
What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike - bootload
https://www.outsideonline.com/2125031/what-happens-your-body-thru-hike
======
Dowwie
I came across three emaciated, bearded men on the continental divide trail in
glacier national park. When I asked one of them where he was from he looked at
his buddies and they all replied excitedly, in unison, "Mexico!". It was at
that moment that I came to realize that these men were one day away from
completing the entire thru-hike.

I vividly recall one of their dinners: Dried ramen noodle, straight from the
bag.

They slept in their bags exposed, beneath a basic light tarp.

~~~
jon_richards
The best foods for backpacking are actually peanut butter, salami (depending
on the brand), cheese, and nutella. They all have roughly the same calorie
density at about 70% fat. Toblerone actually comes surprisingly close (even
compared to other chocolates/candies).

Raman noodles or tortillas or something like that are generally used as a
carrier for those foods to keep you sane, but they aren't very good from a
weight to calories standpoint. M&Ms are also common, as they are easy to eat
and keep well.

Some people actually just drink cooking oil, but it's rarely worth the tiny
bit of extra weight efficiency.

~~~
notspanishflu
I don't think is a good idea to feed a healthy activity with unhealthy palm
oil.

That peanut butter has palm oil probably, but Nutella has it for sure.

Palm oil is very bad for your health, and it's very bad for the environment.

~~~
pmarreck
You can't throw something like this out there without the evidence to back it
up, because right now there is too much bullshit nutrition advice floating
around out there.

~~~
panzagl
I think he assumes you're an orangutuan

------
justinator
I've done quite a few very strenuous, multi-week races on bike, including
riding the Colorado Trail in 7 days [0], and riding to, then summiting all the
Colorado 14ers in 34 [1] - as well as participating in the Tour Divide [2]
twice.

I would call my fitness before these races as "peak", but I wouldn't call
myself anything but near, "onset of over training syndrome" afterwards. The
only thing I experienced similar to the author's was a slight bit of fat loss.
Every other part of my body was wrecked, which took months to recover from.

One thing that stuck out with me is that they only hiked for 8 hours/day. That
seems like a light day! compared to these races, where 5 hours of sleep is
spoiling oneself. I guess the moral of the story before doing a, "thru hike
for fitness" is to not to overdo it. It also seems like the author was in
pretty alright shape to start out, with a fairly low pulse and overall
bodyweight.

[0] [http://www.climbingdreams.net/ctr/](http://www.climbingdreams.net/ctr/)
[1]
[http://longranger.justinsimoni.com/tour14er/](http://longranger.justinsimoni.com/tour14er/)
[2] [http://tourdivide.org/](http://tourdivide.org/)

~~~
bootload
_" One thing that stuck out with me is that they only hiked for 8 hours/day.
That seems like a light day! compared to these races,"_

Really. Carrying a 20kg pack for eight hours over rough terrain is less
strenuous than bike riding? Do this for over 500 miles? Ever done this before?
Hike on foot with 20kg packs on consecutive days? Make camp, make food, rest,
break camp. Everything on your back. This is a lot more strenuous than you
think. Hands down racing on a bike is much easier ^physically^ than hiking on
foot carrying weight over broken terrain over long distances.

~~~
hsitz
""One thing that stuck out with me is that they only hiked for 8 hours/day.
That seems like a light day! compared to these races,"

Actually, this is probably true. 8 hours a day, averaging 18 miles per day for
486 miles over 29 days is not that much. I don't see where they say they had
20kg packs, which is quite high weight for a thru-hiker. (EDIT: See now where
he says he had 40 pound pack, which is probably at heaviest point with full
load of food, still high for thru-hiking and maybe a reason they logged less
miles/day.) 18 miles/day is probably right around average for thru-hikers, who
are mostly out for enjoyment and sense of accomplishment, not for speed. You
have to be in decent shape, but it's not a high-intensity endeavor.

There is a fairly sizeable subset of thru-hikers who do go for speed, though.
Many average well over 40 miles per day for several months and over 2000
miles. (They're definitely _not_ carrying 40 pound packs.) They accomplish
this mostly by hiking for longer hours each day, not by moving faster, since
going faster breaks their bodies down. E.g., see this article:

[http://www.adventuresnw.com/heather-anish-anderson-speed-
que...](http://www.adventuresnw.com/heather-anish-anderson-speed-queen-of-the-
pct/)

~~~
bootload
_" 8 hours a day, averaging 18 miles per day for 486 miles over 29 days is not
that much."_

Have you done this?

~~~
hsitz
No, although I've done many days of more than 18 miles in the mountains,
including 50 mile single-day mountain races. (The elite runners complete those
in around 6 to 7 hours, over terrain of similar difficulty to Colorado Trail.)
I don't mean to downplay their achievement, but the article is about a pair of
average thru-hikers, out for a relatively short thru-hike. It is something
that the average person can do, if they set their mind to it.

It doesn't really make sense to compare that effort to a race of any kind, let
alone a mountain bike race -- since the thru-hikers we're talking about were
not doing it as a race. Of course their effort was done at a lower level of
intensity. For some perspective, a fellow recently set the Colorado Trail
record with a time of 9 days 12 hours, almost three times as fast as the thru-
hikers in the article:
[http://johnzahorian.com/coloradotrailfkt](http://johnzahorian.com/coloradotrailfkt)

For anyone interested, here's a youtube video documenting the record effort.
The guy is kind of a celebrity in hiking circles, in large part because of
high-quality videos he makes of his adventures:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk6CrWJdRto](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk6CrWJdRto)

(Zahorian's effort set the "unsupported" record, which means he carried
everything, including all his food, from the start, and didn't stop at any
towns along the way to resupply. Most hikers carry only enough food for 3 to 5
days at a time, and resupply along the way -- understandable because it's much
easier than carrying everything from the start.)

~~~
bootload
_" No, although I've done many days of more than 18 miles in the mountains,
including 50 mile single-day mountain races."_

With a pack? I ask because running over this terrain is hard. Hats off hard.
But with a pack, things are different. You don't move as fast. Thanks @hsitz
for the video.

 _" Most hikers carry only enough food for 3 to 5 days at a time, and resupply
along the way"_

Unsupported. I did't see if the original was unsupported - can't imagine
carrying 30 days food. Even the PR1M I've used is pretty heavy. [0] Possible
but you'd strip out all but the useful food. With re-supplies, do they have
access to water?

 _" lower level of intensity."_

Totally agree with this. Still hard yards.

Reference

[0]
[https://flickr.com/photos/bootload/4549780731](https://flickr.com/photos/bootload/4549780731)

~~~
rimantas
But 2.25 miles per hour is not fast. And you get 16hours to rest.

------
kyleblarson
This guy took a selfie every mile of the PCT. It's pretty cool to see his
transformation:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyo8OIp7aHM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyo8OIp7aHM)

~~~
hkmurakami
I brushed over this post the first time but I just watched the first and last
segments of the video now.

I am mind blown. He is a completely different person in appearance! (2600
miles btw)

~~~
Rapzid
The subtleties of it are very interesting. It took ~1300 miles for significant
loses to appear(IMHO) but you can see how it took a while for his skin to
catch up. For a while his face is a bit droopy giving him a very haggard look.
Nothing another 1k miles didn't tighten up lol.

------
morgante
By far the best shape I've ever been in was after hiking the 270-mile Long
Trail in high school. It's the only time on my life—before or after—that I've
ever been not overweight. The amazing thing about thru-hiking is that you can
start in _any_ shape and come out healthier.

For a while last year I toyed with the idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail. I
even did a few practice hikes of a week or two, but ultimately realized that
even if I completed the trail I'd gain all the weight I loss right back, the
same way I did after the LT (by continuing a high-carb diet).

Now I'm on keto and cutting carbs was by far the best health choice I've made
in my life. It's still a dream of mine to hike the AT though (probably not for
a long time though, as my startup wouldn't survive absence).

~~~
danieldk
Why not do something that is easy to maintain on a daily/weekly basis? I cycle
to work every day (approx. 11 km, so 22 km per day). In the summer I usually
take a route where I have to climb quite a bit twice a week. Going by
train/car takes approximately the same time. I am fit and have a good weight.

When I was still studying, I climbed indoor twice a week, which made me
extremely fit. But after a couple of years I got bored.

I am on a regular Dutch/Germany diet.

~~~
peteretep
The simple answer is that you can't outweigh a fork, and until he/she sorts
inputs, outputs will have little effect on weight loss.

------
joeframbach
After doing 2000-mile treks on the AT and PCT, I can say that hikers generally
get their "trail legs" after roughly 500 miles or one month. Damascus VA and
Tehachapi CA are big spots for zeroes and recalibration, and then you're off
to the races. This post is excellent in showing the changes in those first 500
miles, but doesn't go on to show much about what happens after. That peak
performance is maintained very well.

~~~
eigenvector
I agree with your assessment generally, but there are some caveats.

When you start to get into around the 10th week and beyond, there's a wall you
can hit if you aren't eating well enough. This is not really an issue on
American or European long-distance trails where any sort of nutrition one
desires can be arranged in your resupplies (and you can eat ravenously on town
days) but if you do multi-month trips in the 3rd world, you'll find trail legs
don't last forever when all you're eating is rice and some kind of legume for
every meal. At a certain point the lack of high-quality nutrition starts to
make you progressively weaker.

~~~
amrtn
That was exactly the case on my 18 month bike trip in Alaska, South America,
SE Asia & China. We found it very difficult to pack or even find enough
quality proteins (and at the time we didn't know they where that important
tbh). In the end I lost 20 kgs and went from 85 to 65 for a 178 cm 30 y.o.
guy.

That was 5 years ago and I managed to mantain that weight by taking care of
what I eat. I think that trip changed something in my metabolism and helped to
know myself better.

------
nodamage
Another good option if you're not interested in hiking is bicycle touring. A
few years ago I spent a summer cycling across France, Germany, Switzerland,
and Austria and it was an absolutely incredible experience. After cycling for
roughly 6 hours per day over six weeks, I lost a ton of weight, despite eating
anything and everything I wanted. (Which was more food than I would normally
eat at home, considering you're burning thousands of calories per day in
exercise alone.) Definitely would recommend to anyone interested in combining
long, sustained periods of exercise with traveling.

~~~
kevin488
I would love to hear a rough outline of your path. Were you mostly on roads
with cars or is there a more established bike lane infrastructure? Any issues
sharing the road with vehicles?

~~~
nodamage
We followed the Eurovelo 6 bicycle route
([http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos/eurovelo-6](http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos/eurovelo-6)).
Fortunately Europe has great bicycle infrastructure so we were able to stay on
dedicated cycle paths or at least bike lanes the majority of the time. In the
instances where we did end up sharing the road with cars, it was not an issue,
European drivers are in general very cycle friendly. (Especially in contrast
with New Zealand which was frankly terrifying.)

~~~
kevin488
Awesome, thanks!

------
nradov
Good article, but just to nitpick a 0.3% hemoglobin A1c change over only 2
tests doesn't necessarily mean anything. Normal people can vary by that much
from week to week due to a variety of factors. We would have to see multiple
tests over a longer period of time to tell whether there was a real reduction.

~~~
agentgt
Also his testosterone levels were shockingly high but I know from personal
experience those can fluctuate dramatically for many men.

Additional tests would have been nice.

IMO strength training will boost my test far more than cardio but I have never
carried a 20lbs pack for 500 miles.

~~~
rubicon33
Yea, I was going to point out the testosterone test as well. Taking 2 data
points is hardly enough. To really understand your testosterone levels you
need to take multiple data points, over a period of weeks / months.

------
somethingsimple
How does one get started doing this kind of thing? Ever since moving to the
US, and specifically to the PNW, I've been wanting to hike, but I don't know
where to start. People here seem to grow up used to it, but I don't know what
equipment I need, what food to bring, how to get to the trails (do I drive?
what if there's no parking?), etc.

~~~
bitexploder
You just kind of... do it.

Step 1.) Pack what this dude tells you to and follow his advice for food --
[http://www.adventurealan.com/best-backpacking-
food/](http://www.adventurealan.com/best-backpacking-food/)

Step 2.) Go when temperates are cool at night, but not cold (high 40F as a
minimum). This allows you to buy cheap gear to learn with.

Step 3.) Pack the gear this guy tells you to --
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-ultimate-hikers-gear-
gu...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-ultimate-hikers-gear-
guide/id502373183?mt=11)

Step 4.) Buy the cheapest lowest quality gear you can for cool weather hiking.
Let it be heavy/used/whatever. Cheap shelter. Cheap sleeping bag. Cheap pack.
Except -- [https://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/caldera-keg-f-stove-
syst...](https://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/caldera-keg-f-stove-system) learn
about alcohol cook systems. They are super light and there is no sense in
buying a heavy cook system you will just re-purchase. For a pad, just get a
foam ridge rest, see if you can live with it. Most thru hikers end up with a
very minimal padding. Something like a thermarest prolite is an okay
compromise if you can't stand a ridge rest foam pad thing. There are some
ultralight air mattress options that aren't too heavy, but foam pad is
easiest.

Step 5.) Plan very low risk "backpacking" at state park camp grounds where
there are RVs and lots of people. Trial your gear. If you fail you are right
next to lots of people and shelter. Go to places with lots of day hikes. Hike
all day. Camp at the camp ground at night.

Step 6.) You should know what kind of sleeper you are. Now you have to
decide... are you a camper or a hiker? If you are a hiker, be a gram weenie
and buy the nicest ultra-light gear you can afford. If you are a camper, stick
with comforts, plan to hike less. Check out cottage gear makers like
enlightened equipment and z-packs. Their gear is great. Pay attention to
skurka on water treatment: platypus plastic bladders are fine. Aqua mira (a
chlorine water treatment system) is super easy.

Step 7.) Do the things. After 3 or 4 weekend trips you will start to know what
is up.

Step 8.) Keep reading the blogs and gear things of crazy ultralight hikers.
Expand your horizons. If you hike more, learn more about ultralight gear
([http://www.adventurealan.com/2-4-pound-extreme-ultralight-
ba...](http://www.adventurealan.com/2-4-pound-extreme-ultralight-backpacking-
appalachian-trail/))

Step 9.) Learn about orienteering and navigating with map and compass. On
major trails you can get away with guide books, but a little knowledge can
help you out here.

Step 10.) If you are athletic stick with "trail shoes" and not hiking boots.
Hiking boots are crazy. I have hiked hundreds of miles on the AT in plain old
running shoes. buy nice wool socks. Accept your feet will be wet and that it
is part of the experience if you are a distance hiker. Wool socks will keep
your feet warm, even if they are wet :)

You will make mistakes. Surprisingly a lot of the rules of how and where you
can hike are very sparsely documented outside of the main trails like the AT.

That is it. Start safe to permit mistakes. After a week of nights outdoors you
will have the hang of it. You can start planning weekend backpacking trips
then probably.

These are all just guidelines. I am not sold on any brand or whatever, I just
use these things and know they work for me. You can spend endless hours
researching gear. You just have to commit, be safe, and learn what works for
you and what you like and enjoy about the outdoors and backpacking experience.
Some people love camping and food and hike as a means to see beautiful places.
I am a restless soul and want to tire myself out covering ground when I hike.
I am there to be in motion in nature. You just gotta think it thru and figure
what you like, and if you like it.

Good luck! Happy trails.

edit: I have met thru hikers that literally had /zero/ experience when they
started an AT thru hike. By the time they made it about 50 miles on the trail
they are throwing out hatchets, heavy foods, and heavy gear. If these folks
can do it, you can to, and you can cut out the days of misery as you learn
your gear is too heavy, etc.

~~~
SamWhited
> If you are athletic stick with "trail shoes" and not hiking boots

Use what works for you, but I completely disagree with this. I thru-hiked the
AT in 2014 in full hiking boots, and didn't have any of the feet problems like
friends in normal trail shoes did afterwards; I would have rolled my ancle
several times if it weren't for the support, and it only took two pairs
(friends with trail shoes went through a lot more when the bottoms got too
worn out and got slippery on wet rocks or started to peel off).

~~~
mercutio2
Number of people who were dismissive of my heavy hiking boots in the first 200
miles of the AT: too many to count (maybe dozens?).

Number of those people who went home with injured ankles: 2. Anecdotal, of
course, but I certainly felt vindicated (and, of course, sad for those folks).

If you're in a super duper hurry, having your boots slow you down is maybe a
slight drag. If you value foot health over speed, I, too, am a huge fan of
heavy hiking boots.

~~~
bitexploder
Heh yeah. See below... it is sort of a religion. I really do tell most people
to wear hiking boots for the reasons you and your parent commented cited
though. I just felt like I should say if someone was in really good shape
(like, really good) they can get away with less.

I decided to do a little research to see if I could find any actual studies.
Didn't find anything. Some interesting data about military using combat boots
vs. running shoes in PT, but that is pretty different from rooty/rocky/slipper
trails like the AT. I am gonna have to say anyone that feels too strongly
about one or the other should proceed with caution because there is no real
evidence one way or another, just religious camps. :)

~~~
mercutio2
I'm sure I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder about the whole thing; I'm
jealous of people like you who never roll their ankles!

Know your own capabilities is a good approach, in most activities.

~~~
bitexploder
Yep. Find what works, and try the alternatives when there is no good science
one way ir another.

------
avenoir
I did El Camino de Santiago 3 years ago weighing at 220 pounds. 600 miles and
35 days later i was 160 pounds and had new perspective on life. As someone who
always struggled with extra weight I've been able to keep the weight off ever
since. Never felt better physically and mentally.

By the way, I've met a lot of folks who started with the Camino as their first
thru-hike and went on to do AT and Continental Divide. I highly recommend it
as a trial thru hike. It's not very difficult, but not easy either. But it'll
definitely whip your legs into shape and get your prepared for something
bigger and better.

~~~
mrfusion
60 lbs in 35 days is really dramatic! Is that even possible?

Are results like that typical?

~~~
mahyarm
That is 12lbs/wk! 2lbs/wk (-1000 cal/day) is considered a harder weight loss
diet to maintain! That means he had a 6000 calorie deficit per day.
Backpacking all day can give you a 4000-6000cal burn per day[1], so if he kept
up something like a 2000cal/day diet and not conk out, then I could see that.

[1] [https://www.outdoors.org/articles/amc-outdoors/how-many-
calo...](https://www.outdoors.org/articles/amc-outdoors/how-many-calories-do-
you-burn-backpacking/)

~~~
solnyshok
something happens to metabolic rate too. you keep burning more calories even
resting and sleeping. After camino, I lost another 7kg in 10 days doing mostly
nothing, sleeping a lot.

------
cpncrunch
So the question is: at what point does this kind of long-term exercise turn
from beneficial to burnout/overtraining?

[https://www.outsideonline.com/1986361/running-
empty](https://www.outsideonline.com/1986361/running-empty)

And can you reliably predict it beforehand?

Having suffered from burnout/CFS, I would be very careful about doing
something like this, and I'd be on the lookout for early warning signs such as
elevated heart-rate, anxiety/depression, excessive fatigue/pain,
oversleeping/insomnia, etc.

~~~
jamii
The old-school method is to get a grip dynamometer and keep a daily log. If
your grip strength suddenly takes a dive you need to take some recovery time.
Lot's of other indicators seem to work too, eg resting heart rate, but grip
strength is really easy to measure reliably.

[https://www.trainingbeta.com/why-do-i-suck-at-climbing-
some-...](https://www.trainingbeta.com/why-do-i-suck-at-climbing-some-days-
part-2-readiness-monitoring/)

~~~
JofArnold
That's a very useful and informative post. Thanks!

------
stuckagain
Secrets to fitness revealed!

    
    
      1: Stand up
      2: Go outside
      3: Walk around a lot

~~~
munificent
Those are the easy steps. You forgot:

    
    
        0: Acquire the free time and money to not have to work,
           take care of others, etc. for extended periods of time.

~~~
eigenvector
No, that's irrelevant because of all parent's 3 points could easily be part of
a job like land or mineral surveying, field biology, forestry, and so on. You
don't have to quit working to go outside and walk around all day.

~~~
stuckagain
I always wanted to be ....

A lumberjack!

------
sandgraham
I wish he had tracked his wife's possible changes as well.

------
parito
I am suspicious he was not at 5 % body fat after the hike. 5 % is extremely
low, like really really low, and he used impedance scales as he said in his
post.

I use them every day and the fluctuations can be massive due to the water
content in the body. And obviously long hikes do mess up hidration a lot.

He should try weighing himself / checking fat % for 5-6 days after the hike on
different times of day.

I am not saying his hike sucked - I am envious, I wanna do it ! :)

------
yupyupp
A long thru hike is something I've always wanted to do. I was planning on
hiking the AT or PNT after I finished university. But, now that I'm a few
weeks away from graduating/starting my job, its not something that's
financially possible for me. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to
find time for something like this later in life?

~~~
jspotanski
I know an individual from Microsoft who's managers were kind enough to allow
him a 6 month absence to hike the PCT. He thru hiked it this Summer and is now
back on our team, as productive as ever.

I'm sure this situation isn't exclusive to Microsoft. If you're valued as an
employee and want to do something like this, make your wishes known to your
management and see if they're willing to work with you. If you never ask, the
answer is always no.

~~~
13of40
Well, there's Microsoft, and then there's my wife... But seriously, I've been
thinking about walking from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass for a couple of
years now, so maybe this summer is the time.

------
hodder
We can say with relative certainty that the body fat measurements are
incorrect and can be discarded. When you see glaring errors such as the
assumption that the author was 5% body fat at the end of his hike,it makes you
question the other metrics as well. To the authors credit he points out that
bioelectrical impedance is flawed.

Cool hike though!

~~~
dec0dedab0de
As long as he used the same equipment before and after, does it matter? The
Point is the change, not the exact numbers.

~~~
hodder
In this case it does matter. Hydration levels cause massive fluctuation in
bioelectrical impedance testing. Also, at bodyfat levels below 15%, the
numbers tend to be meaningless, even the trend in the numbers.

For instance, I have a Fitbit Aria which I use to track weight. It also spits
out a bodyfat number. This morning I measured 5.4%. yesterday, I measured
12.1%. Skin caliper testing, DEXA scans, or submersion chambers are the only
real way to test at lower BF levels. An eyeball is better than the scale at
this point. One look at someone will tell you that they are not even close to
5%. You will see significant vascularity and seperation between the muscles at
that level. Only bodybuilders really tend to get there. The typical guy on a
mens fitness cover wouldn't likely be under 7%.

------
BadassFractal
Now if only we could replicate this somehow in the 21st century knowledge
worker world without actually dedicating 8 hours a day to walking in nature.
Any tips?

~~~
zoul
Walking a few weeks in the nature is precisely the point.

~~~
BadassFractal
Humanity will have to figure something out here. Our bodies are evolved for
hunting / gathering, yet over a few thousand years we've evolved to sitting in
an office chair all day. Until our bodies have adapted to what, we need to
come up with a way to simulate the environment we are actually optimized for.

~~~
kbutler
Treadmill. VR headset or at least a wall-projector. Nature soundtrack.
Variable speed fan with heating, cooling, and automatic scent generator.

...And moving the soda machine 20 miles away.

------
andr3w321
Ya but how many toenails does he have left? Every time I've hiked > 15 miles
at a time they start turning purple

~~~
frio
Get new footwear :). Get some flavour from somewhere like outdoorgearlab.com,
then find a proper outdoor store that'll fit you properly. You'll find that
you probably won't end up in whatever reviews best, but you can use the
knowledge of what to look for in those reviews to make sure your choice is
right.

Basically, everyone's feet (and walking style) are different. I discovered
this when I started skiing last year; I got myself a cheap pair of boots when
I started and absolutely hated it. After everyone told me I'd been an idiot --
that while you can cheap out on skis, pants, gloves, poles, whatever, and that
boots are the _only_ thing worth spending money on for beginners -- I went to
a boot fitters and spent a few hours getting sized properly. Suddenly, skiing
became one of my favourite pastimes.

Walking's similar. If you're walking in top of the line boots that don't fit
your feet or your gait, you're going to end up injured pretty quickly. If
you're walking in cheap boots, it's even worse. Find a shop with a wide
variety of brands and decent staff who know how to fit you up properly
(they'll often squeeze in orthotics to adapt for your gait too). Since doing
that this summer, I've had a much more comfortable time hiking :).

~~~
andr3w321
Thanks for all the comments. I have a pair of keens -
[https://www.rei.com/product/772930/keen-targhee-ii-mid-
hikin...](https://www.rei.com/product/772930/keen-targhee-ii-mid-hiking-boots-
mens) \- probably 5 years old and I haven't replaced the soles yet and put a
good amount of mileage on them. I've only actually lost one toenail once, but
it took about a year to grow back and my big toes do hurt like hell after most
hikes and get some small bruising on the big toes after long hikes. I've never
thought about the foot swelling when hiking you all are probably right!
They're too small when hiking. I'll size up.

~~~
gog
It's not just the swelling (the swelling mostly makes your feet wider, not
longer) but when you are going downhill your toes are hitting the front of the
boot and this is something most of the people don't test when they are trying
them out in stores.

This should not happened if you sized and laced them correctly.

Also, keeping your toenails short is an important thing to do.

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dekhn
I have fond memories of being blown past by thru-hikers on the Appalachian
Trail. They all had massive quads and calves, with tiny knees.

I don't really like the folks who hike, but don't actually camp and carry
their food. Seems unsportspersonlike.

~~~
kdbg
One of my fondest memories on the CDT was blowing by the weekend hikers in the
Wind River Range and Yellowstone (only times I encountered a lot of other
people)

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olleromam91
I have a really hard time believing the guy in the first photos has a standing
heart rate of 48...that's well below (better than) average for a middle aged
man.

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davycro
Cortisol levels fluctuate with diet and time of day. I don't think I could
draw conclusions from the change in cortisol levels and testosterone levels.

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rodionos

      > but on the Colorado Trail, we stuck to nuts, jerky, dried fruit, 
      > and only one carb-heavy meal a day, like a mac-and-cheese dinner.
    

That killed it for me. I would demand a better meal plan while on the trail.
After all, one of reasons for Napoleon's victories in Europe was excellent
food supplies to its troops, regardless how remote and quick the sorties were.
Lots of 'foodtech' innovation happened around that time (Pasteur et al).

~~~
nrki
What else you can eat that is calorie-dense, simple to prepare, and keeps
well?

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crazygringo
Hiking is great, but it seems like you can get the same effects a lot more
efficiently -- eat less calories and no carbs (to reduce body fat and train
your body to burn fat), and do heavy lifting at the gym (to raise
testosterone).

It doesn't require an 8-hr-a-day program :)

~~~
nsm
The whole point of being in nature is to be inefficient :) You feel very
relaxed and at peace since the mind isn't hoovering around about having to do
10 things a day, or respond to emails, or plan for every day so you can be
"productive".

Wake up, eat, walk, eat, walk more, eat while walking, eat more, sleep. That
is literally what life is on a through-hike.

