This is a part of this blog I wanted to have done a long time ago but other things just kept having higher priority. As a result, I don't even have time to edit the things I wrote, let alone complete the portions I never started. So this is still very raw. But there is some good information in here and I am hoping some people find it useful.

There are a lot of things a hiker can do to make things more comfortable when hiking distances they may have never hiked before. The tips listed below can make all the difference in the world. They can be the difference between hiking a long ways in agony or doing the exact same hike in a way that doesn't feel much worse than your average hike. We first noticed people doing this type of hiking in Montana. Loop trails that we thought needed to be done backpacking three days were being done in a single day. We are talking about 20 to 30 miles per day in somewhat rugged terrain and over two or three tall passes. While it is true that people backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail get to the point of hiking this distance over the course of a month or so, your average day hiker cannot because they are not hiking every single day with nothing else to do. So how do these day hikers turn in mileages like this? Some of it is conditioning. They hike a lot and some also cross train in a very specific way. But conditioning alone usually isn't enough. That's where strategies like we have listed below come in. You don't need to do all of them because almost every strategy listed will produce noticeable improvement in your hiking. But it is also true that the more of these strategies you master, the more you will surprise yourself by what you are able to do. Still, you can't get there all at once because these techniques need to become second nature to you to have their maximum effect. So work on a few at a time and add in more only when you are certain that the techniques already learned are pretty much in place for good.

We can't even begin to tell you how amazing it is to be able to cover this amount of ground on a day hike and the be able to go out the next day and do another amazing hike. As you'll see, you are absolutely not rushing when you hike this way. If anything, you are more relaxed, comfortable, and observant. You will be able to enjoy the whole hiking experience even more than you always do while not paying a heavy price. For many, distance hiking changes everything and raises their passion to whole new level.

All information copyright (c) Bill Smith 2013

Friday, March 22, 2013

Do the Camel Walk


Here is a tip for all of you shooting for a long distance on Saturday: Do the Camel Walk on Friday.

The Camel Walk is my pet name for the modified rest step people develop for walking long distances.  If you get a picture in your head of a camel walking across the sand in a desert, you may get a sense of what I am talking about.  Think about the slow, even pace.  Think about the fluidity of the movement.  Then think about walking long distances in harsh conditions.  No surprise that camels are able to do the "Camel Walk" without a second thought.

But humans are different.  They are often in a hurry and they seldom give thought to how they are expending their energy.  Still, if you have ever bitten off a little more than you could chew on a hike, you already know how to do the Camel Walk because it is very similar to how you walk when you are tired.  The logic is simple.  When you get tired, your body makes adjustments so that you can get to your destination even though you are worn out.  You start walking slower, your feet aren't coming off the ground as much, you've lost the "spring" in your step and your calf muscles aren't working as hard, etc.  The Camel Walk is a way of walking that is very similar to that.  The main difference is that you aren't tired when you start and, because you are fresh, you can add a fluidity to your movements that isn't possible when you are tired.

Everyone's Camel Walk will be slightly different and it will change as you hike on different terrains.  But it still comes down to walking like you are tired, well before you get tired, with a certain grace or fluidity.  The Camel Walk is an amazing thing.  It can even be somewhat spiritual.  There is an old John Denver lyric that I play in my head to help me shift into this style of hiking: "seeking grace with every step he takes."  I play that song in my head and I shift into the Camel Walk immediately.  You may need at trick like that because making the shift doesn't come naturally.  You are inclined to hike the way you always hike.  Changing that takes some practice and maybe a trick or two.

I described it that way first because the Camel walk is best taught as a concept as opposed to specific instructions of what to do and not do.  Still, there are some elements that can be described.  For example, you'll find that your feet remain almost parallel to the ground and that your feet are coming off the ground as little as possible.  It isn't really possible, but ideally your feet are hitting the ground across the entire bottom surface (i.e. flat footed).  Then, when you pick your feet up, you are raising the entire bottom surface of you foot off the ground at the same time.  This spreads your weight across your entire foot and minimizes the use of your calf muscles which can be the first muscles to get worn out.  In addition, it reduces the impact on your feet and joints.  Also, your pace slows down without even having to think about walking slower.  As a result, your feet don't become sore as fast and your stamina increases a lot.

If you have never done the Camel Walk, you will find that you can easily double the distance you think you can hike and, as a bonus, you will be able to recover a lot faster because you have not worn out any major muscle groups.  Just remember the the Camel Walk is more than just walking flat footed.  As you start paying attention, you will be able to describe your Camel Walk in great detail.  The problem is that all of that detail will not be of much help to anyone else.  They need to find their own Camel Walk and come up with their own description.

Will the Camel Walk slow you down?  Not on a long hike.  In fact, you will probably feel like you are somehow hiking faster even though you know you are not.  The reason because, even though you are hiking slower, you are taking a lot less breaks and breaks are time killers when you are hiking.  Breaks also have a big downside: if you stop for more than a few minutes while hiking the typical way, your muscles start tightening up and getting sore while you are resting.  The rest may help you recharge your batteries, but it doesn't help your muscles very much and, eventually, the rests become a big reason why you find yourself in a lot of pain.  When you do the Camel Walk right, you won't hardly need to rest and, at the same time, you will be enjoying your surroundings more.  You will be covering the same amount of distance over time that you normally cover, but it will seem as if you are hiking faster because the hike is so much more enjoyable.

So here's the deal.  The time to practice your Camel Walk isn't on Saturday.  One or two days before SMB is almost perfect.  You will end your hike on those days feeling better and you will be more rested come Saturday.  More important, you will be able to do the Camel Walk on Saturday without a lot of thought.  It may not yet be second nature, but it will definitely help you walk further with less downside.
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