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mrphil wrote:
I swear by that too. Putting your feet into cold water to cool them down and reduce some of the swelling is another trick I like. And if you can, changing into fresh socks is like a whole new lease on the rest of the day. For the aches: good footbeds and heavier socks sometimes work wonders. For the joint pain: anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen or naproxen. Stretch it out, too. Camp shoes! I use this pair of OPs that cost me $10 at Walmart.They stay on my feet, weigh next to nothing, allow my arches to flex out...the sooner I'm out of my boots for the day, the better my feet feel the next. Happy moments.
Another thing I like to use to regain some energy, as well as find a generally happier outlook on the rest of the day during lunch stops is something to add to my water. Those little packets of diet Snapple and sometimes diet pink lemonade are better morale boosters than most of the food we end up eating. With diet, it's not so much the sugar rush as it is the flavor that lights you up. That's what we like, but it's amazing how much of a selection there is at just about any grocery store.
YES to all of this. Excellent tips. Those little water add-in packets have literally given me a new lease on life many times. I also find that instant packaged powdered soups, like miso soup powder or etc. that just need hot water, do wonders for jump starting my appetite if I'm not eating enough but not particularly hungry.
I really like pushing myself to hike big miles when I am by myself. When I am with a partner or a group, I'd rather do less miles so we can take more breaks and spend time around camp together. Two summers ago, I did the North Lake - South Lake loop as an overnighter, so a bit under 30 miles each day. I was definitely exhausted afterward, but I never felt like I was pushing myself to a dangerous level.
The best way to increase your mileage is to hike more, as simple as it sounds. I did a bunch of long day hikes during the months leading up to that trip, including a day hike of Mt Whitney, so I knew I was able to handle big miles without injuring myself. My two weaknesses on longer hikes are my hip flexors and my feet, so I make sure to take care of both. I usually start the hike pretty slow to let everything warm up, and stop for some light stretching every once in a while. For my feet, I take a ~10 minute break every couple of hours where I take my shoes and socks off and prop them up on a rock to decrease swelling, or soak them in water if available.
I also start hiking very early in the day, like wake up at 4 AM, pack up by 4:30 and hike a few miles before breakfast. That way I don't have to worry about hiking fast as long as I keep moving. On the North Lake - South Lake loop, I hiked from around 4:30 til 6:00 both days, so on average a little more than 2 mph.
I would do a few short but big mile trips like that before I attempted doing something as long as the JMT while pushing over 20 miles per day though. I definitely would not have wanted to hike another day after that. I would also work on lightening my pack significantly. 45 lb is a lot to be carrying for that long each day. My pack is not "ultralight" but for that trip I had around a 13 lb base weight ( w/out food or water), which definitely helps with hiking bigger miles.
Hmm. The longest I did was trying to extricate myself from a bad knee joint situation (20 miles). It was only a 40lb pack so no big deal.
The one I remember the most is when we got a bear at Ward Lake. Our friend was supposed to send back a packer to carry it out. We skinned it out with head intact. Friend left early and didn't show up. We ran out of coffee and began repacking. I Put the whole hide/head combo in my Kelty and Steve took some weight from my pack. Meat was on ice and we'd come back for that the day after (freak snow storm helped out a great deal.)
75 lb packs each for 11-12 miles. We got the the car with our headlamps on. I dropped my pack about 1/2 mile from the truck and was lucky to even pick it back up. Drove us to the La Grange restaurant in Weaverville. Texted my "friend" we hate you so much right now, and found a nice motel in town. Shower and a good sleep only 3 days late getting out with another trek to recover the meat. My pack with the bear hide/head stayed in the room for free.
I don't do trips like that on purpose. Weaverville was killer!
I like 7 miles a day max now. Age plays into that.
I did not read all the previous posts. I will just answer your original question.
It is not miles, but hours of travel that matter. 20 miles on the flat, on a trail, is absolutedly easier than 20 miles, off-trail, with 6000 feet gain! So when you look at doing a specific route in a certain time frame, you have to do all the tedious math to figure this out. Since you are talking about the JMT, I will just assume only on-trail travel.
The general formula is miles on the flat divided by mph + the time required for the elevation gain. If in shape and acclimated you should be able to do 2.0 - 2.5 mph, and up to 3 mph or more near the end of the trip. In general with a moderate pack it will take at least half an hour for each 1,000 feet of gain. You will need about 15-25 minutes for each stream crossing you have to wade.
So, say to do 20 miles on the JMT, on the average, if you walked 2 mph, and had about 3000 feet gain per day, assuming you would need an additional half hour for each 1000 feet elevation gain, it would take 10 hours to do the distance and 1.5 hours for the elevation gain, for a total day of 11.5 hours. That rate assumes a 10 minute break every hour or so. But it is a pace that if you are in shape, and acclimated, and carry a moderatly light pack, you can do day after day. This is what a lot of the PCT hikers do the first month or so of their trip. By the time they have gone 1,000 miles, a lot of them do 30 mile days. The question is if you WANT to walk 11-12 hours a day. Anyway, if you do the math, you can figure out what mileage you need to do on the average to complete the JMT in your time frame.
In order to do this kind of mileage, you have to be very efficient at setting up and taking down camp. You need to set up, cook dinner and be in the tent in about 1-1.5 hours, and get going on the trail in the morning in 1-1.5 hours. This leads to 13-15 hours of daylight needed. OK mid summer but if you are going in the fall, you may not be able to go as far.
That said, I never decide where I am going to camp based on doing a set amount of miles each day. When I plan my trips, I purposely camp at scenic spots, near water sources. This means I may go 10 miles one day, 15 the next, 7 the next, and 20 the next. If I were to do the JMT this year, at my age (old- I am on Medicare!), and I wanted to go as fast as I could, I would plan for an average of 15 miles per day. I could do 20, but the risk to my old knees would not be worth it.
One of the most important things if you want to do high miles per day, is to get your pack weight down. I take 1.25 pounds of food per day, and my base weight (without food, water and fuel) is about 18-20 pounds with the bear can. I am "light" but not "ultra-light". If you are willing to spend the $$ to get the UL gear, you can easily get your base weight down to 12-15 pounds. There is no need to carry a 40-pound pack on the JMT, even if you do not go UL.
You never want to plan to "push past your limit". That is the stuff athletic races where there is support if something goes horribly wrong. Always have that reserve to be used in the case of REAL emergencies! I have been pushed past my limit, and yes you can do it, but it has been as a response to real survival situations. Thankfully this has not happened many times. You need to really take care of your self when doing these miles. Listen to your body and know what is enough. If you want to test your limit, do it on training hikes, not while doing the JMT.
Bottom line- I think an average of 15 miles day on the JMT, is reasonable for you; 20 miles per day possible, if you get your pack weight down. Start slowly, and work up on the miles as you go. Ideally, you would want more time but that is not to say that you cannot have an entirely enjoyable rewarding trip on the JMT doing high mileage days. You just probably won't have time to fish, poke around and explore, or have too many days off.
I'm more comfortable pushing the miles if there's a steak and beer at the end. Last Saturday proved to me that I'm willing to hike for 14 hours straight and bushwhack through about anything for a Lumberjack Grand Slam. Even if it takes half of the night.
If you don't know where you're going, then any path will get you there.
Jimr wrote:I'm more comfortable pushing the miles if there's a steak and beer at the end. Last Saturday proved to me that I'm willing to hike for 14 hours straight and bushwhack through about anything for a Lumberjack Grand Slam. Even if it takes half of the night.
Which is like a whole other topic: How long and far can you go before thinking of food that you don't have, but wish you did?
...apples, sushi...and running out of coffee ever is getting dangerously close to the moment when I hit both buttons on the ACR.
Jimr wrote:I'm more comfortable pushing the miles if there's a steak and beer at the end. Last Saturday proved to me that I'm willing to hike for 14 hours straight and bushwhack through about anything for a Lumberjack Grand Slam. Even if it takes half of the night.
When I hiked 32 miles, got in my car (shaking from hunger, dehydration and exhaustion), drove 3 hrs home, and RC had cold beers & a hot cooked meal ready to go, I was pretty stoked!
That being said, my slow & steady trip to the meet-up (http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... =1&t=16435) was a bit of an epiphany. Andy has been an advocate of the "hiking is camping" philosophy, which means a constant, moderate pace throughout the day. If you can govern yourself and just manage around a 2mph (or lower), you can cover 20 miles in 10+ hours of hiking. This way, you can see tons of different and varied scenery, but still have the physical presence of mind to soak in your surroundings.
