[pct-l] Fit for a thru-hike?

[Paul Bodnar]

Hi Gary...

 

I totally agree with everything you said...thanks for your great post.

 

I would like to add that starting slow becomes a math problem.  The trail is 2655 miles long and you have a small window of about 5 months or 150 days to safely hike the trip.  So that is 17.7 miles a day..every day (2655/150= 17.7).  Start off hiking 10 mile days and you have to make up that 7.7 miles for each 10 mile hiking day.  Think this is easy? It isn't.  Look what happens if you start hiking 10 mile days for the first two weeks taking a zero day every week (10x12=120 miles), then 14 mile days for the third and fourth week (14x12=168 miles).  You will have traveled a total of 288 miles in a month.  You will have 2367 miles and only four months (150-28=122 days) to finish the trail.  Taking one zero day every week to heal (or to wait for resupply, fun etc.) you only have a remaining 105 hiking days.  So that means you will have to hike 22.5 miles a day (2367/ 105 = 22.5).  Hike below 22.5 mile days after your first month and you will have to hike even more miles.  Remember this isn't including the off trail miles to resupply get water etc.  

 

Please, get in shape before your hike.  You will have a better hiking experience if you are in top physical shape at the start of your thru-hike.

 

For a review of some of the math you can visit the link below.

 

http://hikethru.com/about-the-pct/daily-mileage-1

 

Paul
 

> >From reading journals and meeting people at the kickoff and on the trail, I think a lot of people fail because they aren't hikers. They decide to hike the PCT with little or no experience hiking or backpacking. Their feet aren't ready, the muscles supporting the knees aren't ready, their back isn't ready, they haven't learned the signals the body sends out. The best training for hiking is...hiking. Lots of it.
> 
> Having said that, it's very cool to see absolute rookies finish the trail! And that seems to happen quite often.
> 
> Gary
 		 	   		  
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