[pct-l] poor old Ray

[RBALCORN at cs.com (RBALCORN@xxxxxx)]

I'm guessing Ray's limit is his feet, not hours of walking time.  I'm 67, my 
wife is 62 and we walk, backpack a lot - 400 miles on Camino de Santiago in 
Spain in 2001, I did JMT last year, we've done about 100 miles on the PCT and 
side trails this year.

We too have a mileage limit and it seems to hit around 13 miles.  On an 
extreme day we might do 17 miles with a light pack, but normally she carries about 
25 lbs, I carry 30 to 35, and if we do day after day over 12 miles we start 
getting a whole variety of feet problems.  With aging, the skin thins, and is 
less resilient, and I think that's the root of the problem.  We baby our feet - 
stop every couple hours, boots & socks off to cool the feet, stick them in a 
cold stream if available.  We also start walking early, and walk an hour or two 
after supper to get the hours in.  On the Camino, the pack weight is around 
15 lbs, so averaged 13+ miles per day with some longer.  In the Sierras, pack 
weight is more, and our feet are happy if we stay at 8 to 12 miles per day.

Ralph Alcorn
www.backpack45.com
Shepherd Canyon Books
Publisher of We're in the Mountains, Not Over the Hill:
     Tales and Tips From Seasoned Women Backpackers