[at-l] who's ready?

[rambleon@email.unc.edu (Jeremy Reiter)]

>      I know that what rambleon writes is the accepted Conventional Wisdom, 
>      but does anyone else DISagree? On LIMITED but indismissable 
>      experience, my wife and I have _cruized_ over pieces of trail
>      which I remember as horrendous. Latest was Davenport to Hot Springs, 
>      with the kiddies. Before that was Mt Sterling in the Smokies -- roughly 
>      4300 feet in one continuous 5 mile climb -- with the kiddies. Back in 
>      '93 it was Georgia with 10 days worth of food (Yipes! Out of planning 
>      practice, eh, Tenderfoot?). I've done these "in shape" and not, and "in 
>      shape" was nothing, and out of shape was horrendous. (I will admit, 
>      too, that I dismiss tendonitis and shinsplints as symptomatic of 
>      over-indulgent pack weights. I could be way wrong here.)

Mt. Sterling sounds almost as bad as the Stecoahs (leaving Wesser/NOC and hiking
north)! I think there are more false summits there than bog bridges in Maine :-) As
for the tendonitis and shinsplints, i think that both pack weight and pushing miles
too early can be factors. Some hikers suffer from one or the other (pack weight or
pushing), while others suffer from both. Just MHO. 
 
<snip>     
>      My point, though, still holds -- and that is that you CAN get 
>      physically "in shape" for a throughhike. Anyone who disagrees with 
>      this contention should feel free to challenge Alison (trailname 
>      upHILL) to a stroll up Shuckstack. My money's on her.

I agree that you can get "in shape" for a thru-hike, i just think you'd be hard
pressed to get in "thru-hiker" shape without actually climbing mountains. Do you go
pretty ultralite? I can see not having many problems if you went ultralite, but the
_vast majority_  of people who start with intentions of thru-hiking are not
ultraliters. I also know that there are exceptions to every "rule", so i wouldn't
doubt the veracity of anyone claiming they were "in shape" before they started. I
just think they would be the exception rather than the norm. I don't think that
doing stair-master and walking around on flat neighborhood roads with a pack on can
really get you in thru-hiker shape. You'll probably hurt less and be less winded at
the top of the uphills than a lot of other hikers, but you won't be in the same
shape as a thru-hiker who's made it to Damascus, IMHO. I also think that even if you
felt good enough to hike 15 miles a day right off the bat, _unless you were going
ultralite_ , _most peoples_ bodies  would eventually have some injuries going over
the tough mountains of GA/NC/TN at that pace. Could be wrong though... wouldn't be
the first time (or last) :-)  Now i'm not saying it's useless to do things to get in
better shape before you start, and i'm also not saying that it won't be any easier
if you do some of these things. And i also want to emaphasize that i'm talking about
what your body has to be ready for to withstand the rigors of a _thru-hike_, not a
section, and i'm talking about the majority of hikers who start... most of whom are
not ultraliters. 
  
>      Oh, and lastly, I thoroughly look forward to the Dominos portion of 
>      the 80cc Y2K2K training!!! Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!

Order after 9:00... you put more weight on with late night feedings :-)

Walk with light,

-Rambleon-


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