Welcome to the AppalachianTrailCafe.net!
Take a moment and register and then join the conversation

Starter

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • HI everyone!

      First off I'm starting off completely as a newbie in trail hiking. I grew up in the PA country side (which is slowly being developed grr) and would take small hikes into a camp site that my dad found during the summers on the Susquehanna. I know basic camp information but I think it's waaaay different than trail hiking. I am looking for a starting point and could use suggestions on how to start training. I Am planning on using my osprey 65 ag bag with weight and hiking in the woods (not roads) 3 miles in an hour and amping it up to 4. Other than that kind of training there seems to be so much info out there that it's over whelming. I just need a little direction on where to start! Thank you for any help!
    • Welcome.
      I am not qualified like others to discuss specifics of trails near you (a bit far away) but the hiking on a trail is easy. Don't fret about the little stuff. The simple way to get started is with a pack, a tent, a sleeping bag and a stove. All as cheap or simple as you can easily borrow or buy.
      You go on a couple of 1 or 2 night hikes, learn whether you really want to do more and then start replacing gear with lighter, more expensive gear that suits you more. Along the way you make friends and get a taste of what kinds of trail you like. Somewhere along the way you realize that you have joined a worldwide community.
      :)
      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.
    • I agree with Oz, get some very basic gear to determine if it's for you, then develop your gear from there. Try to find others in your area that hike, how much you enjoy a hike depends a lot on those you sit around the campfire at night and chew the fat with. I joined a Meetup group in a nearby city that does mostly day hikes but a few 3-4 day hikes each year. Once you start you'll gradually meet more folks to hike with. Once you're comfortable doing multiday hikes with others you'll probably want some trail time alone once in a while just to enjoy the silence. Happy trails!
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • Welcome to the café Kat9maui.
      Like someone said, hiking is the best training for hiking.
      If you're still in PA I'd bet that you're not far from some trails and you might find that info at the website for the Keystone Trails Association
      As for getting into backpacking and camping that's a natural extension from enjoying hiking and the outdoors, allowing you to take longer and longer trips that suit your interests and available time. There are people here with a lot of experience that can help you with that.
      And based on your profile photo I'm guessing you're a woman, so make sure to check out the section of the café just for women. You'll find that there are a number of women active here at the café that have some good experience in the outdoors and I'm betting they'll be along before too long.
    • Welcome Kat9maui!

      I hiked (i.e. walking in the woods) now and then as I grew up and then as a young adult but it wasn't until I was older when I began backpacking. As far as training for it, it definitely depends where you intend to hike. I'm a flatlander so if I hike/backpack here, not much training is required other than to develop some endurance. However, in the mountains is entirely different. Cardiovascular is so important there. I didn't have trouble with my legs, it was catching my breath and it just took 84 miles of hiking up and down mountains before I was able to do so without having to stop frequently.

      As far as I'm concerned, there are 2 very important things to keep in mind. The first is your feet. You must take very good care of your feet meaning well fitted shoes (or hiking boots if you prefer them), good wicking socks and taking shoes and socks off breaks every now and then. At the very first feeling of a hot spot, you need to attend to it immediately. Personally I use duct tape but others use different methods. The second important thing is to go as absolutely as light as possible in what you bring along; from your sleeping bag, shelter (tent, hammock, tarp), backpack to what all you put in it. This is one time that while you want to be prepared, you need to pare down to the absolute essentials, that includes clothing!
    • Welcome to the Cafe. A few pieces of advice for you:
      1) we are a bunch of smart asses
      2) most here have a lot of hiking experience and are always ready to help.
      3) we pride ourselves on thread drift
      4) sarcasm is a way of life and perfectly acceptable
      Enjoy
      RIAP
    • Trillium wrote:

      Welcome Kat9maui!

      I hiked (i.e. walking in the woods) now and then as I grew up and then as a young adult but it wasn't until I was older when I began backpacking. As far as training for it, it definitely depends where you intend to hike. I'm a flatlander so if I hike/backpack here, not much training is required other than to develop some endurance. However, in the mountains is entirely different. Cardiovascular is so important there. I didn't have trouble with my legs, it was catching my breath and it just took 84 miles of hiking up and down mountains before I was able to do so without having to stop frequently.

      As far as I'm concerned, there are 2 very important things to keep in mind. The first is your feet. You must take very good care of your feet meaning well fitted shoes (or hiking boots if you prefer them), good wicking socks and taking shoes and socks off breaks every now and then. At the very first feeling of a hot spot, you need to attend to it immediately. Personally I use duct tape but others use different methods. The second important thing is to go as absolutely as light as possible in what you bring along; from your sleeping bag, shelter (tent, hammock, tarp), backpack to what all you put in it. This is one time that while you want to be prepared, you need to pare down to the absolute essentials, that includes clothing!
      If your Doctor is a tree, you're on acid.
    • Welcome and Hi,
      3 MPH? I've been walking like 3 miles a day, and up to 8 and a half on a weekend day. I average 17 minutes per mile, with a day pack (water and not much else). When I've backpacked in Arkansas mountains, with around 25 pounds on the back, I am usually around 2 MPH for the day (16 miles in a day with just two breaks plus a lunch break). Maybe I'm slow. But most everything I read is start slow, with little weight and ramp up slowly. There is a saying on long trails "Too Much (weight), Too Far, Too Fast, spells disaster a LOT". It you do hike out and back for training, remember that you can't hike till you are tired, or hurting, or out of water. You have to turn around well before those points.
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork
    • For planning I use 2 MPH and usually do around 2.25, it pretty consistently takes me 9 hours to do 20 miles regardless of terrain and not pushing myself, and I realize that doesn't make sense but it works out that way. I take a morning and afternoon break and a lunch break and don't stop for anything else unless there's a good view. I did a hike once and was going to hitch the 20 miles back to my truck but there was no traffic and I had to walk. I started out trying to do 4 MPH which is a normal walking speed for me, this was in some big hills, was able to do it for about 2 hours, then it tapered to 3.5, then 3, then the turtles were passing me.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • A good starting place would be to find out how many miles you can hike and under what conditions, i.e. elevation gains/losses, etc. Then you can start planning day hikes and gradually increase your distance and speed, and add some challenges like elevation gain, full pack, etc. If you haven't already, research your local, hiking trails and give them a try.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Kat9maui wrote:

      HI everyone!First off I'm starting off completely as a newbie in trail hiking. I grew up in the PA country side (which is slowly being developed grr) and would take small hikes into a camp site that my dad found during the summers on the Susquehanna. I know basic camp information but I think it's waaaay different than trail hiking. I am looking for a starting point and could use suggestions on how to start training. I Am planning on using my osprey 65 ag bag with weight and hiking in the woods (not roads) 3 miles in an hour and amping it up to 4. Other than that kind of training there seems to be so much info out there that it's over whelming. I just need a little direction on where to start! Thank you for any help!
      I live in PA. and this is my go to for trails other then the AT... Awesome map/guide books, too...
      pahikes.com/
      1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish...
    • If you already have the skills needed to carry your gear a mile from the road to a campsite and spend the night happily, you're really pretty much good to go. Just start with low mileage until you know what your body can handle.
      I'm old, and I can't manage to get away from the lab bench nearly as much as I'd like, so I know for me that's 8-12 miles per day. Around the time that I'm itching to up the daily mileage, vacation is over. I don't do that much in the way of training for the small amount of hiking I manage to get in. I walk a couple of miles a day with a daypack weighted with a computer, books, and a couple of water bottles. For me, what's important about it is just as much mental as physical. It gets me accustomed to walking outside whatever weather comes. There have been days I've done my commute in facemask and goggles, wearing microspikes.

      You don't need to push the speed unless you're training for ultra-racing or something. As much as people around here like to boast, I think the typical hiker plans something like 2 miles an hour, add an hour for every thousand feet of elevation gained. Maybe more like 3 miles an hour if it's a roadwalk. Add time for stream crossings, bushwhacks, route finding, rock climbing and so on, if you expect to encounter such things. (The A-T has only a handful of significant stream crossings, no whacks, a clear and clearly marked treadway, and no climbing beyond Class 3 - so hikers using the A-T don't need to think much about any of the above.)

      If you can hike at a leisurely pace and sustain it for ten hours a day (after a month or so getting your body used to the trail), you can hike the A-T in four months, even taking Sundays off. Sustaining even that leisurely pace is harder than it sounds, and most thru-hikers take five to six. But it's all about keeping going, and not about speed or awesome athletic performance.

      If the others here disagree with me, believe them! Long distance hiking isn't my thing - a seventy-mile section last year was the longest hike I've done since my college days. But I've been out for a lot of short hikes over forty-odd years of hiking, and hopefully learnt something along the way.
      I'm not lost. I know where I am. I'm right here.
    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      If you already have the skills needed to carry your gear a mile from the road to a campsite and spend the night happily, you're really pretty much good to go. Just start with low mileage until you know what your body can handle.I'm old, and I can't manage to get away from the lab bench nearly as much as I'd like, so I know for me that's 8-12 miles per day. Around the time that I'm itching to up the daily mileage, vacation is over. I don't do that much in the way of training for the small amount of hiking I manage to get in. I walk a couple of miles a day with a daypack weighted with a computer, books, and a couple of water bottles. For me, what's important about it is just as much mental as physical. It gets me accustomed to walking outside whatever weather comes. There have been days I've done my commute in facemask and goggles, wearing microspikes.You don't need to push the speed unless you're training for ultra-racing or something. As much as people around here like to boast, I think the typical hiker plans something like 2 miles an hour, add an hour for every thousand feet of elevation gained. Maybe more like 3 miles an hour if it's a roadwalk. Add time for stream crossings, bushwhacks, route finding, rock climbing and so on, if you expect to encounter such things. (The A-T has only a handful of significant stream crossings, no whacks, a clear and clearly marked treadway, and no climbing beyond Class 3 - so hikers using the A-T don't need to think much about any of the above.)If you can hike at a leisurely pace and sustain it for ten hours a day (after a month or so getting your body used to the trail), you can hike the A-T in four months, even taking Sundays off. Sustaining even that leisurely pace is harder than it sounds, and most thru-hikers take five to six. But it's all about keeping going, and not about speed or awesome athletic performance.If the others here disagree with me, believe them! Long distance hiking isn't my thing - a seventy-mile section last year was the longest hike I've done since my college days. But I've been out for a lot of short hikes over forty-odd years of hiking, and hopefully learnt something along the way.



      Well said young man...
      1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish...