Re: [Philmont]: Physical Condition

Mel,

Coop and Wally's Philmont Advisors' Guide contains some great info about pre-trek conditioning.

I'm 52, and was 18 months post-Achilles tendon surgery when we did Trek 32. All of us adults could have done more conditioning (but I note we had far fewer blisters than the scouts), and we tended to walk slower than the scouts.

I walked to and from work (a one-way distance of 3.2 miles) frequently (2-3 times a week), while wearing a day pack with belt that I loaded with 20-30 pounds of weight. I also climed stairs in my building for 30-45 minutes once or twice a week, varying the up and down to simulate trail conditions (15 floors of up, followed by 5 down and 3 up and other similar variations). I used hiking poles on the stairs, as I am terribly clumsy (and knew I would be using them on the trail). When I traveled anywhere I could do so, I took my Philmont backpack, and went walking with it. I made every one of our conditioning and shakedown hikes.

Following Wally's advice, as Philmont approached, I tried to hike on consecutive days, rather than taking a day or two off in between.

If my goal was to keep up with my scouts, it wasn't enough....

Denise Vowell
Crew 574
2004 709B1

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Received on Wed Aug 4 19:25:30 2004