How many miles are you comfortable pushing yourself to do?

[balance]

Greetings happycamper0313

It's great to be young and testing your limits. That's all good. However, you don't sound like a happy camper. It seems like you're putting demands on yourself that's taking all the fun out of what could be some of the best moments of your life.

Why? Is it to quantify how much you've accomplished? Tell people what you've done or live up to someone else's expectations?

Maybe it doesn't sound like much if you tell someone you sat by a stream and heard a symphony, or you stayed still and quiet watching the little trout going about their daily lives. How do you quantify a shooting star? Is there something the trees are aware of that you don't know?

There's beauty and wonder, mystery and knowledge in the Sierra Nevada. It's a good sign that you are smart enough to go up into the high country. Be wise enough to be there.

Peace

[happycamper0313]

I do not see the person who does 20 miles a day, having any more impact on the wilderness, or being in conflict with the concept of wilderness. In fact, there is more impact camping than walking, so the slow going backpacker may have even more impact. As for chatting with someone you meet on the trail, I normally do not do that, no matter how many miles a day I plan to go. I do no see connecting with other wilderness users a necessary part of my wilderness experience; a brief "hi" is enough for me.

The higher milage concept is born a great deal out of the lighter equipment now available. So we now have a choice to go more miles, if we want to. Young people are very energetic and many of them want to do longer miles, than we older folks do.

The original post was someone who had limited time and wanted to do the JMT. She personally experiemented with two daily mileages; one was comfortable, the other not. She simply asked how many miles we with more experience are comfortable doing (with the underlying question if 20 miles a day were too much). The answers were all individual; all different, with some hints on how she could make the longer miles more comfortable. Who is to say her goal, the JMT in 2 weeks, is NOT an wilderness experience? Section hike it? An entirely different feel, not a bad idea or wrong, but not doing the entire trail at once. The question was if it was feasible; not a judgement or disapproval of doing the JMT in that time frame.

The issue of poor enviromental behavior or bad "trail" behavior is separate from the amount of miles you hike every day. The issue of constant communication, on route blogs, and all those electronic gadgets on a wilderness trip, is also a separate issue from daily miles. Over-use in wilderness areas is more a result of too many permits, or no permits, rather than anyone's style of hiking. I agree that these issues need to be addressed.

What I see in a lot of the posts here is the "old guard's" idea of a wilderness exprience is at odds with today's youth. I have been on the other end of that in alpine climbing- coming of age with the new "Yosemite method" of climbing vs the old pre WWII expedition methods. I see new methods, not replacing the old, but just giving us more options.

I too will get up on my soapbox!

I LOVE this answer. You understood the point of my post exactly. I have no desire to do miles for miles sake, I have a desire to experience as much of the wilderness I can in a limited amount of time. And I also am open to the fact that 20+ miles is not feasible nor enjoyable for me, especially as I train for it more and still have a difficult time. Time will tell.

One thing remains constant in my case, however - I am definitely the type of hiker that enjoys the scenery as I walk. Hiking for me is a therapy for my anxious, energetic yet introverted personality. Even when I put my pack down and 'rest' beside a lake or stream, I wander around and explore. I have to keep moving to be happy. This is why backpacking has such an appeal for me - walking to reach a destination while the journey being just as exciting as what you're going to see!

[Hobbes]

This PCT hiker just hiked 62 miles during a 24 hour challenge:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXfu05FHj5- ... wanderlust

You can scroll back a few photos to see the progression from start to finish. All I can say is, imagine what kind of shape you must be in to even consider this possibility? Hiking 20-25 mile days must seem like a casual stroll in the park.

[rlown]

This PCT hiker just hiked 62 miles during a 24 hour challenge:

How was the fishing?

[Clown Shoes]

I would look at your pack weight. You can easily cut about 20 lbs off of that amount and be safe and comfortable in the back country.
Look at your big three - pack-shelter-sleeping bag, quilt Some places to look is Backpacking light forums, vendors like packs, Mountain Laurel Designs, Hyperlite Mountain gear, etc. Shoot for a base weight at a reasonable 10-11lbs, which is everything except your food and water. Go to AndrewSkurkas website as well. Youll be able to easily do 20 carrying half the weight. Another great site is Adventure Alans. On that site itshows his transition from when he started backpacking carry heavy loads to where he is today, lot of good information there. good luck