Other/Mixed Preparing for a hike?

[the hansenator]

At Jay Cooke State Park near Duluth in Minnesota, I've been wanting to hike out to one of the overlooks across the park. If I read the map right, it's about 6 miles one way. I've been feeling good and doing a lot of walking lately and am starting to feel like I could do it but is there a way to know if I'm ready?

I've had a couple setbacks but am coming back strong now. As of yesterday I can walk about two hours and feel tired but pretty good. That's mostly non-stop without resting or water or anything (it was kind of spontaneous). At the park I plan to spend the whole day and take breaks and pack a lunch and stuff so it will be a more relaxed pace but also further than I've probably gone in one day before. I'm thinking of taking a day off work around mid-October and am excited. I just don't want to bite off too much so I'm looking for some guidelines or advice. Thanks.

 

[offwidth]

What is the terrain like and how much elevation gain and loss will there be? That plays a much bigger factor than distance. 12 miles in a day is not really that far... on well maintained and mostly flat trails. Add a thousand meters elevation gain over rocky trails... all bets are off.

I don't recall your fitness level, or injury history but with a light pack and good terrain you might be able to do 3 miles per hour. Add some breaks and accounting for a slower pace, you might want to plan a 6 hour round trip.

There is a quote I remember from Mountaineering, Freedom of the Hills... that goes something like...'no matter how tired your legs feel they always have one more mile left in them'

Take lots of pics...

 

[the hansenator]

Thanks for the reply.

There's no mountains or anything and it's a state park so the trails are fairly well maintained. It's Minnesota hilly so it goes up and down a lot but not too far at a time.

I have a history of foot and back pain over the last 10 years or so which made it painful to be on my feet and I became severely deconditioned. Physical therapy helped and I'm feeling pretty good now. My goal at the beginning of summer was to work up to walking for an hour. I'm doing that fairy routinely now and have went up to a couple hours on occasion. Legs are weak because the foot/back pain made strength training difficult. I've been working on that but am focusing on my hiking goal first.

I did find out today that I'm in a lot better shape than some people I know.

I feel like I'll be able to do it, even if it ends up being hard. It's been a while since I've been on a hike that challenged me, I used to love that.

 

[Matts]

what's the rush? Jus switch to the trails, but keep up the same time progression you've been following and see how you feel. I googled the park, and it looks like a great place for hiking with lots of different trails and a great suspension bridge. Looks like you could piece hikes of any distance you wanted and they'd all be great.

If you stuck to the same amount of time you've been doing, you'd give yourself a chance to adapt to hiking and softer, less even terrain. Then just build up the way you've been doing it. When you know you're ready, go for it!

 

[fractal]

Do you currently carry weight on your walks? You’ll want to bring water, food, jacket, etc if you’re out all day. Challenging terrain + increased distance + weight might be too many new variables at once.

I’d suggest gradually adding weight to your walks if you’re not already. I have an old hip irritation that plays up when I push hikes too hard. Funnily enough I got it from several 12+ hour, hard paced day trips within a few months, with no preparation and a reasonably heavy pack.

Getting back to walking a couple months ago, I jumped into a longer walk with hills and uneven rocky terrain +8kg. Took me a few weeks to get my hip right from that. Building up slowly I’m pretty comfortable having done +10kg for 35 and 70 mins and +4kg for 3 hours in the past 3 days. Nothing impressive, but that would have been way too much a month ago.

In summary, gradually increase your pack weight on your short walks to beyond what you’ll be carrying for your hike

 

[North Coast Miller]

Carry a small pack for a few leading up so its not uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Take your time and stay hydrated, fed, I will sometimes even on shorter hikes bring a small alcohol stove and coffee/tea/hot cocoa. A hot drink on the trail does wonders for the spirit.

My big three when preping for a hike if I haven't been getting out much:

Make sure your socks and footwear are comfortable over distance and that they are tolerable at the least even if they get wet.

Don't trim your toenails within a day or three of hiking if you can avoid it.

Use a walking stick and one that is light weight and has good gripping surface - I often use staghorn sumac for mine. Bamboo also a good choice. Am not a big fan of the folding ones.

 

[the hansenator]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

what's the rush?

Technically, there is no rush. It's just that it's a 140 mile drive each way so I don't get up there very often and I know that if I don't go before the snow flies it won't be until next year. I've been looking at it for years, waiting until my back/foot problems improve enough to consider it. I'm feeling better now than I have in a very long time and am eager to get to it.

I'll start with a pack tonight. Maybe 10 pounds for a short distance and start building up.

Hot drinks on the trail sounds wonderful.

 

[offwidth]

Whilst training with weight in your pack is a good idea, you should pack as light as safely possible on the day you do your hike...

 

[fractal]

Carry a small pack for a few leading up so its not uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Take your time and stay hydrated, fed, I will sometimes even on shorter hikes bring a small alcohol stove and coffee/tea/hot cocoa. A hot drink on the trail does wonders for the spirit.

My big three when preping for a hike if I haven't been getting out much:

Make sure your socks and footwear are comfortable over distance and that they are tolerable at the least even if they get wet.

Don't trim your toenails within a day or three of hiking if you can avoid it.

Use a walking stick and one that is light weight and has good gripping surface - I often use staghorn sumac for mine. Bamboo also a good choice. Am not a big fan of the folding ones.

There’s something I really enjoy about using a tramping pole to negotiate technical terrain. It must light up a certain problem solving part of my brain as I decide where to best place the artificial appendage.

Unfortunately, I think the pole was largely to blame for my hip trouble. Despite my best efforts to keep the single pole use balanced between my sides, it was probably 70/30. The counterforce of having to drive harder with the leg opposite to the stick cooked my hip and I just pushed through.

Great tool, but learn from my mistake. I’d still opt for a single pole going forward as I like a free hand to grab branches and other holds when things get really hairy. Double poles seem a bit too mechanical and cumbersome despite being way more efficient on easier trails.

 

[North Coast Miller]

@ fractal,
I mostly use it only when packing a respectable load, but I find it really helps on any walk over technical terrain or even to help with long elevation changes up or down.
I use it like changing tension on my shoulder and hip straps, so sometimes I might almost be dragging it along and sometimes I'll be leaning all over it.

Without a pack I'm happier unencumbered.

 

[the hansenator]

So are there guidelines or training plans for walking? It only recently occurred to me that you could actually train for something like that. Like - if you're sore from the day before, is it still productive to go out or should you make it a light day? How about carrying a pack - Are there light/medium/heavy days? Is it anything like trying to run better? What would a training week look like?

I've just been doing as much as I can tolerate. I've been kind of stiff or sore for about three weeks now but am having a blast getting out as much as I can.

 

[fractal]

@ fractal,
I mostly use it only when packing a respectable load, but I find it really helps on any walk over technical terrain or even to help with long elevation changes up or down.
I use it like changing tension on my shoulder and hip straps, so sometimes I might almost be dragging it along and sometimes I'll be leaning all over it.

Without a pack I'm happier unencumbered.

I've found it to be really essential for descents on slick, steep clay trails where even with 2 points of contact, your feet can shoot out from under you and for water crossings. I think it's a bit of crutch (literally) on uphills, which makes me load my lower extremities in an uneven way. Despite this, I'll use it if I have it.

 

[fractal]

So are there guidelines or training plans for walking? It only recently occurred to me that you could actually train for something like that. Like - if you're sore from the day before, is it still productive to go out or should you make it a light day? How about carrying a pack - Are there light/medium/heavy days? Is it anything like trying to run better? What would a training week look like?

I've just been doing as much as I can tolerate. I've been kind of stiff or sore for about three weeks now but am having a blast getting out as much as I can.

I'm no expert, but first I make sure I can handle a route without weight and then gradually add as I get used to it. My progression criteria is that my traps are not screaming for me to take the weight off at the end, no other soreness and that I feel like at any given point on my route, the weight wouldn't interfere with me defending myself. Also that it doesn't impact my recovery or strength training for the next few days (I'm a bit flexible on this one for the weekly long walk as it's followed by a rest day) - I keep going for a couple weeks after I reach that point and then add 2kg.

I have 2 weights I use depending on the length of the walk. Currently short walks of 30-90 minutes are done with 10kg. My weekly long walk has been done with 4kg last couple weeks. I'll bump that up to 6kg by October.

I tend to do one long walk and 2+ shorter walks per week, limited by schedule, etc. Recently got a HR monitor which has been very useful for ensuring I stay aerobic.

I use walking as a halfway point between active recovery and aerobic training, so I tend to keep it easy enough that I'm not feeling it the next day. The weight is more to keep my heart rate up while my dog sniffs stuff and meets other dogs.

 

[North Coast Miller]

So are there guidelines or training plans for walking? It only recently occurred to me that you could actually train for something like that. Like - if you're sore from the day before, is it still productive to go out or should you make it a light day? How about carrying a pack - Are there light/medium/heavy days? Is it anything like trying to run better? What would a training week look like?

I've just been doing as much as I can tolerate. I've been kind of stiff or sore for about three weeks now but am having a blast getting out as much as I can.

Personally I try to use the same shoes/boots I'll be hiking in. Also using a similar weight load can be helpful.

I once broke in a new pair of boots by jogging 1-2 miles with 40lbs of water in my pack several times a week. Got out on the trail with a pack weight approx 65lbs and at a regular walk, within a mile my heels were blistered and I actually had to do surgery on the boots with a leatherman to continue the hike.

Another strange bit of specificity. I am always concerned about my footwear and how my feet will hold up. If I struggle actually hiking I just slow down. Have actually stopped hiking in mountaineering boots entirely and now will hike in sneakers if I don't have a pair of well broken in/proven boots at hand.

 

[the hansenator]

I set a date, Oct 19th. I took the day off work.

I went to a local park for a dress rehearsal today - I had to loop around a bit but managed about 12 miles in 4 hours. Most of the park is "Minnesota hilly" - the hills aren't that tall but go up and down a lot and are enough to work my legs and make me stop to catch my breath on occasion. Was pretty tired by the end. My left shin was getting sore and my glutei medii (I think) were really feeling it. Besides that it seemed ok. I wore my hikers and don't have any blisters. Not bad considering that earlier this year a 45 minute walk seemed like a lofty goal.

I learned a couple of things:
- Eat breakfast
- Bring more food
- If the temp is like today was, a pair of gloves would be nice

I still have about three weeks to prepare and am trying to decide the best use of that time. Is one long hike per week about right and is there a way to know when you've reached a point of diminishing returns? There's no point going farther than is productive if it will just increase recovery time. I was also thinking of one or two smaller walks with a heavier pack and maybe a medium walk.

 

[fractal]

I set a date, Oct 19th. I took the day off work.

I went to a local park for a dress rehearsal today - I had to loop around a bit but managed about 12 miles in 4 hours. Most of the park is "Minnesota hilly" - the hills aren't that tall but go up and down a lot and are enough to work my legs and make me stop to catch my breath on occasion. Was pretty tired by the end. My left shin was getting sore and my glutei medii (I think) were really feeling it. Besides that it seemed ok. I wore my hikers and don't have any blisters. Not bad considering that earlier this year a 45 minute walk seemed like a lofty goal.

I learned a couple of things:
- Eat breakfast
- Bring more food
- If the temp is like today was, a pair of gloves would be nice

I still have about three weeks to prepare and am trying to decide the best use of that time. Is one long hike per week about right and is there a way to know when you've reached a point of diminishing returns? There's no point going farther than is productive if it will just increase recovery time. I was also thinking of one or two smaller walks with a heavier pack and maybe a medium walk.

I’m not sure I get much more out of 3 hours than I get in 2. So that’s my point, I suspect it’s individual.

I’d suspect your single leg balance or knee foot ankle alignment is poorer on that side. Pistols have done wonders for my hip in that respect. You might want to play around with very easy regressions holding onto something. Or single leg deadlifts. Watch where your knee tracks walking up stairs. You’d should drive through your heel and feel it in your Glutes. Whatever you do, take it easy and focus on perfect practice. You can’t grind this kind of motor control with grit, and you don’t want to stir anything up with overuse only 3 weeks out.

If your shin hurts I suspect you land hard on the downhills. On shorter walks really focus on placing your heel down with control on the downhill. The shins decelerate your foot from slapping the ground and get overloaded by pounding downhill. This may point to hip weakness on the opposite side, making you rush the swing phase of your gait -> hard heel strikes. Just some ideas and universal advice.

 

[the hansenator]

The last couple miles felt like kind of a slog. I'm pretty sure I was in dominishing returns by then.

Pistols have done wonders for my hip in that respect

The physical therapist actually gave an exercise that's a little like pistols, I should start doing it again.

This may point to hip weakness on the opposite side, making you rush the swing phase of your gait -> hard heel strikes.

That actually sounds about right. I've had some issues with the right glute med.