RE: [Philmont]: Physical Condition

I'm a 44 y/o female who went in 2003. I'm fairly short and had to lose 30#
to even get into the allowed height/weight range. According to my calorie
intake(1600 per day) I should weight 143#, even if sedentary. I don't, I
have a lousy metabolism -- so be it. About a year before the trek I managed
to lose 15 pounds by diet alone, and the only exercising I did was walking
(15 minutes 2X per day) and weekend hikes with my pack (about an hour each
time). The crew also had 3 shakedown trips in the local area, as well as a
longer trip on the Lake Superior Hiking trail. I did OK, but was not ready
for Philmont at that point. Six months before the trek I still had 15# to
lose and kept up with the diet and joined the health club. I went 5 days a
week, working with weights (emphasis on back and leg muscles) and started
with 20 min on the elliptical machine. I used the 'Hills Plus' setting, and
gradually increased the resistance to 75% max, and time to 45 minutes. I
managed to lose another 20 pounds those last 6 months, and was in pretty
good shape.

We live in Minnesota, altitude about 800 ft. We drove to Philmont, touring
along the way (including Pike's Peak) and I don't think anyone had a
problem with adjusting as we were at high altitudes for nearly a week
before hitting the trail. We took Trek 12, a typical trek. We kept a pretty
good pace and were usually at our next campsite by lunch. I was one of the
slower hikers, but the 8 youth ranged from 15 1/2 to 19 and were all high
school athletes. Those antelopes would have done it in half the time if
we'd let them! My pack was 28# of personal gear and 22# of crew gear, food
and water. The only time I had trouble was day 7 when we had a steady climb
with switchbacks for a couple of hours. The guy in the lead took plenty of
'breath breaks' but not enough 'muscle breaks'. It was cool and drizzling,
we were wearing our rain gear, the mosquitos were horrible, and nobody
wanted to take a 20 minute packs off break lest we'd be eaten alive. Toward
the end of the climb my legs just stopped. I took a 20 minute break while
the others continued on (I could see them all the way to the top) and got
there 20 minutes behind them. Everyone took a long break, ate lunch, and
after that I was fine.

Could I have been better prepared? Absolutely! I'd have joined the gym a
whole lot sooner, built more muscle and hopefully have lost more weight.
But I had a successful trek, carried my fair share of everything, didn't
hold anybody back, and we all made it back as a crew.

Good luck with the training, and start early!
Jill
613K-2003 and HOPEFULLY a trek in 2006!

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Received on Thu Aug 5 09:05:23 2004