Re: [Philmont]: Catapillaring

I will say this as gently as possible.

To give you perspective, I was normally fat and out of shape every
summer I arrived at Philmont (from sea level).

I personally do not like the catapillar method. I believe it requires
more energy when you look at the physics of it. Once you get your
momentum going forward, keep it going, even if it is slow. Otherwise
it requires more energy to start from a dead stop every so often.

As a Ranger, I always hiked in the back. I can remember doing the
catapillar with a crew of mine where I stayed at the back while the
rest of them rotated. I took an extremely slow pace while I was back
there so that I would not pass anybody. I use this to propose that the
catapillar method is no faster than a slow pace, but just uses more
energy than keeping a slow and steady pace.

In my personal experiences, I have noticed that catapillaring is
usually favored by advisors.

I prefer to keep a steady pace, and only take rest breaks when needed.
Following the 5 and 20 rule of course (packs on break no longer than 5
min and packs off break atleast 20 min).

I'm not trying to say that one way is better than another. But I
prefer to use the least amount of energy possible when hiking so I can
use my energies elsewhere.

No matter what "method" you chose to use when attacking the uphills,
be sure to use the lock step. Used properly it really makes a
difference.

Do your best to be in good (not average or okay) physical conditioning
before hand and that will make more of a difference than any hiking
method.

Give you crews options on hiking methods. Let them try out more than
just one, and then let them decide which they like best.

Jason Cotting
<><
Retired Ranger

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Received on Wed May 4 16:37:16 2005