ExiledInIllinois Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 Philmont as a Scout. Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico. Twice. Both ten day treks were about 90-100 miles each if I recall. I am not sure if we maxed one of the itineries out w/one of the excursions. I think max is just over 100 miles. Both included "High Country" side bars in the Mt. Baldy region @ +12,000 feet. One guy in the crew got altitude sickness. We'd average about 10 miles a day w/a 80 pound pack. Both trips included "burro packing". So, the donkey's carried all our crap for one day. Sounds easier... But the damn beasts wanted to go slow on the flats and high gear up the steeps... I'd rather just hump the sh*t on my back in a pack! More pain in the azz (excuse the pun) than it was worth! Now the longest ski run was Juggernaut, Killington... Which is 6 miles long... Anybody can do, because it is quite easy. I think Juggernaut is the longest in The East? I think canoeing was about the same miles too over a 10 day period because each trip we would get our "50 Miler" award... One time somebody asked about getting 2 awards. Mostly up north of Toronto in Algonquin Park/Northern Lights and up in the ADK... Long Lake to Tupper Lake.
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 (edited) I've been thinking of walking the Appalachian trail next year. Just curious if anyone else has done a similar journey? 30 miles or so in 1 day many times for Rochester's Walk for Water back in the late 70's. I ran into some dreadlock dudes and young lady in Harpers Ferry VA last month. They were walking the Appalachian trail. One started out in Florida hiking north the others started out in Georgia. They were working for food or $ along the way. Edited August 28, 2015 by BillsFan-4-Ever
Captain Hindsight Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 Did about 18 miles in one day when I was in California. That summer I likely did a few hundred miles. Walked everywhere
Chef Jim Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 What's with all this walking? Don't you guys have cars?
Bad Things Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 (edited) I've been fortunate to do some great hiking in the ADKs, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and now New Zealand. My longest single day was probably 16 miles or so, and about 100 miles for a multi day hike. In the coming years I'm really hoping to explore more of Fjordland National Park which is in the bottom of the South Island. It's the most incredibly beautiful place I've ever seen. Edited August 28, 2015 by Bad Things
KD in CA Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 Mostly up north of Toronto in Algonquin Park/Northern Lights and up in the ADK... Long Lake to Tupper Lake. Was in that neighborhood two weeks ago. Stayed at a friend's house on Long Lake a couple night and took the kids to The Wild Center in Tupper Lake. Did you do the canoe trail?
Tux of Borg Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 I did a couple 30 mile ruck marches when I was in the military. Took about 12 hours to complete.
Buffaloed in Pa Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 I once walked from Tulare California to Visaila California in a heavy fog bank When I was a teenager I used to walk around in the fog.....loved it....something about the way it would muffle sound. (yes I was a wierd kid) Foggy ever morning and night here at my place. Kinda reminds you of a old werewolf or vampire movie. Ha. and nights.Well most mornings. Up high and humidity.
USMCBillsFan Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 20 miles....with an 80 lb pack... More of a slow jog or speed walk with the accordion affect of the mass formation.
Pete Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 Henry David Thoreau is always appropriate with regards to nature. I WISH TO SPEAK a word for nature, for absolute Freedom and Wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and Culture merely civil, — to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make a emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization; the minister, and the school-committee, and every one of you will take care of that. [2] I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of Walking, that is, of taking walks, who had a genius, so to speak, for sauntering; which word is beautifully derived "from idle people who roved about the country, in the middle ages, and asked charity, under pretence of going à la sainte terre" — to the holy land, till the children exclaimed, "There goes a sainte-terrer", a saunterer — a holy-lander. They who never go to the holy land in their walks, as they pretend, are indeed mere idlers and vagabonds, but they who do go there are saunterers in the good sense, such as I mean. Some, however, would derive the word from sans terre, without land or a home, which, therefore, in the good sense, will mean, having no particular home, but equally at home everywhere. For this is the secret of successful sauntering. He who sits still in a house all the time may be the greatest vagrant of all, but the Saunterer, in the good sense, is no more vagrant than the meandering river, which is all the while sedulously seeking the shortest course to the sea. But I prefer the first, which indeed is the most probable derivation. For every walk is a sort of crusade, preached by some Peter the Hermit (1) in us, to go forth and reconquer this holy land from the hands of the Infidels.... http://thoreau.eserver.org/walking1.html
Pete Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 And here is a NYT article on "100 miles of wilderness" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/travel/escapes/19american.html Oh, and Walk In The Woods sucks. I don't know why people love that book so much Most people I know who have read Walk in the Woods(and Bryson) have loved it. But I have met a few who didn't. I thought it was LOL funny myself. I have read most of his books- especially the travel ones. But A Short HIstory of Nearly Everything is amazing. http://www.amazon.com/A-Short-History-Nearly-Everything/dp/076790818X I did a nice chunk of the Long Trail this summer. With all due respect to Baxter/Katahdin, the Camels Hump - Mt Mansfield area may have been the nicest place I've ever been in the East. Fantastic
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 (edited) Did you do the canoe trail?Yeah... That was a long time ago... If remember correctly, we launched on the southern end of Long Lake (which is really like a long flowing lake... Hence the name)... Take that alway to the north, we spent one night on Long Lake... North end lean-too if I remember. @ the north you enter the Raquette? There was one portage. Portages up in Ontario were sometimes nicer... They had canoe rollers along the trail! I was young, it was kinda tough a portage in The ADK. There were a few rough areas along the way... That's where I first remember dealing with leeches when swimming... LoL... My wife as a youth would vacation @ Camp Hillary, south of the town, on the lake. We made that a destination a few times in the last decade as a whole family as well. The seaplanes are neat... I still have the pic in my work locker of my son sitting on the plane's pontoon... One time we were in town @ the General Store and spotted Bruce Willis, his two children (I think they are Gem & Scout) and their nanny... They were buying a ton of bottled water for some reason. A ton! LoL This was in the early 2000's, the children were young. I like it up there, quiet. The Goodnow Mountain hike to the fire tower is also a gr8 hike. I think it is Newcomb, NY. That's the farthest I hiked with a child on my back was that hike up Goodnow, in 2000... I had my 2 year old son in a Kelty up that mountain. It wasn't hard, but an old unimproved trail w/out any switchbacks... Classic ADK trail. Gets dicey with the roots and footing! Now, Mount Marcy is where I first came eye to eye w/a really smart black bear... The Rangers named him "Cliff." They warned us to tie the bear bags extra high and to knot it three tress around and away. It seems Cliff would follow the line and swipe @ the knot. Hanging that bag I was on another guy's back to get the knot extra high! Sitting around the lean-too that night we heard rustling... I went and shined the light and there was Cliff on his twos swiping @ the line... We scared him off and our bag was safe! The netx morning, we heard banging of pots and pans down @ another camp close to the creek... They were scaring a bear off. Later that morning we headed up to a swale by camp and found the Cliff's cache of food! Froot Loops and Swiss Miss everywhere! LoL... Have you ever did the "waterslide" @ Buttermilk Falls close to Long Lake?... That's a blast! Edited August 29, 2015 by ExiledInIllinois
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 20 miles....with an 80 lb pack... More of a slow jog or speed walk with the accordion affect of the mass formation. That's what I was wondering about. The military guys and what the maximum long range would be. I used to work w/a guy that was in Vietnam... He was in long range recon... His hikes out would be terribly long he said! Another young kid that worked for us did two tours in Iraq and I think 3! in Afghanistan... He's a Marine and he said the hikes were long... If you want to call them hikes... More like death! I am not sure how he got so many tours. He kept going back? So, it seems from what you and Ghost mentioned... 20-30 miles seems to be the human max that they push the military. My average was about 10 with an 80 pound pack @ the height of my strongest, leanest body mass years as a late teen. Canoeing much easier... But portages, one would carry the 70-100 pound canoe, the other the crew/boat's wet pack. Then the bastards @ LL Bean started inventing portage carts w/bogey wheels! LoL On our last trip to Philmont... We did extend a hike into the night. We bypassed out last camp to make a rendevous on the Tooth of Time Ridge. The whole BFLO/Greater Niagara Frontier Council was meeting there @ The Tooth to get early morning sunrise pics. We got in @ about 8 after about a 15 mile hike. We still had light to set up a small camp on the trail. That early morning awakening to catch the sunrise... We noticed the rest of the contingent that got in later the previous night, all sacked out on the trail... Just them and their sleeping bags. That hike across The Ridge was the closest I came to lightning. Upon climbing to the ridge... There was an opening of about a 100 yards... It was either stay in the trees and go around a 1/4 mile or dash across the high clearing... We dashed, in a lightning storm! With aluminum pack frames on! LoL... As we hiked The Ridge to our rendevous there was a plague erected for a Scout who dies by lightening strike in 1936! Wow... Foolish, but we were young. Upon entering the climb to The Ridge, that's when the bolt went off close... Everybody just hit the dirt! Tooth of Time and The Ridge is where the Santa Fe Trail would turn when the pioneers were traveling. They would see The Tooth and know to make the turn. Part of hike was on The Santa Fe Trail, so we got our Historical Trails Award too.
Rob's House Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 Once I walked 500 miles and then I walked 500 more.
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 Once I walked 500 miles and then I walked 500 more. Just to be the man who walks a 1,000 miles and falls down @ this thread's door? I see you are quite the proclaimer Rob! Good for you!
gomper Posted August 29, 2015 Posted August 29, 2015 Well, thank God this wasn't me but here's a walking story. Grateful Dead tour '91. We had two vans. Our friend Rob wound up in the other one. When we stopped for gas, everyone got out and somehow they spaced him and left. We saw him after the show and he said he walked 20 or so miles with no shoes to get near the show. Of course they played "Walkin Blues" that night. Rob said a song never meant so much to him. LOL.
Chef Jim Posted August 30, 2015 Posted August 30, 2015 Good timing on this article. Losers on trail. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/30/hikers-behaving-badly-appalachian-trail-partying-raises-ire/
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 30, 2015 Posted August 30, 2015 Good timing on this article. Losers on trail. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/30/hikers-behaving-badly-appalachian-trail-partying-raises-ire/ Like that's a shock... When certain things become the popular/trendy things to do, that's what happens unfortunately... :-( Aren't one of the biggest problems @ National Parks like Yosemite... Gangs... Firearms, etc... Yes, gangs. WTF! It's people, they have to wreck everything. C'est la vie. Find the thing that does NOT become the next big trend.
Gugny Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 Once I walked 500 miles and then I walked 500 more. ... da da lat da ....
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