[pct-l] training- MILO

[ronyon at comcast.net (Ron Smith)]

I've been section hiking the PCT a number of years, repeatedly
experiencing sitting at my desk one day, then starting a 300-miler the
next, so I consider myself knowledgeable on the subject of not getting
one's butt kicked, or at least why I did get my butt kicked. Like
yourself, I workout at the gym a lot, and consider this (overall
fitness) the most important survival factor. Sounds like your OK here.
Next is conditioning your feet and muscles specific to backpacking,
which you can never get at the gym. I accomplish this with one or two
day hikes plus one fairly rigorous weekend backpacking trip 1-2 weeks
before starting my PCT segment. The last thing I'll suggest to avoid a
month of unscheduled rest is padding the first couple of weeks with
extra zero days to allow your feet, muscles, tendons, and brain to
recover from the initial shock of putting in 10-hour days. I do this
about half the time. The other half I get caught up in my initial
enthusiasm of the trail and start skipping my zero days. After 10 days
I'm a physical and mental zombie (trail name idea?) I'll end by saying
that my very first PCT trip (I won't say how long ago) lasted only a
single day, before falling victim to brand new hiking boots, a 70-lb
pack, and lots of general backpacking stupidity. PCTers today are
fortunate to have so many supportive people and so much information at
hand.
Ron

From: "Joseph Niemiec" <whitethunder10@hotmail.com>
Subject: [pct-l] training- MILO
I read a post from Milo recently who was talking about training and how
he 
got his butt kicked and had to take a month off...
I don't have many places near my house where I can train but I do go to
the 
gym and do the stairmaster and hit the rower about 4 days a week.
And Milo, if your reading this, just wondering what your fitness level
was 
before the hike.
I'm 26 and in pretty good shape but I don't want to end up a month of
the 
trail so any info anyone has would be appreciated...
How did you guys train?
Joe