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[pct-l] poor old Ray



I agree about the corn pasta, but I am not sure that I agree that 
some people just can't do the mileage.  

Let me start off by saying its not important to do big miles in the 
first place, but if you _want_ to hike more miles, you can do it.  
There are just a few tricks that you have to use.  For those 
interested:
1.  Get up 30 minutes before sunrise.
2.  eat a breakfast that does not require cooking.
3.  Break-down and pack your camp in less than 15 minutes.
4.  Start walking 15 minutes before sunrise.
5.  Don't take any breaks, except lunch and dinner.
6.  Don't stop on the trail.  If you have to slow down, that's fine.  
Slow down as much as you have to, especially on the uphills, just 
don't stop.
7.  Use Iodine or other chemical water-treatments instead of a 
filter.  Huge amounts of time are wasted filtering water.  Also, the 
larger your water containers, the fewer times you will have to stop.  
I liek to carry a 4 liter bladder.  It Lasts nearly all day.
8.  Use Ray's method of wearing running shoes and synthetic socks so 
you can just cruise right through stream-crossings without removing 
your shoes.  This saves alot of time.  I remember one trip I took 
with my buddies who spent nearly 45 minutes at every stream 
crossing.  That's alot of wasted time, for someone trying to get in 
lost of miles.
9.  An Ultra-light gear list certainly helsp in the camp set-up break 
down areas.  The less gear you carry, the less time its take sto put 
up/take down.  Don't carry anything extra.
10.  Don't get lost.  Be sure to know where you are going.  Study the 
map and make sure you know all the details.  Carry the map/guide book 
in a readily accessible location so you can reference it often 
without losing time.
11.  Carry your Camera in an easily accessible location.  I carry 
mine in my front pocket of my shorts.  Don't spend lots of time 
taking photos.
12.  Hike till dark.
13.  Don't build a campfire.  You'll get more sleep since you wont 
spend time building it, and you won't have to spend time ensuring its 
put out in the morning.
14.  Don't hang your food. (I'll leave it to each individual to 
decide what other options to use).  Hanging food takes a long time to 
do and takes along time to take down and organize the ropes and bag, 
etc.
15.  Don't spend lots of time talking to hikers that you pass on the 
trail.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that this is "the way" to hike. There 
is no right way or wrong way to hike. Hike your own hike (HYOH).  I 
am merely posting methods that I use when I want to cover more 
distance.  Sometimes I have other goals when I hike, like taking in 
more of the environment, or enjoying meeting other hikers, or 
fishing, or looking for new routes, or testing gear, or whatever.  In 
these instances, the goal is different, so the way I hike would be 
different.  Anyway, I hope someone gets some use out of this post.

peace,
dude




> The essence is this; from a PCT thru-hike perspective--can you
> hike 20+ miles a day or 8 miles a day?   I've reduced my pack down
> to 22 pounds, but I still can't hike more than 10-12 miles a day. 
>  I could reduce my pack down to zero and I still couldn't do more
> than 15 trail miles a day.   All the hoo-haw about weight doesn't
> matter beans if you can't walk the walk.
> 
> Going from a 60-pound pack which I carried in my late 30s to the
> 22-25 pound pack I currently carry (in my late 50s) has done two
> things; one--it's allowed me to pursue an activity which I enjoy
> and be on the fringe of something I've dreamed about (hiking the
> PCT, etc) AND increase my daily hiking distance from 8 miles/day
> to 12-13 miles/day.   But, even if I could spend 100% of my time
> in exercise and preparation, I doubt if I could increase my
> miles/day by more than 25%, maybe up to 15 miles/day.  Top end.
> 
> The Ray Way provides the thru-hiker athlete--and I stress
> athlete--a methodology to walk the walk.   It also allows the
> average hiker who wants to spend a week in the wilderness--a
> 50/60-mile hike--a way to reasonably accomplish the goal.  
> However, I think corn pasta really sucks.
> 
> john
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