Ask HN: Are you hiking? How old are you and how many kilometers can you Hike?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32044296

by TekMol • 4 years ago

35 64 4 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm in my 40s and never thought about hiking. I never did any sport either during my adult life.

Today, the idea of Hiking came to my mind. I was thinking "How many kilometers could I even do it?"

So I have put about 2 kg of stuff in my backpack and started walking through my city.

I really liked it for about 5 km. Then it was a chore. I did two more km and was very exhausted :)

How much better can I get at it?

jraph• 4 years ago

I think you can get better quickly. Do it regularly. A small walk everyday would be perfect, but if you can't, a few times a week would work too.

I bet you'd be able to walk until you are bored instead of tired soon enough (unless you are never bored, but if you can be, listening to podcasts could be a way to go).

Walking in a city can be exhausting because of the concrete, the noise, the heat and the traffic.

I can walk for hours no problem. Elevation gain or loss and the sun counts more than simply the distance.

Being hydrated helps a lot. Good shoes too.

Good walk!

hprotagonist• 4 years ago

my age still starts with a number less than 4.

To me, hiking means self supported long travel, possibly with an overnight and certainly with a pack that has food and supplies for a day. Daypack weight no more than 5-6kg, multi-day pack under 14kg if i can manage it (but will depend on if i've topped up on water recently)

That’s not the same as waking around a city, which usually involves much less stuff on your back, and sneakers not more technically-oriented shoes.

i’m good for about 20km/day in wilderness (class 1/2), substantially farther on class 0 (gravel paths, dirt roads,habitable places…), substantially less on class 3,4. (and i climb at about 5.9 lead/.10a follow)

https://www.sierra.com/blog/hiking/hiking-classes-defined/

I tend to prefer a bicycle to walking in towns and cities, so I don't really know how far i can walk, but it's a ways.

Like anything, routine practice and habit get you a long way. My parent is in their seventies and walks 10-15k around the neighborhood every day after breakfast. Goes through shoes pretty fast!

petargyurov• 4 years ago

Quite impressive for a 3 year old.

Raed667• 4 years ago

I don't think about hiking purely in terms of kilometers. I try to enjoy the views, the food break, some good audiobook, sometimes a swim break if it is coastal or by a lake. It is not just about stats, but more about how it makes you feel during and after.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of good shoes!

rr808• 4 years ago

My 80 year old father regularly hikes, 4 hours is his minimum. Up hills too. Its very healthy, low impact, burns calories, cardio and hills for strength.

2000UltraDeluxe• 4 years ago

Much. Form gets better when you start walking more often.

Remember to not overdo it and to take breaks; hikes don't have to be long.

finnlab• 4 years ago

Get good shoes, this can make a huge difference. Apart from that it's just staying consistent and walking as much as possible and you'll be able to do over 20km pretty soon (depending on your current fitness ofc)

poniko• 4 years ago

You will, as with any new exercise have a fast development the first few months. First the nervous system will just spin up and figure out what you are doing and that will and allow you to walk more, then your cardio will improve and lastly you muscles will adapt.

The beginner gains are the most fun :)

Walking in a city you can easily do 5-7km/h but when hiking in a forest or mountains your speed will be more like 2-4km/h.

Keep walking

blinkingled• 4 years ago

I'm up to 8 miles of what they call moderate hikes and it tires me satisfactorily.

Between 2008 and 2012 I had gotten extremely lethargic and sedentary. In 2012 I started walking - could do 2 miles at best. I gradually got up to doing 5 miles and easy biking over those years. After that I started hiking in the mountains - long easy ones first and now I'm up to easily doing 8 miles moderate ones. (Heat makes it more miserable for me than anything else so I go early in the mornings.)

I am 50 and don't look at it as a competitive thing - just something to stay active and feel good.

Also 100% agree with the comment below on getting good shoes that fit you well. You do not want to get foot or back pain. Also avoid walking on concrete pathways.

0x5345414e• 4 years ago

You will get better pretty quickly if you keep at it. Hopefully you live near a place where you have a bit of elevation gain for your hikes. Another thing that I’ve found helps a lot is squats and deadlifts. I would say the main thing that sets my hiking ability apart from my friends is I have much stronger legs.

pjmorris• 4 years ago

I'm a desk jockey in my late 50's, and have fallen in with other 40- and 50-somethings who will do multi-day 8-12 mile hikes on the Appalachian Trail. I am, by far, the slowest of the group and depend heavily on their experience and support.

I'd say working your way up, a little at a time, is essential. Have a look at this recent article by another walker of cities, Chris Arnade:

https://walkingtheworld.substack.com/p/how-to-walk-12-miles-...

Loic• 4 years ago

40+, a bad knee (I think I will need a cleaning of my meniscus soon) and enjoying hiking. Tomorrow we are leaving for a nearly 100km hike between 900 and 2900m with the complete family, our sons are 9, 13 and 15, done over a week, sleeping in Hütten/refuges.

It means that you too can do it, but start slowly. Simply start walking[0] and ensure that you reduce your overweight if you have some. Combine it with regular strength workout, maybe 30 minutes 2 or 3 times a week.

The most important part is that you must find your fun in walking. Find something interesting you (mapping, birds, architecture or simply thinking about stuff) while you walk.

Reinhold Messner used to quote one of his good friends: "Hiking is the art of suffering". So yes, you suffer a bit on the way and some people cannot stand it, some enjoy it.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31250001

martyvis• 4 years ago

I'm 58 and my wife is two years younger. We do a few short hike each month, maybe up to 6km about 3 hours (often with our dog). We also do longer ones 3 or 4 times a year, maybe 10 to 15km, 300m ascent in about 6 hours. We just enjoy the scenery and identify plants, enjoy rock formations and the occasional run into fauna. Just take your time and maybe a friend to keep you motivated.

The physical side of things does improve as you learn about muscles you didn't know you had. Before we started doing it more regularly, I complained a bit about my knees and ankles - not so much now. Also get appropriate footwear - we've been pretty happy with what Merrell and Keen have on offer (and also Teva Sandles for summer walks)

dahart5• 4 years ago

With practice, I’m sure you can become as good as you can imagine. Habit forming is the trick, in my experience, prioritizing it and sticking to it. It might help to focus on ways to enjoy hiking, by starting small and having goals. Do easy 2km hikes somewhere beautiful or fun once a week until you’re longing to go harder and further, and then increase your length & difficulty slowly. You can set a destination. In the city, maybe your destination is a new sandwich shop across town, and you can enjoy some lunch and be less exhausted.

I’m also in my 40s. My typical day hikes are around 10km in the mountains, but I like to walk around in the city as well. Some hikes are shorter (~3km), and some are occasionally longer (~20km) if I have all day. On summer nights, instead of sitting on the couch, I like to download a movie and take a “Netflix walk”. In the mountains, I like exploring and seeing new places. My longest hike was about 80km through a mountain range. I went with a friend and it took 3 days because our packs had about 20kg of camping gear and food. That’s more backpacking than hiking, but I guess I’m saying that once you’re hiking a lot and you really enjoy it you can hike as far as you want, the limiter might be more time & motivation than distance.

TekMol• 4 years ago

What is a "Netflix walk"?

dahart5• 4 years ago

Just watching a movie while I walk. ;) I take an iPad and wander for a couple of miles enjoying the movie.

jonnycomputer• 4 years ago

Hiking is good exercise, and an exercise that you can continue to do throughout your lifetime.

I distinctly remembering as a sixth grader camper watching in utter disbelief as a 70 yo man charged up the mountain ahead of us while us kids lagged behind, and whined how tired out our legs were.

As for age ... I can hike better and further now as a non-smoker in my later forties than I did when I was in my twenties and smoking a pack a day.

carabiner• 4 years ago

I hiked the pct, 4000 km.

jpmattia• 4 years ago

58yo and walk around 5km daily with the wife on trails. (We're in SoCal, so it's always sunny.) Sometimes I tack on another 5-10km jogging.

Very good for physical and mental health.

bobthe32• 4 years ago

Im quite young(under 21) but hiking as been a huge outlet for my stress. During the first lockdown, weekly hiking was my time of self care. Its also super good for your cardio vascular system. My Vo2 Max raised around 10-15 points from hiking alone along with my overall speed. Hiking is also one of those thing where it indirectly teaches you life skills; sometimes zigzags are the fastest route or slow and steady is faster then going fast and taking breaks.

ravenstine2• 4 years ago

Out of curiosity, what did you use to measure your VO2max?

alphabettsy3• 4 years ago

Apple Watch has this. I’d imagine other fitness trackers do as well.

bobthe32• 4 years ago

I used my apple watch, it’s not the most accurate but provides a good idea.

tekla3• 4 years ago

In my 30's. I do roughly 30-40km a day with around 20kg pack.

If you want to get better, load water or any weight into a bag and walk around hilly areas.

simmerup• 4 years ago

That must take forever, do you work at night?

tekla3• 4 years ago

This is during PTO.

cmmeur01• 4 years ago

How long does this take? Honestly sounds like bullshit.

tekla3• 4 years ago

5-6am to sundown.

ozim• 4 years ago

I think he can do 30-40km a day on his day off not that he is doing it every day :)

dahart5• 4 years ago

Honestly sounds like bullshit.

Why’s that? There are lots of people who do extreme amounts of activity. Parent’s description is on par for backpacking.

Please consider your phrasing. Nothing wrong with asking the question, but best avoid coming off as though you’re accusing people of lying. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

hackeraccount• 4 years ago

Sounds reasonable to me. 20/25 K's is 15 miles or so. 20 minute miles is a totally comfortable pace. - so 300/60 5 hours. Plus add whatever and you get to 8 or 9 hours of walking.

I wouldn't want to do that if it was really hot but other then that it doesn't seem particularly bad much less unlikely.

dotcoma• 4 years ago

You can certainly do 20-25 kms/day if you work on it for 6-12 months.

plugin-baby• 4 years ago

50km is achievable in a day.

hereforphone• 4 years ago

You can get a lot better at it, if you want. Start slow and ramp up slow or you will end up with foot and leg issues. In a few years you'll be walking over mountains.

timst4• 4 years ago

I’m an avid hiker , but I’m also 44. I can hike 8k on a daily basis but occasionally do longer backpacking trips where I hike 20k a day for a few days. These trips tire me out though and it takes a few days to recover. Keep at it. It’s a great way to see Nature

ElectronBadger• 4 years ago

I'm in the middle between forty and fifty. I hike a lot, all year around (winter preferably), mostly in mountains. I do up to 40 km (it gets tiring above 30) per day with a backpack, around 30 km per day on skis with a pulk.

To get better - just hike a lot. And consider running to improve your legs stamina and cardio fitness.

defrost• 4 years ago

My father's 87 (born 1935) and walks at a stiff pace roughly 8 to 10 km every morning (leaving at 4 am) on a varying route sometimes with or without farm dogs.

He also maintains a section roughly 20 km in length of a 1,000 km long walking track here in Western Australia. That's edge cleanups, fire safety, hut upkeep, occassional footbridge construction, etc.

I hike a bit (I've done a few big walks in Tasmania and New Zealand, here in Australia .. and various parts of the world in a job related capacity (mapping, suryeying, geophysics, etc)) .. but I'm strictly small beer next to the old fellow.

ravenstine2• 4 years ago

I'm in my 30's. It's absolutely normal to feel exhausted by hiking if you haven't done it or other sports in quite some time. In the hiking groups I used to attend, there were plenty of people decades older than you who could go much further than 5km without a sweat (figuratively speaking). I imagine that if you do some hiking periodically that your body will adjust to it in a short period of time.

nikolahorvat2• 4 years ago

My personal best in 24h of mountain was 140km and 10000m up + 10000m down. I am not professional, but recreational runner who primary trained seriously for marathon

nikolahorvat2• 4 years ago

Did this when I was 36 years old

jhpacker• 4 years ago

You can get a lot better, just keep it up. Continuing to do it after becomes a chore is crucial to getting better, but don't push too hard at first.

As others have said, how far you can do depends greatly on the terrain and load you are carrying. Also how many days in a row you are going to do it. I'm in my late 40s and have found that's the biggest change. I can still hike about as far as I could in my 20s (though I can no longer carry as much), but I can't do max distance multiple days in a row.

I recommend alltrails.com to find trails around you and see how long it takes other hikers. The average time spent and the trail rating can be more useful than the distance. Make sure to look at the vertical too.

Hiking is a great life-long sport! My dad is in his 80s and still does it.

tlyleung• 4 years ago

Hong Kong has a lot of beautiful trails. I’m in my mid 30s and decided to hike the MacLehose Trail with a few friends to round out the year in Dec 2020. It’s a 100km trail that runs from the East to the West of Hong Kong and it passes through mountains, lakes, sandy beaches and even a few WW2 tunnels. We split the trail into 4 separate days, so around 25km a day. Some parts were tough, but the experience as a whole was pretty rewarding.

woutr_be• 4 years ago

One of my favourite trails in HK is MacLehose section 1 and 2 in Sai Kung, basically around the reservoir and through the beaches, absolutely gorgeous hike. I think it’s about 20 km and took me a good 5 hours last time.

HK as a whole is great for hiking, lots of different trails, that can get quite challenging due to the terrain. I usually do Quarry Bay to Parkview on Saturday mornings, great little 2 hour hike with lots of stairs to climb.

amichal• 4 years ago

45. Been at a desk job since 18. Did 400 miles of the AT then starting at 8 miles a day and working up to 16 (with a very heavy pack). I quit the thru bike but returned for visits and did a couple 20+ mile days a few months later. Years pass and got down to where a anything more than a couple miles hurt. Moved to a city with a strong outdoor walking and biking culture a few months ago and on day 1 the 4 flights of stairs to our flat killed me. I now think nothing of walking 10-15km or biking 30 in just an average day moving about.

Gradual increases seems to be the key

daverol• 4 years ago

Don't judge yourself by city walking - go where there is 'natural world' interest. This will make it less likely to feel like a chore :)

alphabettsy3• 4 years ago

In my early 30s. I get pretty tired about 2 miles in and catch a second wind and I’m usually ready for another 8-10 miles before calling it a day. That’s with an overnight pack including sleeping equipment. I find the tiredness and second wind happens regardless of the load. Even with no pack I have to push through and I’m fine.

dopidopHN2• 4 years ago

I like multi day hike with a 20lbs backpack. Usually I can get to 15 miles / days with that load.

In town without backpack I try to walk 10k steps / days.

ioseph• 4 years ago

I'm 33 and just let week had the rude awakening that I now need to warm up to things.

Attempted a 3 day 60km walk with lots of elevation changes, on the second day my ITB became so inflamed I couldn't bend my knee, and had to abort the walk.

Prior to this I've done up to 30km days no sweat (carrying up 20kgs). So I'm feeling pretty depressed. It's not helped that there's so much conflicting advice when it come to physio.

analog31• 4 years ago

As others have said, you can get better, but you're doing great just getting from zero to the stage you're at. Keep it up.

politelemon• 4 years ago

The simplest way to start is to look for a hiking trail that's near, accessible to you and do what's called a circular hikeb or circular walk, or day hikes. It lets you start and finish at an accessible location so you can go home.

These can be short but scenic and popular. The difference in view can be a huge assist in your hiking ability.

It will also give you an idea of how much endurance you have and whether you'll enjoy more. You could even do the same trail many times! Being out on a trail also lets you stop and rest. So you see, it's quite different from walking in a city.

Please, even if it's a short hike, remember to carry some water with you, a tiny snack, and wear hiking shoes if you can.

ryanschneider• 4 years ago

Mid 40s and try to hike 4.5km daily (we have a nice trail near our house) and longer on the weekends, up to about 12km is ok on the same trail system. If you can find a nearby trail you enjoy with good elevation change that’s IMO the best way to improve.

I highly suggest using Organic Maps on mobile for finding nearby trails, though I usually then switch to Apple or Google Maps satellite view for visual confirmation the area seems ok before striking out. I was shocked how many trails there were around me hidden in plain sight, hopefully that’s the same in your area.

snowwrestler• 4 years ago

I’m mid-forties and have hiked since I was a kid. Longest are probably a trip of 75 miles in 3 days, or the time I spent a month straight in the mountains—both when I was much younger.

I don’t really know how far I can hike now. Going slow and with some rest breaks, probably a long way? I wouldn’t hesitate to head up Old Rag (linked in another comment) if I started early in the day, for example.

Hiking “works” best when the act of walking is not the entire point. By that I mean, it’s way more enjoyable when you have beautiful scenery to look at, or companions to chat with, or an exciting destination, etc.

Even just heading out on a walk in the city, if I’m walking towards something I’m interested in, or I’m exploring a new area, or I’m walking with a friend, I can go for a long way. If I’m just counting miles, it’s going to be mentally harder.

I will say that the mentality of hiking develops with practice just like the muscles. With lots of practice you can learn to go into your thoughts and not focus on the feeling of physical exertion. This happens to runners too. For some people it helps to have music or a podcast in their ears.

Markoff3• 4 years ago

It comes down to practice, when I started to travel (after years of sitting on ass in office and just walking around city) and came to Great wall at Mutianyu, it took me like 40-60 minutes to get all the way uphill with many breaks. Then roughly two years later after travelling across Asia walking every day kilometres, when I went there with my father I could almost run all the way up in like 10-20 minutes.

I walked recently with my kids (4+6y) ~11km on some tourist trail (very small elevation), didn't really have problem during hike, but could feel it in my legs later for few days since I am not used to walk that much anymore, nowadays I walk like 5-6km per day only.

Btw. my father will be soon 70, he is hiking regularly, can do 20+ km through mountains in one day.

Oh and like maybe year ago I started simple exercise routine (like <10 minutes but all kinds of moves) at home, no equipment necessary besides floor and wall, at beginning I could barely do 1-2 push ups, now I moved to 15 at one session (+20 sit ups, +15 squats and various other moves with neck, hands), but long time didn't icnrease the number, I'm sure I could push it to 18-20, you just need to start slowly, at beginning even 2 are OK, after few weeks you move to 5, after few more weeks to 8-10, then you move to 15, etc.

Fatnino• 4 years ago

You don't need to start right off with a 2kg pack.

You want about .5L of water per hour hiking. Throw in an extra bottle perhaps, better to have a little extra than not enough.

2kg of water is about 4 hours hiking. Maybe don't start right off with such a long hike.

a_lifters_life• 4 years ago

I love to hike - 33, it started as a supplementary way to exercise during the pandemic for me, and now always seems to be apart of the weekend plan - wheres the next hard hike?

yencabulator• 4 years ago

I'm 45 and overweight, and my dogs tire out at around 8 miles ~= 13 km.

If you're at all an animal lover and in a life situation where you can, adopt a medium size dog of a semi-active breed (say, 20-30kg mutt with some shepherd breed in it, but not a pure working dog!). Take the dog for an hour-long walk every single day. The dog will teach you to be a walker.

(If you can't get a dog, find a local shelter and volunteer to walk the dogs there. Many will let you "borrow" a dog for 30 mins at a time, so you can give 2-3 dogs a walk in one visit. It helps the dogs, too!)

Ask HN: Are you hiking? How old are you and how many kilometers can you Hike?

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