Bridge overpasses a viable training substitute?

[mclaught]

Hi all, I tried the search function but didn't get much help, so sorry if this has been addressed before. I will be attempting my first section hike next May (Springer to Bly Gap), and I'm currently pretty much a middle-aged couch potato living by the beach. I've started walking a couple miles two times a week carrying my full pack (25-30 pounds), but there are no hills around here and I really have no point of reference to know what I'm getting myself into once I get dropped off in Georgia. I've hiked in the Appalachians before, but just day-hikes to see a waterfall or something.

What I do have is a nearby bridge that crosses the intercoastal waterway. It rises 80 feet over a span of roughly 1000 feet and then 80 feet down again over the same distance. If I can walk back and forth across that thing for five miles, do you think that will be just enough to get ready for the trail, is that complete overkill, or will I still not be ready for the hike up Blood or Tray Mountains? Or would it just be better to find some stairs/bleachers and walk up and down those.

Thanks in advance for any help and insight. I just don't want to get out there and find out I'm completely unprepared.

[HooKooDooKu]

Definitely not overkill as the grade is only 8% based on the numbers you provided, because the grades on the trail are going to be more like 10% to 20%... so if anything, that's not going to be enough of a grade to really train.
Of course one thing that can help is to walk with a heavier pack than you expect to carry... Try getting used to a 50lbs pack if your pack can support that much weight.

[nsherry61]

Also, depending on how far you want to hike during your trip, you will probably want to increase your distances and frequency of hiking significantly before you start out. In the end, you can always hike the hike your body is ready and willing to do when the time comes, but plan accordingly. If you are up to 7 miles of flat terrain and 3 miles of hilly terrain in a day that's fine as long as you are happy with that and plan accordingly.

As another alternative that may add variety to your training and increase your leg strength for hill climbing is cycling. There is nothing that can increase leg strength and endurance like cycling. Hiking is the best way to train for hiking. But, hiking, even hiking hills, will not give you the leg strength and endurance combination that cycling can.

[grubbster]

Find a local sports stadium and walk up and down the stairs. A couple of hours a day with a pack should be good training.

[Venchka]

You need a rest day weekly. But only ONE rest day in a row.
Take your time getting up to 50 pounds in the pack. Like a month. Add distance and number of days walked. When you get to 6 days in a row and a decent distance then work on reducing the time for the distance. Then start adding weight. 10 pounds a week should be good. Slow down, shorten the walks and reduce weight at the sign of pain or possible over training injury.
Bicycles are FUN! You might find bike touring more fun than backpacking.
Wayne

[BuckeyeBill]

Bike touring over Hiking? Surely you just. My arse hurts enough already. Why would I want to jam a hard seat to the mix?

[Venchka]

A. I was talking to the OP.
B. If you haven’t tried it......
Wayne

[nsherry61]

Bike touring over Hiking? Surely you just. My arse hurts enough already. Why would I want to jam a hard seat to the mix?

Because bike touring allows one to cover many more miles in areas with roads with much less foot stress and much less impact driven knee stress. Given a choice between backpacking in a wilderness or bike touring, I'll take backpacking. Given a choice between backpacking a popular trail with road walks and bike touring, geez, I love bike touring! Bike touring is an awesome way to see the country! Bikes suck for slower, spiritual bonding with nature.

[nsherry61]

Bike touring over Hiking? Surely you just. My arse hurts enough already. Why would I want to jam a hard seat to the mix?

Because bike touring allows one to cover many more miles in areas with roads with much less foot stress and much less impact driven knee stress. Given a choice between backpacking in a wilderness or bike touring, I'll take backpacking. Given a choice between backpacking a popular trail with road walks and bike touring, geez, I love bike touring! Bike touring is an awesome way to see the country! Bikes suck for slower, spiritual bonding with the wildness of nature.

[MtDoraDave]

Much more boring, but if you have a gym membership and can hog a treadmill for hours at a time, turn up the incline and maintain a climb for a couple hours (with your pack, of course)

I read the book "A Walk For Sunshine" by Jeff Alt, and that's how he prepared - and he was doing 20 miles out of the gate.
.
I do conditioning hikes here in central Fl, substiting speed for hills... The cardio is good and the core workout is good, but there's no training for hills like hiking hills.

[BuckeyeBill]

A. I was talking to the OP.
B. If you haven’t tried it......
Wayne

Because bike touring allows one to cover many more miles in areas with roads with much less foot stress and much less impact driven knee stress. Given a choice between backpacking in a wilderness or bike touring, I'll take backpacking. Given a choice between backpacking a popular trail with road walks and bike touring, geez, I love bike touring! Bike touring is an awesome way to see the country! Bikes suck for slower, spiritual bonding with nature.

I didn't mean to slam bike touring, more just joking, except about my tender tush . I will agree about pounding out miles on roads, very hard on both feet, knees and hips. That is one thing about the CDT I hated.

[BuckeyeBill]

A. I was talking to the OP.
B. If you haven’t tried it......
Wayne

Because bike touring allows one to cover many more miles in areas with roads with much less foot stress and much less impact driven knee stress. Given a choice between backpacking in a wilderness or bike touring, I'll take backpacking. Given a choice between backpacking a popular trail with road walks and bike touring, geez, I love bike touring! Bike touring is an awesome way to see the country! Bikes suck for slower, spiritual bonding with nature.

I didn't mean to slam bike touring, more just joking, except about my tender tush . I will agree about pounding out miles on roads, very hard on both feet, knees and hips. That is one thing about the CDT I hated.

[mclaught]

Ugh, not what I was hoping to hear! OK then, time to get crackin and get off my butt. I will stick to the stairs and overpasses, I know if I started biking, I'd just turn it into a nice leisurely ride and not get any benefit from it. I appreciate all the feedback, and I'll give any updates as needed. Thanks again.

[Uncle Joe]

Beach sand can provide a fair simulation to climbing.

[nsherry61]

I didn't mean to slam bike touring, more just joking, except about my tender tush .

I took no offense whatsoever! Lots of people that haven't spent enough time on bicycles to find the right bike that fits right with the right seat have horrible and nightmarish experiences and sentiments. It is understandable. And then there are some poor missguided soles that have never found the bliss and joy of bicycle touring . . . We can't all live the good life afterall.

[Riocielo]

Living in south Alabama, we found training for hiking a difficult thing as well. I tried the stair master at the gym and walking on treadmills with the incline up, but they didn’t seem to have that much impact on my actual hiking. Now we walk a lot, 150-200 miles a month, and hit the hills at a local golf course.

The best things I did to make hiking easier was to reduce my pack weight by six pounds and reduce my own weight by 68 pounds. That made a tremendous difference in my hiking!

[gracebowen]

Personally I can't stand a treadmill. I have managed to tolerate up to 10 minutes.

Hiking when I can I enjoy very much. I can easily hike even on somewhat hard trails for 3 or 4 miles even though I only hike occasionally.My longest hike with a pack was 61/2 miles. Unfortunately I bailed on that trip and hitched back to my car the next day.

Oh and for at least a mile I was carrying 2 packs because my daughter was miserable. I mention this because maybe with just my pack I would have felt better the next day.

I'll find out soon I hope. I'm planning a 5 1/2 mile hike next month.

Imho any training is better than none.

[HooKooDooKu]

I have found mountain biking to be a great way to keep your knees in shape for hiking... but you can't really "mountain bike" along the relatively flat coastline.

[BuckeyeBill]

You can check with the gym and see if they would increase the incline for you. Then you can increase the level of difficulty on the treadmill. Of explaining to them why you need to do this will help as well. As others have suggest adding weight to your pack will help ass well. Build up the increase of incline slowly, as well as the weight. Eventually going pass your projected target weight. He** they may hire you to teach a backpacking class.

[peakbagger]

I ran into an older section hiker in Maine once that was on his last year or multiyear thru hike. He lived on the beach in florida. His approach a start out walking 10 miles barefoot on the beach near the waterline (so the sand was firm) then transition to the beach away from the water and then start carrying the pack. His claim was the hot sand toughened up his feet.