[pct-l] hiking speed - a thought about "the Ray way"

[Jeffrey Olson]

My experience - a committed section hiker - is that at the beginning of 
a hike I tend to hike more slowly as I get in shape, then after four or 
five weeks, find myself able to hike more efficiently both up and down.  
I'm able to maintain a steady pace more easily.  After six weeks where 
before I'd stop at 3 or 4 after hiking 10-15 miles, I would stop at 3 or 
4 after hiking 20 or so miles.  I never got to the point where I wanted 
to hike more than that - til dark and average 30 mpd.  Regardless of the 
point in my hike, foot pain has me want to stop at 3 or 4, or later if I 
took a couple hours in the middle of the day. 

I always have stronger memories of what I see after a month on the 
trail.  I'm not as spaced or paying as much attention to where my feet 
are landing as I was earlier in the hike.  I'm much more a part of the 
world I'm walking through. 

Jeff, just Jeff... 



enyapjr at comcast.net wrote:
> With all the 'talk' recently about fastpackers vs. slowpackers, many 
> times there seems to be a
> reference to pack weight equating to hiking speed... 
> This is not so in most cases - an ultralighter does not necessarily 
> hike 'faster' than someone with a
> heavier load...
> Ray Jardine stated he did NOT hike any faster with a light load than 
> he did previously with a heavier
> load...  But he definitely could hike more hours in a day with less 
> break/rest time, also - thus he got
> more mileage per day than before...  He was less tired at the end of 
> the day and could rest sufficiently
> overnight to start hiking early the next day - and do this day after 
> day after day (making even more
> miles beyond his previous "normal" "average")...  More benefits became 
> apparent - more miles per
> day meant less consumables had to be carried between resupply points, 
> being less 'tired' resulted in
> less zero days, less minor injuries/aches/pains with less weight 
> carried, etc. ...
>  
> Jardine hiked the PCT in 3 1/2 months at the same hiking 'speed' as 
> when he took almost 5 months previously...
> So, he should have been able to 'see' the same both times - 
> but Jardine said he actually saw more on
> the shorter duration hike...  Why?  He was rested enough to start very 
> early each day, and felt good
> enough to keep hiking into the late evening hours - he saw more 
> wildlife and the morning/evening
> shadows and twilight on the landscape while hiking...
>  
> Just a thought to ponder...................................
>  
> Happy trails!!!
> Jim
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