thru, I believe the hiker carrying the heavier pack will be stronger than the one carrying the lighter pack.  (In other words, when the packs come off, the hiker carrying the heavier pack would smoke the other hiker.....all other things being equal)  I'm not saying this in a bad or judgmental way, I'm just saying that folks seem to forget the wonderful capabilities of the human body to adjust to the demands placed on it.  When I started my thru on the AT, (I was VERY green) my pack weighed 70lbs.  I weighed 140lbs.....not good.  I quickly got it down to 42-45lbs, loaded, and never got it any lighter.   I did NOT spend my entire hike looking at my feet.  In fact (of course) I smoked many day hikers and weekend warriors with little or no
 packs!  I grew strong and fast, even with the heavy pack.  My biggest day was 25 miles.  I did it easily.  I could have done more, but decided not to get into a competition with myself by constantly up-ing the ante!  I decided 25 miles up and down mtns all day, carrying a full pack was just fine.  I had friends that were doing 40 miles.  They hiked well into the night.  I hate night hiking.

I am not touting that we all jump into the wilderness carrying 100lb packs.  In fact, with the help of some UL instruction, I've EASILY shaved 15 lbs off my pack weight.  I like it.  I'll keep shaving as much as possible.

I will admit to this:  When I finished my thru, it took 2 YEARS for my knees to get back to normal.  In other words, for 2 years, every time I bent down at the knees, they would hurt like crazy.  Then it went away.  Amen and pass the mashed potatoes!  Do I think this may have been moderated by a lighter pack?  Yes, possibly.  But it could have just been the terrain too.  (Straight up, straight down for 2,200 miles).  I'll never know for sure.  But it'll be interesting to see if the PCT has the same effect......taking in to consideration that I'm now, ahheemmmm, 16 years older!

I'm just sayin'..............

Wheeew

Brick Robbins <brick at fastpack.com> wrote: HYOH not withstanding I really don't get the conflict between the tortoise and the hare: the high mileage and the low mileage hiker.

If you get reasonably light hiking gear, the stress on your body is greatly reduced. 

If you go out on a thru hike, eventually you get fit. If you combine that with light gear, the walking really doesn't stress your body that much, and you can comfortably hike all day.

In prime thru hiking months, there are 14-16 hours a day of daylight. Figure  2.5 miles per hour, that means 27-30 miles a day if you take an hour in the morning to get started, an hour in the evening to wind down. Maybe 25-28 miles if you take an hour lunch.

Personally I don't like sitting around, and I walk a little faster, so by the time I hit Oregon, I was hiking 30+ days without much effort, or even thinking about it. 

 I only spent a couple of nights in town, mostly when the calendar wasn't cooperating with my mail drops.

Most of the hikers I know spend their zero days in town (hey, food becomes pretty important) so they aren't "enjoying the wilderness" {TIC} with their zero days in town as much as I did with my 30+ days on the trail. Not many that I know of do what the Spirit Eagles did and spend their extra time on the trail. 

Did I enjoy the trail any less time than someone who spent an extra 30+ "zero days" in town? Or someone with a 40+ pound (no food or water) pack who spent their time looking at their feet while they climbed the hills? 

I think not, but then again, I'm biased

HYOH

-- 
Brick Robbins
brick at fastpack.com _______________________________________________
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