[pct-l] thru-hike or section-hike

[Linda Bakkar]

  > From: Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com
  > 
> I guess there's the pure thru-hike, which I believe in, and then 
> there's thru-hiker culture, which welcomed me with open arms, even 
> refusing to accept it when I said I wasn't going to Canada. I know my 
> hike was not a thru-hike, and I make that clear to everyone, but I 
> also know that I was a thru-hiker while I was out there.
> 
  

I, too, was a thru-hiker last year, until the end of June when I had to leave the trail at Independence due to stress fractures in my lower back.  The PCT end-to-end dream, in one season, still hovers on the back shelves of my mind, but for now, I will have to hike in sections.  That is the realistic thing for me at this time.

 

Why did I develop stress fractures and have to abort my dream hike?  

 

     First, my pack was TOO HEAVY for me!  I thought it was light, but I found out that I didn't really get it down as far as I should have.  I wanted too many unnecessary comforts.

     Second, I didn't keep up my stretching.  I should have stretched out my muscles every night before bed.  I got lazy.

     Also, my back had a previous injury and was not as strong as a normal back.  I took those long, loping thru-hiker steps, and my physical therapist told me it made my bones come together as I walked.  I should have taken shorter steps, but I did not know that last year.

 

How could I have possibly prevented the problem that sent me home?

 

     After I got home, and as my back healed, my physical therapist told me I need to CROSS TRAIN!!!!!  I never did that.  I took long walks, regularly, with my pack.  But my core was not really strong.  This year, I am cross training with deep water aerobics to make my core strong.  

 

It is probably too late for the cross training, if you are beginning a thru-hike this season.  But if you are planning for next year or after, get yourself into some kind of cross training that will get your core strong.  Also, go through your pack to make sure that everything you will carry is actually necessary, and then go through it AGAIN, and AGAIN!!!  And once you are on the trail, be sure to keep up the stretching at night, after the long miles are done each day.  Those steps could make the difference of whether you realize your goal or not -- no matter what you call it, "thru" or "section".

 

Blue Butterfly