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Reviews > Books > General > A Wildly Successful 200-Mile Hike > John Waters > Field Report
4 October 2005 Contents: Tester's Biographical Information Name: John R. Waters Backpacking Background My backpacking experience is limited to the last couple of years, hiking primarily in Michigan and Colorado. In Michigan, I do hikes of 6-8 miles (10 km-13 km) 2-3 times a week in Pontiac Lake Recreation area with weekend hikes in various other southeast Michigan locales. Our twice-a-year vacations are usually in Colorado where we hike the mountains in the summer and snowshoe in the winter. I tend towards the lightest pack possible - under 12 lb (5 kg), but of course, that is day hiking. I am starting overnight hiking this summer and am aiming for a light to ultralight weight pack. Product Information (from Manufacturer website) Author: Rick Allnutt, MD Features: This 128 page book is for the backpacker who is interested in hiking more than a weekend. It discusses the problems, techniques, and solutions for making a long hike successful - Wildly Successful! Product Information (from tester) Weight: 6.6 oz (187 g) Field Conditions/Completed Test Results My recent trip in September to Rocky Mountain National Park trip was my first really "long" trip - not 200 miles (322 km), but much longer than my usual 10 - 20 miles (16.1 - 32.2 km). I averaged about 10 miles (16.10 km) per day for each of the 8 days spent there. Elevations covered offered a nice variety for testing from the sandy lakeshores beginning at 7522 ft (2293 m) to a high of 11,160 ft (3420 m) at Stormy Peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park. Using the suggestions in Dr. Allnutt's book, I tried to avoid some of the pitfalls of long-distance hiking. While I knew starting out in Colorado that I was not going to be hiking 200 miles (322 km), I decided to emulate the preparations for such a trek anyway. Three weeks before the start of my trip, I started daily sessions with the treadmill to build up stamina. My machine has the ability to adjust to 50% incline so I can simulate "hills" a bit better than the standard treadmill. In addition to these daily sessions, I added pack weight of 20 lb (9.07 kg) on my normal outdoor hikes. Usually, I would not bother with a full backpack for 6-8 miles (10-13 km), but hey, I'm in training! This preparation did appear to help me not tire out on the trails of RMNP, at least as far as leg strength and knee comfort - shortness of breath due to attitude was still a problem in the early going. Dr. Allnutt spends a good bit of verbiage on the necessity of proper footwear. I've been pretty comfortable about my boots and socks combination, but I did add an extra pair of socks to my pack and found that changing my socks mid-day was a treat to my feet, nary a blister to be had. I also packed some Bodyglide just in case, but for naught. Using trekking poles is a suggestion that Dr. Allnutt recommends and I think that poles definitely helped me to maintain a steady pace both up and down slopes, but the big "ah-ha" I discovered about my hiking style was how difficult it was to correct my favoring of one leg (my right) in stepping up and down on the trail. Before reading A Wildly Successful 200-Mile Hike, I had not noticed this habit nor attributed my sometimes-sore right leg to it. Summary to Date Reading A Wildly Successful 200-Mile Hike, I was lulled into Dr. Allnutt's stories and anecdotes and didn't realize on first glance that I was actually learning. I even skimmed through a lot about "blisters" the first time around. However, when I decided to get serious about my September trip to the Rockies, I went back for a second read and actually put the tidbits of information to use. There is still a lot of knowledge that Dr. Allnutt has set down in this text that I plan to incorporate into my future hiking, although I'm thinking that kilts are not in that future! Continuing Test Plan I have tentative plans during the remaining test period for several 2 - 3 day hikes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the southern shoreline of Lake Superior and a one-week Christmas trip to Pike's Peak in Colorado. Unfortunately, none of these trips will come anywhere near 200 miles (322 km). I plan to continue practicing what the good doctor preaches in A Wildly Successful 200-Mile Hike, especially getting my pack weight down. I am carrying too much gear "just-in-case." That will be my goal for the rest of the test period - shedding the excess. I'm not sure how successful I'll be with winter conditions coming up, but I'm going to try! I will also report any other issues that arise during the testing period. Thank you for the opportunity to test this product! John R. Waters Read more reviews of Wayah Press gear Read more gear reviews by John Waters Reviews > Books > General > A Wildly Successful 200-Mile Hike > John Waters > Field Report | |||