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What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

outsideonline.com

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Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#71

Post by et-al »

yupyupp wrote: post #68

A long thru hike is something I've always wanted to do. I was planning on hiking the AT or PNT after I finished university. But, now that I'm a few weeks away from graduating/starting my job, its not something that's financially possible for me. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to find time for something like this later in life?

Do it between jobs, or work for a company with a decent leave policy. My friend took 6 months off from Google last year.

Once you're out of debt and have the savings: do it. It's generally easier to do these things before other responsibilities start having higher priorities.

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#72

Post by 13of40 »

jspotanski wrote: post #69
yupyupp wrote: post #68

A long thru hike is something I've always wanted to do. I was planning on hiking the AT or PNT after I finished university. But, now that I'm a few weeks away from graduating/starting my job, its not something that's financially possible for me. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to find time for something like this later in life?

I know an individual from Microsoft who's managers were kind enough to allow him a 6 month absence to hike the PCT. He thru hiked it this Summer and is now back on our team, as productive as ever. I'm sure this situation isn't exclusive to Microsoft. If you're valued as an employee and want to do something like this, make your wishes known to your management and see if they're willing to work with you. If you never a…

Well, there's Microsoft, and then there's my wife... But seriously, I've been thinking about walking from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass for a couple of years now, so maybe this summer is the time.

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#73

Post by et-al »

nradov wrote: post #43

Good article, but just to nitpick a 0.3% hemoglobin A1c change over only 2 tests doesn't necessarily mean anything. Normal people can vary by that much from week to week due to a variety of factors. We would have to see multiple tests over a longer period of time to tell whether there was a real reduction.

Agree. The hormonal differences could have be attributed to the stress of preparing for this big event versus not working and being out in nature for a month. Or even things like the time of day, or sleep the night or two before. Would've been helpful to have more numbers over a longer period of time.

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#74

Post by cpncrunch »

ktRolster wrote: post #48
cpncrunch wrote: post #25

So the question is: at what point does this kind of long-term exercise turn from beneficial to burnout/overtraining? https://www.outsideonline.com/1986361/running-empty And can you reliably predict it beforehand? Having suffered from burnout/CFS, I would be very careful about doing something like this, and I'd be on the lookout for early warning signs such as elevated heart-rate, anxiety/depression, excessive fatigue…

I would suggest it becomes burnout when you don't get enough nutrition or sleep to recover reliably.

I had normal sleep and nutrition, and so did most people I know who burned out. However, insomnia can be a symptom of burnout (I had severe insomnia, but it a symptom rather than a cause).

I do know of one person for whom sleep deprivation seemed to be a contributing factor, along with other stresses associated with military service.

In general burnout seems to be caused by chronic physical/mental stress.

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#75

Post by crazygringo »

Hiking is great, but it seems like you can get the same effects a lot more efficiently -- eat less calories and no carbs (to reduce body fat and train your body to burn fat), and do heavy lifting at the gym (to raise testosterone).

It doesn't require an 8-hr-a-day program :)

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#76

Post by M_Grey »

Dowwie wrote: post #36

I came across three emaciated, bearded men on the continental divide trail in glacier national park. When I asked one of them where he was from he looked at his buddies and they all replied excitedly, in unison, "Mexico!". It was at that moment that I came to realize that these men were one day away from completing the entire thru-hike. I vividly recall one of their dinners: Dried ramen noodle, straight from the bag.…

Your comment made me think of Bill Bryson's accounts of how people change on the trail in 'A Walk In The Woods'. Good book if anyone is considering a thru-hike, and it's just a fun read anyway.

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#77

Post by M_Grey »

crazygringo wrote: post #75

Hiking is great, but it seems like you can get the same effects a lot more efficiently -- eat less calories and no carbs (to reduce body fat and train your body to burn fat), and do heavy lifting at the gym (to raise testosterone). It doesn't require an 8-hr-a-day program :)

Some people have this weird idea bout taking a walk through nature. :|

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#78

Post by griffinmmahon »

chrismartin wrote: post #24
justinator wrote: post #2

I've done quite a few very strenuous, multi-week races on bike, including riding the Colorado Trail in 7 days [0], and riding to, then summiting all the Colorado 14ers in 34 [1] - as well as participating in the Tour Divide [2] twice. I would call my fitness before these races as "peak", but I wouldn't call myself anything but near, "onset of over training syndrome" afterwards. The only thing I experienced similar to…

The conditions of a race are very different from a thru-hike done for enjoyment. I got the best sleep of my life on the PCT. 8-9 solid hours each night (sometimes I would wake up to eat), and an hour nap after lunch every day.

Your comment has me fondly remembering a backpacking trip in Wyoming. We'd go to sleep around 8 or 9 since it would get dark before then and wake up at about 7, and the sleep was indeed the best of my life, like coming out of a coma.

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#79

Post by diebir »

bootload wrote: post #7
justinator wrote: post #2

I've done quite a few very strenuous, multi-week races on bike, including riding the Colorado Trail in 7 days [0], and riding to, then summiting all the Colorado 14ers in 34 [1] - as well as participating in the Tour Divide [2] twice. I would call my fitness before these races as "peak", but I wouldn't call myself anything but near, "onset of over training syndrome" afterwards. The only thing I experienced similar to…

"One thing that stuck out with me is that they only hiked for 8 hours/day. That seems like a light day! compared to these races," Really. Carrying a 20kg pack for eight hours over rough terrain is less strenuous than bike riding? Do this for over 500 miles? Ever done this before? Hike on foot with 20kg packs on consecutive days? Make camp, make food, rest, break camp. Everything on your back. This is a lot more stren…

Experienced thru hikers have packs with base weight of 6-7kg in summer. The total with food and water 9-12kg.

Re: What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

#80

Post by morgante »

By far the best shape I've ever been in was after hiking the 270-mile Long Trail in high school. It's the only time on my life—before or after—that I've ever been not overweight. The amazing thing about thru-hiking is that you can start in any shape and come out healthier.

For a while last year I toyed with the idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail. I even did a few practice hikes of a week or two, but ultimately realized that even if I completed the trail I'd gain all the weight I loss right back, the same way I did after the LT (by continuing a high-carb diet).

Now I'm on keto and cutting carbs was by far the best health choice I've made in my life. It's still a dream of mine to hike the AT though (probably not for a long time though, as my startup wouldn't survive absence).

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