Hiking the Appalachian Trail

[HowieF-16]

Wondering if there are any serious hikers out there in the surface hippy movement.  I am five months post op and doing well.  It has always been a dream of mine to hike the AT.  Since, I am still working, a thru-hike is not yet possible, but I am thinking of doing a different state on the AT over the next ten summers or so...

Any surface hippy's have some experiences they want to share with me post-op in their preparations and execution of some long distance hikes?  I'd love to hear about the preparations, training, unique gear needed and actual hike.  Thanks.

[bkeers]

HowieF-16,
I am almost 9 mos. out from LBHR. I recently finished a 19 mile 9000' hike of the presidential range in a day. My hip held up fine, even the day after it felt good. Leading up to this I spent a lot of time on the stepper, walking and lifting. I found the key is to keep exercising but if you are sore give it a day of rest, foam rolling and stretching. I've added 5-10 mins of walking on the treadmill followed by stretching to the beginning of every workout. On the stepper I built up from 120steps/min. and would
hold a 35lb plate to up my heart rate before increasing my speed. I am starting to run now slowly building pace and speed, My doc lifted running restrictions at 6 mos.
Best of luck,
Brian
LBHR 9-23-13

[kimberly52]

Hello Howie,

Yes, I guess you could consider me a very avid hiker.  I started back to hiking 10 months out and did not do anything special like the gym to prepare.  I started with 1-2 milers and just kept bumping up my mileage.  Yoga has been invaluable to me also.

In late May I finished both the South Rim and North Rim hikes into the Grand Canyon with full pack for overnight stays. The first descent down South Kaibab was a bit rough at the end and pretty much because I had not used various muscles in a few years.  By the time I got to the North Rim those muscles had healed and all was well with the world.

Today I did a 7-mile trek down into 2 different slot canyons here in Escalante, Utah.  There was a lot of climbing up and down ranging from 4-15 feet in height.  My hip performed exceptionally well and my husband who is normally the strong hiker was taken back a bit seeing me climbing effortlessly.  I will admit though that with the climbing today I am a bit sore. Again, working dormant muscles.

I am a former runner but have not started running yet.  I probably will when I return home from my extended trip here in the Southwest.  For now I am way too busy hiking and exploring too run.

If I can hike in and out of the Grand Canyon twice within 10 days I feel anything is possible.

When you are ready for the AT just make sure that you get the best hiking boots and pack money can buy.  Oh yeah, I bought a 1 1/2-inch Thermarest pad and it is wonderful.  A bit pricey but money well spent for comfort and lifetime guarantee.  And lastly, trekking poles have been a lifesaver for me.

I will be interested to hear about your hiking adventures.

Kim

[HowieF-16]

Thank you for your feedback. I'm coming up on 7 months post-op and really wanted to start training for big hikes again. My challenge is I live in Florida. Not a lot of vertical to work to get in shape. I'll be heading up to north GA for the hills.