Lost 25 pounds eating 6,000 calories per day :)
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futureicon wrote: »Damn.. I wish I had the free time and spare cash to join the "elite few" and go hiking for a year..
I can't picture how difficult this is, physically, emotionally, and logistically.0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »futureicon wrote: »Damn.. I wish I had the free time and spare cash to join the "elite few" and go hiking for a year..
I can't picture how difficult this is, physically, emotionally, and logistically.
Agreed. But it is what I've thought about for years on my "If I win the lottery" plan. It would be supported, then, but my plan is to hire someone to meet me at trailheads with supplies, to swap out gear when weather changes, and to get my mail and bills / take care of my personal business while I'm out exploring.2 -
Jeannie3099 wrote: »Sounds like B.S. to me.
Ever done that kind of sustained exertion? It doesn't sound like B.S. to me at all. A grown man carrying a pack and hiking thousands of miles on mountainous terrain could easily burn that kind of calories.6 -
Jeannie3099 wrote: »Sounds like B.S. to me.
So you've hiked nearly 8,000 miles and have first hand knowledge of the toll this takes on the body and the actually energy required to accomplish it? Do tell.6 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I wonder what he ate to get all those calories. It seems like a lot of food to tote around. The article doesn't say, just says he tried to eat 6000 calories a day.
I read an article in National Geographic many years ago about people who were trekking/working/something or other in the Arctic (it was so long ago I can't accurately remember what they were doing) and they estimated they were eating around 6,000-7,000 calories a day and losing weight. The people profiled in the article said they ate a jar of peanut butter a day, along with dried fruit and candy bars for calories.
All those jars of pb would weigh a lot!
They were using dogsleds.0 -
Sounds very similar to the calorie needs of someone climbing Mt. Everest. Actually those needs might be higher.0
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My husband and I have thruhiked four long trails (AT, PCT, CDT, GDT). On every hike, he loses 30-40 pounds. Unfortunately, after he stops doing the hard exercise, he gains most of it back. That's pretty typical. I know one long distance trail runner ate a lot of power bars every day to get in the calories he needed. I think if you're capable of running 40 miles a day, lack of variety is a small thing.9
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Jeannie3099 wrote: »Sounds like B.S. to me.
How so? Averaging 21 miles per day, every day. Average backpacking speed is: 2 miles per hour, +1 hour for every 1000 feet of elevation climb. That's roughly 10 hours of hiking per day. 6000 isn't utterly astounding, but his daily exercise rate is. It sounds completely believable.6 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I wonder what he ate to get all those calories. It seems like a lot of food to tote around. The article doesn't say, just says he tried to eat 6000 calories a day.
I read an article in National Geographic many years ago about people who were trekking/working/something or other in the Arctic (it was so long ago I can't accurately remember what they were doing) and they estimated they were eating around 6,000-7,000 calories a day and losing weight. The people profiled in the article said they ate a jar of peanut butter a day, along with dried fruit and candy bars for calories.
I bring (freeze) dried fruit when I go backpacking because fresh fruit is heavy. All luxuries are heavy things: an inflatable "mattress" instead of a foam pad, some people bring frying pans, or a book, or wine, etc. I brought a fresh orange when I hiked from Cascade Pass to Stehekin (35 miles) and really enjoyed it at the end of the second day. Just brought a bag of dried mixed berries with me to Sahale Glacier Camp.
Here's the view from Cascade Pass. I brought 10 pounds of camera for this.
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Well ... when I was really actively into randonneuring, I deliberately put on 10-20 lbs during the winter because come summer, it would drop off and I would struggle to eat enough to stay within a normal BMI range and not become underweight. But I usually did fall into the underweight category for a while toward the end of the season.
I'd go through grocery stores looking for the smallest, highest calorie foods I could find. And when I was on a long ride, those 700 calorie convenience store pastries and cookies were good for quick energy ... as well as massive plates of french toast, scrambled eggs, perogies, chicken sandwiches, etc. etc. on longer breaks.
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I thought I had read that it takes most thru hikers from March through August to hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian trail. This guy must be fast.1
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I thought I had read that it takes most thru hikers from March through August to hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian trail. This guy must be fast.
Some have gone much faster, of course. This guy started in Feb. and hiked 13.5 hrs. per day, so I'm willing to believe it. He wouldn't have been able to do southbound starting in Feb. (because Katahdin isn't open that early in the year). I'm going to point out that statistically speaking, southbound hikers make better time. They are also usually in better shape because they start out climbing Katahdin with enough food (i.e. heavy pack) for the 100 miles of wilderness. If someone embarks that direction, they know they are in good shape before they start or they get their trail legs fast. Northbound hikers on the AT generally take longer to get their trail legs. But if your goal is to keep moving (rather than some have a goal to move more slowly and there is known to be some partying on the AT), it sounds reasonable to me. Then going straight to the PCT without an extended break should help because he is still in shape and still used to a day of hiking and camping outside.2 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »I thought I had read that it takes most thru hikers from March through August to hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian trail. This guy must be fast.
Some have gone much faster, of course. This guy started in Feb. and hiked 13.5 hrs. per day, so I'm willing to believe it. He wouldn't have been able to do southbound starting in Feb. (because Katahdin isn't open that early in the year). I'm going to point out that statistically speaking, southbound hikers make better time. They are also usually in better shape because they start out climbing Katahdin with enough food (i.e. heavy pack) for the 100 miles of wilderness. If someone embarks that direction, they know they are in good shape before they start or they get their trail legs fast. Northbound hikers on the AT generally take longer to get their trail legs. But if your goal is to keep moving (rather than some have a goal to move more slowly and there is known to be some partying on the AT), it sounds reasonable to me. Then going straight to the PCT without an extended break should help because he is still in shape and still used to a day of hiking and camping outside.
Thanks, this is fascinating to me. I wonder if I could ever be in good enough shape to do the whole thing.
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I thought I had read that it takes most thru hikers from March through August to hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian trail. This guy must be fast.
Speaking of fast, here's an article about the lady who has the speed record ("fastest known time") on two of the three trails we're talking about.
http://www.spokesman.com/outdoors/stories/2014/may/25/pct-speed-queen-shares-vignettes-of-her-hike/HCN: How many miles a day were you hiking?
HA: Between 40 and 50 miles every day. I hiked a lot in the dark. That was one of the challenges that I knew I wanted to overcome. I was scared of mountain lions, and I’ve always been terrified of being out at night. In the past, if it was starting to get dark and I hadn’t found a place to camp, I’d literally be running down the trail almost crying. So on this trip I made myself hike three or four hours each night. I saw four mountain lions.
Anish is a local, and we couldn't be more proud of her.
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these guys rowed across the Pacific Ocean on a Paleo diet. They were the only team to finish weighing MORE than when they started (hmmm. what does THAT say about Paleo and losing weight?)
a friend of mine was part of this team in the same race - although it suggests they only consumed a measly 3500 calories during the trip.0 -
midwesterner85 wrote: »I thought I had read that it takes most thru hikers from March through August to hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian trail. This guy must be fast.
Some have gone much faster, of course. This guy started in Feb. and hiked 13.5 hrs. per day, so I'm willing to believe it. He wouldn't have been able to do southbound starting in Feb. (because Katahdin isn't open that early in the year). I'm going to point out that statistically speaking, southbound hikers make better time. They are also usually in better shape because they start out climbing Katahdin with enough food (i.e. heavy pack) for the 100 miles of wilderness. If someone embarks that direction, they know they are in good shape before they start or they get their trail legs fast. Northbound hikers on the AT generally take longer to get their trail legs. But if your goal is to keep moving (rather than some have a goal to move more slowly and there is known to be some partying on the AT), it sounds reasonable to me. Then going straight to the PCT without an extended break should help because he is still in shape and still used to a day of hiking and camping outside.
Thanks, this is fascinating to me. I wonder if I could ever be in good enough shape to do the whole thing.
Yes, you could. There is a big question about other factors. Personally, I have medical issues that complicate such a feat, but still could be in shape. I can't do it because I can't afford to take that much time off from work, but that isn't a physical fitness barrier. I'm not going to tell you that you can break a speed record, but I bet you could do it physically.2 -
I'm thinking about putting this in my five year plan. In that time I can gain fitness, experience, & figure out the logistics regarding money & childcare.0
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midwesterner85 wrote: »I thought I had read that it takes most thru hikers from March through August to hike from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian trail. This guy must be fast.
Some have gone much faster, of course. This guy started in Feb. and hiked 13.5 hrs. per day, so I'm willing to believe it. He wouldn't have been able to do southbound starting in Feb. (because Katahdin isn't open that early in the year). I'm going to point out that statistically speaking, southbound hikers make better time. They are also usually in better shape because they start out climbing Katahdin with enough food (i.e. heavy pack) for the 100 miles of wilderness. If someone embarks that direction, they know they are in good shape before they start or they get their trail legs fast. Northbound hikers on the AT generally take longer to get their trail legs. But if your goal is to keep moving (rather than some have a goal to move more slowly and there is known to be some partying on the AT), it sounds reasonable to me. Then going straight to the PCT without an extended break should help because he is still in shape and still used to a day of hiking and camping outside.
Thanks, this is fascinating to me. I wonder if I could ever be in good enough shape to do the whole thing.
My 78 yo mother (who used to do a lot of hiking) and I were talking about this a few weeks ago. She said there are people in their 80s who have completed the AT. I did some quick googling before posting this and found this:
http://appalachiantrials.com/who-was-the-oldest-appalachian-trail-thru-hiker/
Although Grandma Gatewood is arguably the most badass thru-hiker of all time, she is not the oldest (or even the first). The title of oldest female thru-hiker currently belongs to 74-year-young Drag’n’fly.
The oldest person to section hike the AT, was Mike ‘Cimarron’ Caetano, who completed the full trail over two years, finishing at the age of 84. Simply incredible.
But, Sandy, the long-winded answer to your simple question, is Lee “The Easy One” Barry. Barry is both the oldest male and oldest overall having thru-hiked the AT in 2004 at the age of 81. Fun fact: The Easy One didn’t set out to break the AT age mark; he learned of the record part way through his journey (source).
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A number of people thruhike the AT or PCT who have absolutely no prior experience. There are a few blind people who have hiked the AT, and a few who have done it with a missing leg, or with MS (on crutches) or without a stomach (literally). Young children have hiked it and some who were in their early 80's. Although it is hard, physically, to hike all day every day, it is more of a mental challenge than a physical one for most people after a while on the trail. To complete the AT in 6 months you only need to hike about 12-13 miles a day. That's 6 or 7 hours of hiking for most people. Hikers can take up to 10 months or so to finish the trail, if they need to. The PCT has a narrower weather window, so most people who do it in one year do it in 4-5 months, with an average of 16-25 miles a day, but since it is graded for horses, without a lot of steep up and down, that is not as hard to do as you'd think.4
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I long-distance backpacked. I'd love to have done the entire PCT but haven't really had 5 months free to do it. I have section hiked it though and have done some of Oregon and most all of Washington. The longest trips I have done were 14 day 200 mile trips. I can say in one of those trips I was eating about 2700 calories a day (what I was able to carry using the most calorie rich foods I could stomach). After 14 days I had lost about 10 pounds. Not just "oh its water weight" right after the trip 10 pounds, legitimate stayed on average 10 pounds lighter 10 pounds. That meant eating 2700 a day I was still in about a 3000 calorie deficit. I don't ultralight though so my pack was more in the 30 pound range.
If you hike 6000 miles in a year I fully believe you can eat 6000 calories a day and still end up almost starving to death.
On the Washington side hiking the PCT when you run into through-hikers they are near the end of their trip and many of them are fairly gaunt and all of them have lost a lot of weight. It is pretty much impossible to not lose weight backpacking like that, you literally do not have the time in the day to eat enough. With long distance packing its basically intermittent fasting to. You "fast" on 2500 calories and then when you get into a town every 4th day or so you just gorge yourself on like 10k calories.2 -
Image from around the PCT in Washington:
watch out for forest fires though:
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I suddenly feel the urge to re-read "A Walk in the Woods." 1
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Hubby, my son, and I want to do the PCT when he graduates HS (in 5 years), or possibly the summer between his Jr and Sr year in HS. Take the whole summer off after he graduates and just walk in the mountains for three months.
Sounds amazing to me.
That's part of my long term motivation to do what I'm doing now and to maintain the weight I lose. And I hope I can eat a lot of candy bars when I do it.2
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