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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

#111

Post by [deleted] »

morgante wrote: post #81
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.…

> I vividly recall one of their dinners: Dried ramen noodle, straight from the bag. I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I've eaten that on hikes. For my next long hike I'm probably going to ditch my stove completely: it's not so much the weight, but personally the last thing I want to do after a day of hiking is cook.

[deleted]

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

#112

Post by jon_richards »

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.…

The best foods for backpacking are actually peanut butter, salami (depending on the brand), cheese, and nutella. They all have roughly the same calorie density at about 70% fat. Toblerone actually comes surprisingly close (even compared to other chocolates/candies).

Raman noodles or tortillas or something like that are generally used as a carrier for those foods to keep you sane, but they aren't very good from a weight to calories standpoint. M&Ms are also common, as they are easy to eat and keep well.

Some people actually just drink cooking oil, but it's rarely worth the tiny bit of extra weight efficiency.

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

#113

Post by jamii »

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…

The old-school method is to get a grip dynamometer and keep a daily log. If your grip strength suddenly takes a dive you need to take some recovery time. Lot's of other indicators seem to work too, eg resting heart rate, but grip strength is really easy to measure reliably.

https://www.trainingbeta.com/why-do-i-suck-at-climbing-some-...

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

#114

Post by reneherse »

morgante wrote: post #80

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 real…

Best of luck in making a permanent change in your lifestyle. I've been maintaining a low carb diet/lifestyle (paleo inspired) for over ten years, so it is indeed possible, with enough habit building.

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

#115

Post by sk5t »

dmtroyer wrote: post #82
M_Grey wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Agreed but don't waste your time with the film

Correct. The movie is beyond atrocious. One particular soundstage set is actually insulting.

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

#116

Post by morgante »

reneherse wrote: post #114
morgante wrote: post #80

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 real…

Best of luck in making a permanent change in your lifestyle. I've been maintaining a low carb diet/lifestyle (paleo inspired) for over ten years, so it is indeed possible, with enough habit building.

It's definitely the best diet I've ever tried. After the first week I stopped craving carbs at all. Plus I feel full all the time.

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

#117

Post by mikegillman »

eigenvector wrote: post #55
munificent wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are the easy steps. You forgot: 0: Acquire the free time and money to not have to work, take care of others, etc. for extended periods of time.

No, that's irrelevant because of all parent's 3 points could easily be part of a job like land or mineral surveying, field biology, forestry, and so on. You don't have to quit working to go outside and walk around all day.

Not realistic for many people who live far from rural areas.

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

#118

Post by bootload »

hsitz wrote: post #93
bootload wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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…

""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," Actually, this is probably true. 8 hours a day, averaging 18 miles per day for 486 miles over 29 days is not that much. I don't see where they say they had 20kg packs, which is quite high weight for a thru-hiker. (EDIT: See now where he says he had 40 pound pack, which is probably at heav…

" 8 hours a day, averaging 18 miles per day for 486 miles over 29 days is not that much."

Have you done this?

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

#119

Post by gydfi »

morgante wrote: post #81
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.…

> I vividly recall one of their dinners: Dried ramen noodle, straight from the bag. I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I've eaten that on hikes. For my next long hike I'm probably going to ditch my stove completely: it's not so much the weight, but personally the last thing I want to do after a day of hiking is cook.

I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I've eaten that while not on a hike.

"Sure, I could boil some water. Or I could just sprinkle seasoning on the top and eat it now..."

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

#120

Post by BarkMore »

somethingsimple wrote: post #26

How does one get started doing this kind of thing? Ever since moving to the US, and specifically to the PNW, I've been wanting to hike, but I don't know where to start. People here seem to grow up used to it, but I don't know what equipment I need, what food to bring, how to get to the trails (do I drive? what if there's no parking?), etc.

The Washington Trail Association (http://wta.org) is a great resource for hikers and backpackers in Washington State.

See http://www.wta.org/hiking-info/basics for introductory information about hiking and backpacking.

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