35-50 km a day?!?!? .... 20-30 miles a day?!?!?
To trek
across Canada in 3 years from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic along
The Great Trail, I need to only average 35 km a day. Which – believe it or not – is not a huge or
insurmountable distance to walk in a single day.
From my
experience there are several types of reactions from people when you mention
how long and how far you walk each day on a long distance trek or thru-hike:
(1)
“How
long? Oh my goodness, I could never go
that far. You can’t physically walk that
far in a single day that is impossible!”
This reaction usually reflects
people who don’t know their bodies or their potential. Even those many of these people walking at
work, at home, and around the office walk almost that far each day
themselves.
(2)
“How
long? Ya well I do that everyday, anyone
can do that. Geez actually you should be
going further!” This reaction, unless
you are talking to a triple crown hiker, a global trekker, or an Australian
athlete – all of whom likely do hike further than this regularly, also reflects
people who don’t know their bodies or their potential.
(3)
“How
long, how far? Hmmm. Ya not bad, if you can’t do it now you will
be able to in a week or so, take your time, listen to your body, you’ll get
there. Best of luck.” This is the voice of experience, patient, and
encouragement. This is the voice of
those who have done it, are likely still out there, and want others to be safe
and enjoy their treks.
On my first
two thru-hikes I frequently became unnerved by the first two answers. I spent days alternating between thinking
such distances where impossible, and feeling frustrated as those more
experienced and athletic individuals raced past me on the trail. I have spent weeks in my tent at night
wondering whether I should even be on trails.
Did I have the physical ability? Could
I complete the trek in the set amount of time?
What must others out here think of me hiking so slowly? In short I became burdened with questions
that only led to more and more worry, more uncertainty....and which did not
nothing to improve my hike and which ultimately were beyond my control. I was hiking other people’s hikes, and
determining my pace and achievement by the standards set by others.
Months and
years later I have come to see that the expectations of others, the judgments
and critiques got to me for one reason – I didn’t know my own body, what my
limitations are, and what my full potential is.
I didn’t know myself.
I don’t
think most people – who like me drive each day, use public transit to go a few
blocks at lunch time, or who live at a desk – actually know their physical
abilities or their own potential anymore.
It is one of the vices of modern society – we have lost our connection
to nature, we don’t know what our bodies can do, or what our limits are. In fact, I suspect a large number of people
who being walking along urban trails, set out to tackle the AT or take a off to
venture along the Camino De Santiago want to undertake a personal challenge and
reconnect to the world in a way that our lives often just fail to do anymore.
I know lots
of people – who are skilled and athletic (I am not) – who feel that walking
10-15 km or 5 miles a day is an impossibly long distance. The concept of regularly trekking 20-35 km a
day for weeks or months on end is simply not believed as possible. I am not physically adept, nor do I work
out. I am the sort of person who prefers
ice cream and chocolate over vegetables and health food. Even my own mother describes me “as being so
frail that a wisp of wind could blow me away”.
Yet, after about 4-5 days of regularly hiking 20-25 km or 12-15 miles, I
got used to it and that “impossible goal” soon represented my morning’s trek. To put
this into perspective even a
leisurely stroll of 3 km per hour would get you 15 km in 5 hours which means
you can also hike 24 km in 8 hours! This meant that that after about 2 weeks I
was regularly pushing 30-40 km by the early afternoon.
On my more recent long distance and thru-hikes I have begun
to listen to the third answer more and more.
Yes it has taken me a long long time to get to the point of not judging
how I am hiking, not pushing myself beyond my comfort zone or being worried at
night about the distances others are covering.
These days I figure, we’ll all get there in our own ways – like life, we
all hike our own hike - but for now I want to enjoy the moment.
Now lets be
clear I am talking about hiking on flat terrain, along pathways, or roadways –
not bush whacking up the sides of mountains there. I am the first to admit that terrain changes
everything (looking at you Pyrenees! And you Rocky Mountains!), but even then,
you do get used to it….and after some time and some adjustment (and yes some
tears) you get to know your body, you begin to push your limits, and you are
hiking just as well as the next person!
So as we
enter the busy season for trekking – with people setting off to begin their AT,
PCT, and CDT in the USA. With hikers
getting ready in the spring to get to Santiago for the Festival of St James in
Spain and as the intrepid throughout Europe people begin to set out along the
GR trailways – I have two pieces of advice.
First, get out on the trail, see what you can do, see what you are
comfortable doing, and then day by day push it a little further. Listen to those who want to help you, but
most of all listen to your own body. You
aren’t in a competition with anyone else, don’t be set back by the abilities of
others – you’ll get there. Then one day,
step by step, you will have completed the AT, the PCT or the Camino de
Santiago. The dirty secret of thru
hiking – is that anyone can trek long distances – it is in the deciding to get out
there that is the real challenge. Every voyage seems challenging and impossible
when viewed as a whole. 500 miles across
France of Spain, 2100 miles along the AT, 2700 miles along the PCT, 3100 miles
along the CDT, and 15000 miles along Canada’s Great Trail are too large to get
into your head. But today’s hike of 10
or 20 or even 35 miles is manageable.
Get up the next hill, through the day, get to the next resupply point,
get to the next state line and step by step you will be amazed at what you can
do….when you get to know your body and your own potential.
Second, be
patient with those who are slow strollers, those who are burdened by their
equipment or who are the last to stumble into the camp, albergue, or gite late
at night. We were all there at one
point.
To those setting out on a trail for the first time, challenging
themselves with a long distance trek or thru-hike in the coming years is to
take your time, enjoy the moment, recognize that everyone struggles at the
outset, and in time (actually in surprisingly short period) your body will get
used it and get you exactly where you need to be. Enjoy the moment, enjoy your hike, and enjoy
your time in nature.
Remember we are all pulling for you and want you to
succeed.
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