So I've been gimped up of late. A hip has been bothering me since I did the big rake job on my yard. Usually I use the mower one last time in the fall to scoop up the leaves and pine needles but my mower is in sore need of some TLC. The hip is much better now so I expect to get in couple of short runs this week and another hike on the weekend. I'll probably take my camera out on the bird watching loop to play it safe.
In the meantime I picked up a Backpacker magazine so I could check up on all the recent innovations in walking. It had a really weak article about "how to do anything in the woods" with helpful suggestions on how to find water anywhere like - climb to the top of a hill and look for water or find water on the ground. Luckily I salvaged some of my dollar value in a surprise article about the AT. I don't really want to focus on At specific research until I've completed the Adirondak trail and I am sure I`m willing to spend seven months of my life walking but it was full of fun facts.
The trail has many shelters some that are maintained and run like wilderness retreats with stores and everything. The article talked about not bothering with too much advance planning. Mailing stuff to postal stations in advance is considered unnecessary as there seems to be a trail industry to sell whatever the hiker may want along the way. Itineraries with "this shelter by this date" are considered counterproductive. It also mentioned that one shouldn't plan to do the whole trip with one set of gear. One sleeping bag will not suffice for the cool spring and the hot summer and the author suggested a new pair of boots every 4-500 miles! That seems ridiculous to me although he did suggest light synthetic (pathetic) boots. I figure leather boots and a can of Saddle soap.
Oldest person to thru-hike the AT: 81
Youngest person to thru-hike the AT: 6
Fastest thru-hike (unofficial): 47 days, 13 hours, 31 minutes. Thats an average of about 72 km per day!
Fastest thru-hike (unofficial): 47 days, 13 hours, 31 minutes. Thats an average of about 72 km per day!
3 comments:
72 km per day??????? Holy Crap! Thats 7.2 km an hour for 10 hours a day for 47 days ...... thats 6 km an hour for 12 hours a day ..... thats not hiking....... I went for a walk in Long Lake Park on Sunday before I was going to pick up Khalehla after work. I have to remember to bring a map..... or a water bottle .. or both ..... anyway, the plan was to walk in for an hour and then loop back and have lots of time to casually go in and get Khalehla ..... well I must have missed a "loop" because even though I knew I was travelling in the right directions I guess I wasn't paying that much attention to how much ground I was covering ... Imagine my surprise when, after an hour ad a half, I came out in Spryfield many kms away from where my car was parked and on the opposite side of the lake. Had to turn around and basically sprint back to a cross path that should have told me I wasn't where I should have been ... anyway, took the cross, many rocky muddy areas and many blown down trees later I got to the Lake and had to skirt the shoreline (in the wrong direction first - its a much bigger lake than I was thinking), backtracked until I got to a familiar spot and then back to the trail - just under 3 hours after I started my 1 hour in and 1 hour out walk I made it back to the car 10 minutes before I was supposed to be picking her up .....google earth says I covered 12 kms in 2 hrs and 45 mins - 4.5 km/hr.... and I didn't waste much time .... and I was tired at the end of that one - needless to say I was glad I had a water bottle in the car.... and I was glad I had put on my hiking boots - they worked well - leather, with about 50km under their belt now .... the weekend before I did a 14 km hike on the Bluff Trail (Indian Hill Loop) - click my name for the link - spent 6 hours out there including stopping to cook lunch .... pics to follow from that one ......
12 kms in under 3 hours! It sounds like I`m the one who needs to get trained up.
but I was beat after 3 hours - my day would have been done - you'd catch me and pass me and do another 12 kms while I was puffing and panting and sucking back water. HAHAHA
Surprised myself when I tracked it and realised how far I went - I was thinking it had to be 10 km just based on my speed and time but google earth says 12 km .... and I did take a short break in the middle...
Post a Comment