Video:Learn to Love Taht Hill (Foothills Trail Thru Hike Attempt)

[Shug]

That heat can beat a feller down! Has me before. Cut a trip short on the Pow-Wow Trail here in MN one July (pre-hammock) so hot and humid that butterfly were not flying but flopping! Tons on black flies and more skeeters than I have ever encountered. I blazed out and cut it two days short.
I actually got heat-stroke on the trip and had to lay in the trail and force myself to eat a Cliff Bar and drink. I was solo and found myself staggering off of the trail. Glad I made myself rest.
Good TR.....
Shug

[FLRider]

That heat can beat a feller down! Has me before. Cut a trip short on the Pow-Wow Trail here in MN one July (pre-hammock) so hot and humid that butterfly were not flying but flopping! Tons on black flies and more skeeters than I have ever encountered. I blazed out and cut it two days short.
I actually got heat-stroke on the trip and had to lay in the trail and force myself to eat a Cliff Bar and drink. I was solo and found myself staggering off of the trail. Glad I made myself rest.
Good TR.....
Shug

I hear ya, Shug. The heat was bad on this trip, but I think it was my lack of total fitness that killed me even more than that. Workin' on it...

Also, thanks for making all of those songs from your jam session available; they definitely helped me stay awake on the overnight drive on up to SC!

[Phillipsart]

Humidity and heat is a challenge. I don't mind the heat, but humidity is a killer down my way during summer. I'm enjoying the cool winter weather where having at this moment.

[Rain Man]

I actually got heat-stroke on the trip and had to lay in the trail and force myself to eat a Cliff Bar and drink. I was solo ....

I thought if one got a heat stroke alone, they would no longer be with us? Or are you just using the term loosely? The terms used with heat "stroke," "exhaustion," etc., or whatever have always confused me!

Rain Man

.

[Raul Perez]

sucks that you guys got beaten by the heat. That underwater shot with the camera was awesome.

Well at least you guys got to get out and enjoy a lot of the trail.

FL Rider - I come from relatively flat land by me so scaling up to 2,600 feet was going to be a chore for me when I started my long hike. What made a big difference was doing stair master and summit climber machines at the gym along with squats and leg presses. Before I left I was leg pressing 500 lbs on the machines and squatting 470 lbs and doing the summit climbers for 20 minutes at 4 mph before the weights. Might help out next time.

Great video!

Stay Gangsta,

Raul

[FireInMyBones]

Humidity and heat is a challenge. I don't mind the heat, but humidity is a killer down my way during summer. I'm enjoying the cool winter weather where having at this moment.

The weather has been rainy and cool since Tuesday here and I'm glad for the relief. Humidity can be a bear here too.

I thought if one got a heat stroke alone, they would no longer be with us? Or are you just using the term loosely? The terms used with heat "stroke," "exhaustion," etc., or whatever have always confused me!

Rain Man

.

Heat exhaustion symptoms include: pale clammy skin, lots of sweat, feeling very tired, and nausea.

Heat stroke symptoms include: red hot and dry skin, no sweat, hallucinations, and unconsciousness.

sucks that you guys got beaten by the heat. That underwater shot with the camera was awesome.

Well at least you guys got to get out and enjoy a lot of the trail.

FL Rider - I come from relatively flat land by me so scaling up to 2,600 feet was going to be a chore for me when I started my long hike. What made a big difference was doing stair master and summit climber machines at the gym along with squats and leg presses. Before I left I was leg pressing 500 lbs on the machines and squatting 470 lbs and doing the summit climbers for 20 minutes at 4 mph before the weights. Might help out next time.

Great video!

Stay Gangsta,

Raul

I like that training regime WM. I ran hills along with the stairmaster and high rep/ no weight squats in prep for the trip. It was hot, but I plan on making it back out there this fall. Want to join me? I'm not sure if it'll be a three or four day trek, but the trip planning has already begun. I'm looking at the end of September- mid October.

[FLRider]

sucks that you guys got beaten by the heat. That underwater shot with the camera was awesome.

Well at least you guys got to get out and enjoy a lot of the trail.

FL Rider - I come from relatively flat land by me so scaling up to 2,600 feet was going to be a chore for me when I started my long hike. What made a big difference was doing stair master and summit climber machines at the gym along with squats and leg presses. Before I left I was leg pressing 500 lbs on the machines and squatting 470 lbs and doing the summit climbers for 20 minutes at 4 mph before the weights. Might help out next time.

Great video!

Stay Gangsta,

Raul

Thanks, Raul!

Before the trip, I spent every second day out at the local stadium for an hour to an hour and an half--between 2,400 stairs up, 2,400 stairs down to 3,600 stairs up, 3,600 stairs down in sets of 48 each with either one or two five-minute breaks. The last week before the trip, I did it with my full packweight plus four pounds.

It wasn't enough. It wasn't my ability to go upslope over short distances (those totals come out to be ~0.7 mile and ~1 mile respectively), but over an whole day. I guess my total cardio wasn't enough. And I know my core strength wasn't enough, nor my long-term endurance in my calves and feet (muscle spasms on the second day convinced me of that).

My actual peak leg strength is fine: I can put up over 500 lbs on the leg press sled most days and can calf raise over 600 as five-rep max outs. It's the repetition of it that got me, in addition to the heat. And I'd not trained in squats before the trip, so my core strength didn't back that up for stabilizing the pack on slopes.

I think I need to work harder on peak cardio endurance (most of my work before the trip was in the fat burning zone rather than the cardio zone, which is where I was for most of the afternoon). Interval training and large movement weight training/calisthenics seems to be the trick here. Which is pretty much what FIMB recommended to me with the CrossFit suggestion and you're recommending to me with the gym workout. I guess I should probably listen to the two guys who keep themselves in shape like you two do.

Hopefully, come next Fall, I'll be in shape enough to just power through the trail. I don't take failure well--especially when that failure is due to my own ill-preparedness. I have zero intention of letting the trail get the better of me.

[Raul Perez]

Guys I would love to hit the trails with you but I burned a lot of days this year for my long hike and I'm saving days for the november turkey hunt. Plus the cost to hit the trails by you would be too much and cut into my wedding fund.

Yes cardio is also key I was doing interval runs for 2.5 miles 3-4 days a week on the treadmill alternating between 6 mph up to 8.5 mph to get some lung capacity.

To be noted I'm a 6 "P" person - Proper Preparation Prevents P!ss Poor Production. So my training starts no later than 3 months before something strenuous like a long distance hike or fight. You really need to get to know your body in failure conditions to understand how to break the barrier. Month 1 being the learning curve and assessing my current condition along with instituting a strict diet.

End every workout session with 100 reps of abs and increase that after 3 weeks by 50 reps. Also incorporate weights in ab routines which will foster much stronger core.

Another thought besides the heat was maybe knocking out 20 miles in day one was a bit too much. I aim for a more gradual increase. And as you stated the constant 10-12 hours of hiking can take a toll on the calves and lower back. My trail legs came in day 4 and the pain dissappeared on day 5. Maybe extend the trip by a day or two and knock out less miles. I know that can be a pain especially when you are scheduling around work and family. Just a suggestion as I'm still a noob to all of this hiking stuff.

[FLRider]

Guys I would love to hit the trails with you but I burned a lot of days this year for my long hike and I'm saving days for the november turkey hunt. Plus the cost to hit the trails by you would be too much and cut into my wedding fund.

Yes cardio is also key I was doing interval runs for 2.5 miles 3-4 days a week on the treadmill alternating between 6 mph up to 8.5 mph to get some lung capacity.

To be noted I'm a 6 "P" person - Proper Preparation Prevents P!ss Poor Production. So my training starts no later than 3 months before something strenuous like a long distance hike or fight. You really need to get to know your body in failure conditions to understand how to break the barrier. Month 1 being the learning curve and assessing my current condition along with instituting a strict diet.

End every workout session with 100 reps of abs and increase that after 3 weeks by 50 reps. Also incorporate weights in ab routines which will foster much stronger core.

Another thought besides the heat was maybe knocking out 20 miles in day one was a bit too much. I aim for a more gradual increase. And as you stated the constant 10-12 hours of hiking can take a toll on the calves and lower back. My trail legs came in day 4 and the pain dissappeared on day 5. Maybe extend the trip by a day or two and knock out less miles. I know that can be a pain especially when you are scheduling around work and family. Just a suggestion as I'm still a noob to all of this hiking stuff.

I'd love to come on up and hike in New England some time, but it won't be this year or next; my funds and time off are fairly limited and already mostly planned for those two. Maybe the year following? I dunno. I'll start planning come February or so for that year, so I'll get in touch with you if I think I can get it together.

As far as the planning, I agree completely. This trip was a learning experience, and I (hope that I) carried away some definite lessons that I'm going to apply to my next one.

Thanks for the workout advice. Maybe I should start a separate thread for that to avoid derailing this one...hrm...

The mileage was definitely a factor, but I'm completely capable of doing back-to-back twenty-milers down here on the flat. In the mountains, I've discovered, it's a different ball game altogether; what twenty miles feel like on the flat is what twelve to fourteen miles feels like in the mountains. One of those "learning experiences" that are just so much fun.

I think, on the next try, that the four-day plan we had as a backup will be the primary, with a five-day as the backup (17 to 20 mile days as the primary, instead of 20 to 30 mile days--and 14 to 17 mile days as the backup). I'm sure, that with over a year of training, I can get there.

And you're no less of a newbie at this than I am; you've done more hiking miles (probably by an order of magnitude) than I have, for certain. I might have more miles traveled by muscle power with an hammock, but that's only because a bike runs about four times as fast as feet. And, aside from the cardio and weight loss benefits, that don't help much when I'm hiking. So, I'm perfectly willing to listen to what you've got to say; most of it makes a lot of sense!

Thanks for the advice, and the well-wishes. I'd be glad to host you should you ever make it all the way on down to sunny Gainesville!