How many miles are you comfortable pushing yourself to do?

[zacjust32]

To actually answer your question, 25 miles.

But I'm only 21, in good shape, and a sucker for pain. Did Rae Lakes in 2 days last year and loved it. I like being able to see a lot of scenery in a short amount of time, but I don't feel that I'm doing backpacking wrong or nature injustice by pushing the miles. No matter what some people say, going slow is not the only "right" way to backpack. Always remember to HYOH.

[Dave_Ayers]

John Ladd's surveys of JMT hikers (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... GtpbzJ1aXM) show the average peak pack weight for female hikers in in the mid 30's pounds. So reducing the pack weight by ~10 lbs (from 45) would be a good goal and help a great deal.

The average JMT hiker does about 13 mi. per day. To do the full JMT in about 2.5 weeks takes about 13 miles per day, with a range of perhaps 9-17 depending on the day. The long pole is the section from MTR to Whitney Portal which takes 8 days at ~13 mi per day. If SOBO, you'll start with 8 days food (or perhaps 9 for some error margin) at MTR. That should be doable with about a 35 lb load or so.

The other thing is body weight/composition. Getting that extra few pounds off before starting is of great benefit too. Others have already commented on year-round conditioning ...

For a longer hike like the JMT, you don't want to approach your one-day maximum, you want to be well within it and not push yourself near your maximum on any given day. So don't worry about not feeling good doing 20 mi. with 45 lbs. It is beyond what is required to achieve your goals. Think more about training to be capable of doing successive 13 mile days.

[caddis]

Too many variables to give a decent answer, but a lot of it depends on pack weight and temperature. The first is obvious, as to temp, when you are hiking in the heat, especially when it's humid or little wind, your performance drops drastically. If you plan on doing miles, start early and take advantage of the cool air

[AlmostThere]

I'm not comfortable pushing myself, period. Endstop. Done.

Comfort goes out the window. Comfort is the last thing you call it. If I have to I can do that trick where I hike all day, but if that's the cost of doing the trip? I'm doing something else. I only do the long miles if there is an emergency and help must be summoned.

Screw suffering -- screw aching tired feet. I'm out there to enjoy it, and long miles are for the birds.

People exist who live to do crazy things like race through the wilderness at top speed just so they can say they crossed the entire Sierra Nevada in a single day. I know a few of those people but I will never hike with them because I will keep doing my paltry 6-10 mile days and enjoy life to the fullest while they are taking time off work because they blistered their feet end to end and severely dehydrated themselves.

Do what you enjoy, don't compare yourself to people. Normal is a fiction we create.

[happycamper0313]

I got back into backpacking last summer. I am now 39. I have demanding job, 2 little kids, and busy life schedule so working out is often hard to squeeze in, etc. But last year was really able to manage successfully, plus some great weight loss. I was doing 10-12 mile days. I could have definitely pushed it up to 15 if I really needed. But given the routes I chose at the time, it didn't make much sense as I was not really thru hiking. And that included usually ~2K up/down in elevation days.
This summer/year has been far more stressful and harder on my body. I have less gym consistency, regained 1/2 my weight loss, and increasingly stressed. I am setting out this summer with goal of 7-8 mile days just to enjoy the outdoors. I am hoping dropping 5 pounds from my pack weight of last summer will assist me as well so that by end summer hoping feel back up to 10-12 mile days and push 15 one day if feasible.

I think the mileage really varies and dependent on your fitness/body, but also goals. I think distance - as I see it - is often a factor of time and trails you're on. The longer miles to me seem more of a thru hiking mindsight- e.g. JMT/PCT types. I do have my goal set one day to do JMT so I envision that year will need the ability to push 14-17 mile days here and there. But overall, I know my body and needs and as much as I wantto keep walking, I also know pushing much beyond 10-12, I may also be just an exhausted wreck.

Just want to say, I lost 115 lbs and hiking has been a wonderful way to help keep the pounds off! I also have an 8-year old daughter all on my own plus a stressful job, so I very much relate to your situation. Some people yoga...backpacking is my stress-relief! Good luck with your JMT goal

[happycamper0313]

I'm not comfortable pushing myself, period. Endstop. Done.

Comfort goes out the window. Comfort is the last thing you call it. If I have to I can do that trick where I hike all day, but if that's the cost of doing the trip? I'm doing something else. I only do the long miles if there is an emergency and help must be summoned.

Screw suffering -- screw aching tired feet. I'm out there to enjoy it, and long miles are for the birds.

People exist who live to do crazy things like race through the wilderness at top speed just so they can say they crossed the entire Sierra Nevada in a single day. I know a few of those people but I will never hike with them because I will keep doing my paltry 6-10 mile days and enjoy life to the fullest while they are taking time off work because they blistered their feet end to end and severely dehydrated themselves.

Do what you enjoy, don't compare yourself to people. Normal is a fiction we create.

I get what you mean and one day I will have this time. But I live in Orange County. I have weekends, if I am lucky. It's 5 hours just to drive to the heart of the Sierras. It's not that I'm racing, it's that I want to be fit enough to see all the things that give me joy. For 6-10 miles, I can go for a walk in my local park. To get to the backcountry, there is always an expectation for me that I'll have to put the distance in and enjoy along the way.

[AlmostThere]

I get what you mean and one day I will have this time. But I live in Orange County. I have weekends, if I am lucky. It's 5 hours just to drive to the heart of the Sierras. It's not that I'm racing, it's that I want to be fit enough to see all the things that give me joy. For 6-10 miles, I can go for a walk in my local park. To get to the backcountry, there is always an expectation for me that I'll have to put the distance in and enjoy along the way.

Not saying that you are racing - that's a comparison. One person's race is another person's slow trip.

The reality is, by doing all those long mile days before, I exacerbated and in one case caused myself foot issues -- I paid a pretty steep price for not being willing to take the slower road. Someday my feet will require surgery because I was too eager to wear them out, making the bunions bigger much earlier than they would have been. I should have gone to the podiatrist sooner because he probably would have gotten me orthotics sooner that would have helped. But foot soreness was all part of the game. I can't really afford to keep doing it any more than necessary.

You aren't alone in what you're doing by any means, and I get what you're saying, but there's plenty of life left to do things.

[Tom_H]

I'm almost 63 and retired from backpacking now. When I was young, I worked as a guide. When I was 24 I was once on a scouting trip, looking at a new route for leading a trip. I did 26 miles in one day, 16 of it through a pretty hard snowpack. My pack was only about 25 lb. and I did glissade a lot on downhill sections.

You should do what your body tells you is right for you. When I was leading groups, the correct pace of the group was always the speed that the slowest person could go. On the trips we did, our goal was to develop teamwork and cohesion. Being on a scouting trip while in very good athletic shape was a different matter. I was there to do as much recon as possible as fast as possible. That's not the way I normally backpacked.

[Tom_H]

Just want to say, I lost 115 lbs and hiking has been a wonderful way to help keep the pounds off! I also have an 8-year old daughter all on my own plus a stressful job, so I very much relate to your situation. Some people yoga...backpacking is my stress-relief! Good luck with your JMT goal

That is amazing! Congratulations and GOOD FOR YOU!!! I would encourage you to also discuss your diet with a nutritionist. Backpacking food is not really healthy in the long run. When you eventually reduce your packing, your body may want to still continue consuming more calories than you need. This is something I have struggled with over the decades. It is a challenge to stay on a good diet and maintain weight when one can't exercise as much. I wish you the very best of luck!!

[cloudlesssky]

I tend to hike solo and when I do I like to see a lot, prefer to hike trails vs cross country, and really don't like being in camp except to eat and sleep (I bore easily). I also don't like to carry much weight. I've exercised pretty consistently most of my life. This combination allows me to cover 20+ miles in a day with few repercussions assuming I rehydrate properly and eat right. As others have pointed out, there is a virtuous circle in reducing the weight you carry, but there's a limit to this. My current summer multiday pack weight is around 27 lbs.

When I hike with friends we do significantly less miles, spend more time in camp, carry a little more stuff, and I'm okay with that. For me that's more about being with the people than in the mountains, although the mountains are a bonus.