Thru Hike Prep
How much backpacking experience do you have? And how are you preparing for your thru-hike?
3 wars, and unknown miles... Hiking every couple of weeks on long weekends for 20 to 50 miles at a go. Mostly Florida flat hikes, but I did make it home to Maine this summer. Had a nice rugged 27 mile trek on the back 40. Getting back into "shape" is in progress too. 6'3" and 215, and trying to get down to 200. Lots of legs and lifting, no cardio other then what I get on the weekend hikes, and at work.
How about you?
No experience, and preparing by drinking lots of beer and eating fatty food so I can put on some weight to lose once I start walking.
Just joking though I have seen people recommend you gain weight in preparation for the walk.
Walked all my life, lots of day and through walks as I lead walks for a club. I want to drop some weight so I don't have to carry it up hills. Concentrating on core and legs in training. Walk about 60km a week with a pack
(38 miles).
"He was a wise man who invented beer." Plato
I see that advice here often, terrible though it is.Originally Posted by jjozgrunt
1) A lighter body incurs less stress.
Most thru-hike attempts are just that, and most wannabe thru-hikers quit early, when they're at their least fittest and when they're mentally unprepared/weak. Even though it isn't forced upon us, the trail ain't no cake-walk; why make it any harder on yourself? You don't see many fat thru-hikers when they're at their fittest, and you can eat plenty en route, regardless of how fast or slow or hard you go. The AT ain't limited on towns or resupply. And trust me, refueling is half the fun, because everything is fair game once your metabolism has kicked into high gear.
2) A lighter body in theory allows you to carry a few more pounds on your back. This could be in the form of a more insulated sleeping bag, or a pillow, or an inflatable mattress, enabling the hiker a better chance at sleep and recovery during those hard (and cold) first few weeks.
3) Being heavier than necessary forces us to work harder, and it increases our injury risk. Again: no matter how easy you try to make it, the AT ain't easy. Sure, it is a CHOICE to do it, but that doesn't make it easy. As such, one is obliged to at least attempt to make it less difficult. Human nature, in our endless quest for comfort! It's comfortable being fit.
Thru Hike Prep
I'm still in school, so I rock the weekend warrior mentality. I've been taking weekend hikes between 25-30 miles for 1 or 2 night trips. Hilly hikes, but this is Kentucky, where we lack mountains. Mostly focusing on fiddling with my gear, I'm already in decent shape having played college football for my first few years, so I'm just keeping my butt of the couch! March can't get here soon enough
Keep it going, who's next???
~March 5th, 2017~
I'm in the "losing weight" before the hike group. I'm about 6' 210 but I've been walking about 5 miles everyday with a 30 mile trip once a month. I live 30 minutes from the smokies so I grew up backpacking but never anything more than a week... I'm trying to get mentally prepared for this as a lot of 4-5 day trips in a row.
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Wewe nugu, mimi apana!
I just retired and the last year of my career was spent mostly behind a desk, so I grew a bit around the middle. Currently, 6' and 205, with the intent to start the approach trail at 180-ish. I've registered for a trail ultra marathon in February and I'm running the hilliest trails I can find (Florida) as well as hitting the gym a bit.
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” –Socrates
I agree to a point, but there are some of us who are pretty dang skinny (5'5" and 110lbs) that would benefit from having a few more pounds on us before the start of a long hike. It's not about being "fat" before you start for some people, it's about knowing how much weight you will lose while hiking 15+ miles a day and trying to pre-empt that loss. I don't have much, if any, weight to lose safely so in preparation for a thru-hike or long section hike I probably would attempt to at least get my weight up to 120lbs.
Well said. I am shooting for a bodyweight of 180-ish at the start, because a few years back when I was running competitively I got as low as 163, and that was TOO LEAN. I figure if I start out 15-18 pounds more than that, it will give me a buffer in case I cannot eat enough pizza and drink enough beer while we're in town.
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” –Socrates
Despite the endless chatter about gear and physical fitness, which surely both factor into preparing for thru-hikes, prepare yourself by getting emotionally and mentally strong knowing that this is a necessary key ingredient to successful happy completion for a thru.
Get out in the rain, snow, heat, etc setting up, sleeping in, and packing up your anticipated AT shelter, wearing your anticipated AT clothing/shoes/etc , cooking with your stove, eating and preparing foods you will be buying in stores along the way(trail food becomes your home food), walking to the grocery store/work/etc in inclement weather, shopping for your groceries and hauling them home hopefully up stairs, through the woods, through mud puddles, snow and slush. Get uncomfortable. Re-establish new levels of comfortability by adapting mentally and emotionally. It will only be a start to what you will experience with LD on trail life.
Wean yourself from the many hrs of constant motor vehicle travel, sitting in front of or using a computer, cooking in your kitchen at home..Make your off trail home exceptionally cold in winter and hot in summer. AC off. High heat off.
http://blueridgehikingco.com/trainin...lachian-trail/
http://www.backpacker.com/skills/fit...r-a-thru-hike/
Consider Warren Doyle's AT thru-hiker class
http://www.warrendoyle.com/
Consider Zach Thomas' Appalachian Trials A Psychological And Emotional Guide To Successfully Thru Hiking The Trail Kindle Edition Zach Davis
I just thru-hiked this year and I had ZERO backpacking experience until a week before heading off. I hiked 40 miles over 3 days as a pactice hike a week before leaving and that was the longest stretch of consecutive hiking days I'd ever done in my life. I was pretty slim to start off with and considered myself reasonably fit but I wouldn't say I had been exercising all that much before my hike.
tl;dr - If you're in reasonably good condition already then you can get away without doing any major training. The first couple of weeks will prepare you better for the rest of the trail than any amount of pre-hike training will.
Having said that, any training you CAN do before hiking will simply be a bonus. And if you have some extra weight to lose then you might want to try getting rid of it beforehand but again, the trail will soon strip it from you anyway.
Hiking all day, every day for months can be mind-numbing boring. The body adapts automatically, the brain - not so much - and that's the weak link in the chain.
With that in mind, try walking on a treadmill, 3 hours at a time, for 14 days in a row and see how that feels.
I dont think hiking is boring at all. I truly enjoy it. What animals will I see today? What scenery will I see that I havent seen before? What flowers? Will I see any bent trees? What people will I see?
Just walking on the other hand is quite boring to me.
I dont hike much for various reasons and I dont consider myself in shape. However, when I go for a hike I can easily put in 3 miles with a 5lb pack to start. Snacks and water.
Im not overly worried about getting in shape for my hike. If I get to go I will get in shape on the trail. Ill start slow and go from there. I figure if I can hike 3 mi even though I havent hiked in months I can start out with 6 mile days and work up from there.
At least on a thru hike after my hike I wont have to run errands, do laundry and shopping for 4 people, cook for 4 etc every day.
I can most days just rest.
I didn't do much physical prep before my thru. Did some day hiking every few weekends and had only done two overnight backpacking trips. I started out slow doing eight to ten mile days and kept that up for a few weeks. You will want to go out strong but you you will be doing yourself a big favor by taking it slow for a while. Even if you train very hard beforehand your body will be shocked by 10-12 hour physical days...every day. Doing a thru-hike is a much different beast than doing a long weekend of 50 miles.
I agree that the mental part of this is the toughest. Many folks I talked to and hiked with towards the end were not having a lot of fun keeping up the miles. My body was breaking down especially during the last month. Everybody was starving through the 100 mile wilderness. It got really hard to wake up everyday and keep going.
You don't have to "run errands" after a day of hiking but you do have to get your tent up, clean yourself up, hang your clothes, get water, cook dinner and clean that up, hang your bear bag, take care of your feet and the reverse in the morning. We also found that "zeroes" weren't very relaxing most times. We never could sleep in (trust me, your stomach will wake you!) and had to go shopping, to the post office, to the laundry mat and to the library.
Make sure you spend a lot of time choosing gear. If you get this wrong you will have to buy stuff on the trail which can cost tons. Hopefully you live somewhere that has lots of shopping that will allow you to try things out before you buy.
you don't need any experience, but I'd highly recommend some mountain overnight backpacking to see if you like it (even 1-2 days of strenuous terrain.) I don't know if there are statistics on this, but I've set out from amicalola/springer multiple times and have seen people quit their thru hikes before they got to the first night's shelter. that could mean thousands of dollars and a lot of explaining to do for some. never a pretty sight. I think inherently enjoying backpacking has a lot to with whether you're willing to stay out there for 5-7 months.
Have you hiked 12-20 mpd, every day with the exception of a few zeros - for several months in a row?
That's what we're talking about doing here....
Hiking is exciting (for me) too - but there are long periods of boredom interspersed with moments of euphoria - enough to keep me moving - but definitely it takes the ability to deal with boredom to master a multimonth hike.
Last edited by 10-K; 09-27-2016 at 13:55.
What kind of gear did you prefer? Specifically: water filtration, sleeping pad, and Sleeping bag (Down or Synthetic) Did you go to an REI to get fitted for a pack?
I've been considering the : Big Agnes Flycreek ul2 tent & Sawyer Squeeze or Platypus Gravity Filter. I thought I would buy one of those accordion style sleeping pads to give them a try on a weekend trip to see if I like it. If not, I'll pay the extra $$ and get a nice inflatable one.
I really like my Sawyer Squeeze. If you get the adapter it attaches neatly to Smartwater bottles for no spillage and easy filtering. I use an Evernew collapsible bottle for dirty water as it also has the same threads as the Squeeze...Platypus does not match up.
I love my Kylmit Insulated Static V Light. Warm, comfortable and light, compact and easy to store flat in your pack.
I invested in a ZPacks Duplex tent but if I was to go the commercial route I'd be looking at the BA CopperSpur UL2 vs the Fly Creek for more interior space and a side entry, for a few more ozs. Or consider Tarptent for less money and low weight!
It looks to me like you are thinking along good lines. Everything you've listed is great workable gear. There are 1000's of opinions on what is best, nothing you've listed is bad or wrong.
My two cents:
The z-lite accordion pads are awesome if you are a back sleeper, and work for many people that are stomach sleepers. They do not have enough padding for someone that is a side sleeper (especially over the age of 50). I spent several months at one point in my life training myself to sleep comfortably all night flat on my back without a pillow. It took time, but the training worked surprisingly well . . . except, as I have aged, I now have sleep apnea and must sleep on my side or I quit breathing. . . so, with aging joints and sleep apnea, I am now a thick inflatable pad user that suffers pad envy toward all those people that can sleep on their back and get by with simple closed cell foam pads.
I'd be happy hiking for months with a BA Flycreek UL2 and either of the filters you list (I actually use a Sawyer). I personally prefer down for weight, comprehensibility and longevity.
As for pack fitting. Getting a good pack fitting is very important. REI staff can do a good job, or a poor job depending on which staff member you work with (most of them are pretty good). REI offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee for 1 year, so, if you get a pack from them (not a bad choice), take it out and use it with weight and make sure it works for you and that you are happy with the fit you have.
As to the original post question about preparation, do lots of short 1 and 2 night trips, and ideally at least one longer week-length type trip to dial in your gear and more importantly, dial in your habits and practices and your mental sensibilities.
I'm a fan of picking really nasty extreme weather and hiking in a couple miles from your car with what you think is a minimal but complete gear kit to really learn what you can get by with and without while still "close to home". You'll likely find that some of the big important security blanket type things aren't really needed while some little crap like the right hat and an extra plastic bag are critical. . . for instance in nasty weather, a good pee bottle can contribute significantly to a good night's sleep, although most people probably hike the AT without a pee bottle. Being able to use a pee bottle comfortably inside a sleeping bag can take some practice.
Most importantly, have fun.
Last edited by nsherry61; 09-28-2016 at 09:17.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
I used a sawyer squeeze the whole trail. It worked well up until the very end and lasted the entire trail. I carried two of the sawyer bags for dirty water. They didn't last the entire trail but they are only 10 bucks for two and most of the outfitters have them.
My tent was a z-packs duplex purchased at trail days. Highly recommended but very pricey so I know not for everyone. Any of the BA tents served folks well. Be careful about weight. Adding a few ounces here and there quickly turns into a few pounds.
I also used the Klymit insulated v-lite. It is relatively inexpensive compared to most inflatables and was comfortable. The insulated versions of inflatables are a must. You will be cold otherwise.
For sleeping I carried a 30 degree down quilt and a liner. I carried the quilt the whole way and slept with it over me most nights. Some folks were sorry that they bounced their bag forward after the cold nights were gone. The cold nights weren't gone and they suffered for it.
My pack was a z-pack arc blast. Might not be my choice if I did this again. The ULA packs looked pretty good and the Osprey's were really popular. Again, watch the weight as the different models have much different weights. Definitely get fitted and make sure that you put weight in the pack when you do. Good outfitters will have lead weights for this purpose.
Good luck and have fun.
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