[Philmont] Conditioning

> Would anyone care to report on the success or failure of
> their preparations
> for Philmont.
>
> Specifically, should you have better prepared for the
> physical demands?

Like others have indicated - the sooner you start the better. And
adding to what others have said:

Don't count on "training" hikes to get you in shape unless you are doing
them every other day. They can be a good indicator of how its going,
but most crews don't do them frequently enough to count as
"conditioning".

The more time you can spend at altitude before you start hiking the
better. Our crew went out several days early for that purpose.
Included in our activities were two day hikes. One the first day about
two miles long at 7,800 to 8,100 feet and one two days later about five
miles from 9,100 feet to 11,000 feet. All of the advisors thought this
helped make a big difference in their capability at Philmont.

Don't be timid when it comes to taking breathing breaks - use the
caterpillar or whatever other methods work for your crew. Having scenic
vistas makes "photo opportunities" more believable. :>) Even at sea
level you get winded; being in condition just lets you recover faster.
At 10,000 there is no air (well there is but you won't believe it). And
keep a reasonable pace.

I carried 150% of my expected pack weight nightly for three weeks prior
to leaving for Philmont. (Get help putting it on and off though - you
don't want to pull your back and miss the trip.) I had been using 100%
for a month prior to that. When I got to the ranch, my pack wasn't a
problem. I did work to get my pack weights down, but because I wasn't
sharing a tent, and had most all of the "extra" food (odd number of crew
members) my pack was heavier than I would have liked at the outset. Not
really a problem the first day, but then I started "sharing" the food
load with crew members in exchange for first dibbs on the extra
ingredients.

Be aware that older crew members (as in geezer) may find that they just
don't recover quite as fast as they used to. Using Dr. Bob's Philmont
Challenge Index (both before and after) I had a "Somewhat Challenging"
trek, and I believe the assessment is accurate. But I found that my
legs began to tire more readily later in the trek.

This might have been due at least in part to the beating my legs,
particularly my thighs, took coming down the Copper Park side of Baldy.
The trail was very wet and slippery (it was raining mixed with
sleet/hail from time-to-time). Trying to keep from falling (I did a
couple of times) put a good workout on my legs, and they might not have
fully recharged. If you can find steep downhill sections (especially
with loose footing) this can be a good area to work on. Stairclimbers
just don't do it.

Overall, I think I was "adequately" prepared, but I felt much better at
the end of the trek than at the beginning, so I guess that indicates
that I could have been "better" prepared. Continuing to drop weight on
the trail certainly helped. Adding to the conditioning of the
backpacking muscle groups helped. Living at 800 feet above sea level is
a factor that you just can't do anything about unless you have access to
a hyperbaric chamber. But to go with little or no pre-trek conditioning
is just asking to have a miserable time - for yourself and the rest of
your crew.

Happy Trails,

Roy Fisher

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Received on Fri Sep 8 21:10:07 2006