30 votes

How many days does it take to reach hiking X miles per day?

I don't think it works like you think it works. If you're trying to build your distance, you might do 8 miles one Saturday, then the next weekend do 8 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday. The next, 10 on ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 26.1k
23 votes
Accepted

How many days does it take to reach hiking X miles per day?

There are a lot of factors, but for the Appalachian Trail there are a lot of hikers so it can give us pretty good insight into the time it takes for the average thru hiker to reach maximum mileage per ...
StrongBad's user avatar
  • 10.7k
13 votes

How many days does it take to reach hiking X miles per day?

Months not days. Walking is a sport. Like any sport, you need to train your sport-specific muscles over months before you start getting really serious. If not, instead of getting progressively ...
Graham's user avatar
  • 2,219
12 votes

How many days does it take to reach hiking X miles per day?

Its going to depend on the person and the terrain, from experience it takes about 5 days to week to really hit your stride, but that will depend per person and some people take much longer to really ...
Charlie Brumbaugh's user avatar
10 votes

How many days does it take to reach hiking X miles per day?

It will depend so much on the individual. I think your numbers are aggressive. You should do some training and start at more the 10-12. And finish at like 14-16. Your legs, heart, shoulders, ...
paparazzo's user avatar
  • 7,156
10 votes
Accepted

On average, how often do people thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail resupply?

According to the 2016 Halfway Anywhere Survey of PCT hikers: The average days on trail was 145 and the length is 2,650 miles (4265 km). The average number of resupply stops was 26 If you subtract the ...
Tullochgorum's user avatar
  • 11.7k
7 votes
Accepted

Why are long-distance hiking trails in the USA so much more famous than in Europe?

In the more densely populated areas of Central Europe these long distance trails just seamlessly blend in with regional or local trails, so while the whole, say, 2690 km of the EB Eisenach - Budapest ...
cbeleites unhappy with SX's user avatar
7 votes

Are pets allowed to thru-hike US National Scenic Trails?

NSTs do not have a uniform set of rules. That said for the major trails, there are good websites that can answer many of your questions. The ATC website says that dogs are NOT allowed in 3 areas: ...
StrongBad's user avatar
  • 10.7k
6 votes
Accepted

Are pets allowed to thru-hike US National Scenic Trails?

No. They can be on the vast majority of each trail, but in most cases the land agencies along the way still have their own rules, and many National Parks (and some state parks) forbid pets on trails. ...
Jonathan Patt's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Can a dog thru-hike 2500 miles in 6 months?

People have taken dogs on long thru hikes in about that time. This summer my dog was (I’m fairly certain) the first to complete a thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail. We began our adventure ...
Charlie Brumbaugh's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

Mother is attempting full Appalachian Trail next year - how can I help her now and while she is doing it?

It's great that you're being so supportive, but there's a limit to what you can do to help. Thru-hiking is all about self-reliance, so your mother really has to develop her own skills and mental ...
Tullochgorum's user avatar
  • 11.7k
4 votes

Mother is attempting full Appalachian Trail next year - how can I help her now and while she is doing it?

I suggest that you and your mother read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. For a look into the book, including sections of text, see here. It also comes ...
ab2's user avatar
  • 23.4k
4 votes

Is a type of walking trailer a good alternative to a heavy backpack in off-road conditions?

I made a hiking "wheelbarrow" out of an old external frame backpack by bolting a pair of swoop handle bars to the top, and a Monty BMX wheel to the bottom. It was pretty awesome, I made it for an ...
ShemSeger's user avatar
  • 53.5k
4 votes

Can you tell which way is uphill on the great plains?

(Un)Follow the water. Water will always flow down-hill. If you go in the opposite direction to the current, you will be travelling uphill. If you were randomly placed and have a map showing waterways, ...
bob1's user avatar
  • 9,709
4 votes
Accepted

How do new thru-hikes get established?

I would contact the Appalachian Trail Conservancy or The Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association and inquire about the best way to go about this. Many long distances trails were established long ...
Malcolm Kogut's user avatar
4 votes

Where can I find an online elevation profile of the Cohos trail?

My suggestion would be to create a path in Google Earth and then view the elevation profile of the path. Here is an example of what that would look like, One caveat, Google Earth underestimates the ...
Charlie Brumbaugh's user avatar
3 votes

Why are long-distance hiking trails in the USA so much more famous than in Europe?

I'd say borders are the main reason such trails aren't famous. Well nowadays with free movement within EU, borders aren't an issue. But that is just quite recent history. Also lack of common language ...
Communisty's user avatar
3 votes

How can I prepare physically for a long distance thru-hike such as the Pacific Crest Trail?

As a general rule, to develop strength and endurance in doing X, you need to do X. Thus, I suggest that (1) the OP continue to take two day hikes, with a heavier pack than he has in the past; (2) ...
ab2's user avatar
  • 23.4k
3 votes

How many people have done a triple triple?

As far as anyone knows, no one has done a triple hike of each of the Triple Crown of Hiking. That said ... None of the three trail conservatories keep very rigorous records; instead they make ...
William's user avatar
  • 284
3 votes

Long term autonomous winter expedition northern Quebec/Labrador: Advices/questions

River crossings: I've done a couple dozen three week trips on the Canadian Shield, most in Northern Saskatchewan, but also northern Alberta and the N.W.T. I think the following will be applicable to ...
Sherwood Botsford's user avatar
3 votes

A winter month in New England - what to do, looking for thru-hikes or other suggestions

Thru-hiking/backpacking an established trail for multiple weeks, do-able in winter The longer hiking trails in ME, NH, and VT, apart from the AT, like the Long Trail and the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail ...
StrongBad's user avatar
  • 10.7k
2 votes

A winter month in New England - what to do, looking for thru-hikes or other suggestions

You've already done the AT, so know what the terrain of the Berkshires, Green Mountains, and White Mountains is like. Obviously that gets a lot more difficult with 2-6 feet of snow on the ground. ...
Olin Lathrop's user avatar
  • 21.4k
2 votes

How can I prepare physically for a long distance thru-hike such as the Pacific Crest Trail?

GENERAL CONDITIONING As @ap2 has said training is quite task-specific, so the priority for hiking hills with a heavy pack is to get out as much as possible and hike hills with a heavy pack. You want ...
Tullochgorum's user avatar
  • 11.7k
1 vote
Accepted

Can you tell which way is uphill on the great plains?

While you are unlikely to be able to identify the uphill trend of such a large area, water is the key to doing so if limited to natural features. It would be difficult to follow water to the absolute ...
cr0's user avatar
  • 3,939
1 vote

Where is the true northern/eastern end of the Grande Traversata della Alpi?

According to the Italian language Grande Traversate delle Alpi, Vol. 2, the GTA continues to the Lago Maggiore, which (unlike any other description I've seen) would be consistent with the photo I took ...
gerrit's user avatar
  • 27.1k
1 vote
Accepted

Blister Prevention/ Heel hardening

I think that if your feet are going to harden, then they're going to harden. Chances are you just don't get out as often as you used to. I used to have massive calluses on my heels, but I simply don't ...
ShemSeger's user avatar
  • 53.5k
1 vote

What are the advantages of a double sleeping bag?

There can be a slight weight savings for a double bag over two single bags. This is difficult to fully calculate, especially if one person sleeps warmer than the other or if there is a height ...
StrongBad's user avatar
  • 10.7k
1 vote

Is a type of walking trailer a good alternative to a heavy backpack in off-road conditions?

I've used the Wheelie for several years now. I've walked up in all kind of conditions, like over mountains, on dirt roads etc. It's my way to go. My last project was called Restless-WalkMore in 2017. ...
jorgen's user avatar
  • 27

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