Endurance walking / domestic "trekking"?

[Urchina]

Hi, everyone. I'm developing plans to do some local endurance treks (30+ miles in a mix of urban/rural/backcountry areas) and am wondering if anyone else on the board does this type of thing. I love how just my feet can get me where I want to go.

I'm not particularly interested in "trekking" vacations to exotic location (like Bhutan, or the Inca Trail) or backpacking -- I'm more interested in using my feet to take me exploring in my area. More of a walkabout, so to speak, or a pilgrimage. Think walking Hadrian's Wall in Scotland, or the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Any great websites / resources you'd recommend, if this is your type of thing?

Thanks in advance!

[LeoJlLeBrut]

I walk 50 miles per week. Longest is on weekends, about 12 miles. Have been doing this for about two years and really like it...like, "where have you been all my life" like it. I got into the habit as a result of cardiac rehab (heart attack, one stent, no damage, but a big tap on the shoulder), but it turns out to be something that I can usually combine with something I have to do (mail a letter, get some lettuce, etc) or something that I like to do (having some bread, butter after walking 10 miles -- yeah, I think I can handle it).  I'm looking forward to retiring so I can walk more and more often.

So: an endorsement of your idea.

[big_owl]

Random question for serious walkers - can women in general walk faster than men?  I can run much, much faster than my wife.  But when we go on walks together I'm always struggling to keep up her pace.  It's like my hips aren't built to walk that fast.  If we break into a mild jog then I'm much quicker, but something about the biomechanics of a walk and she's just better at it than I am.  What gives?

[GuitarStv]

Random question for serious walkers - can women in general walk faster than men?  I can run much, much faster than my wife.  But when we go on walks together I'm always struggling to keep up her pace.  It's like my hips aren't built to walk that fast.  If we break into a mild jog then I'm much quicker, but something about the biomechanics of a walk and she's just better at it than I am.  What gives?

I'm a dude, and I walk significantly faster than anyone I know.  Maybe it's a biomechanics thing, not a man/woman thing.  Some kind of thigh/shin/height ratio probably explains why some people are quicker walkers than others.

[Splashncash]

Random question for serious walkers - can women in general walk faster than men?  I can run much, much faster than my wife.  But when we go on walks together I'm always struggling to keep up her pace.  It's like my hips aren't built to walk that fast.  If we break into a mild jog then I'm much quicker, but something about the biomechanics of a walk and she's just better at it than I am.  What gives?

I'm a dude, and I walk significantly faster than anyone I know.  Maybe it's a biomechanics thing, not a man/woman thing.  Some kind of thigh/shin/height ratio probably explains why some people are quicker walkers than others.

Hey big_owl, your situation is similar to mine and my husband's.  He runs circles around me but when we walk he constantly asks where the fire is and if I could slow down.  I tell him I just can't walk that slow, I would be moving backwards!

We are the same height but don't know whose legs are longer.  I'll check that tonight.

[Guesl982374]

No websites to recommend other than trusty Google maps. Typically I'll look very closely at maps surrounding my workplace and home and pick a street/area/small park I haven't been to and just go during lunch or in the evenings.

[mskyle]

This is maybe a bit more on the "trekking" side than you're interested, but I did the Tour du Mont Blanc a few years ago - 100 miles (give or take) around Mont Blanc in France, Italy, and Switzerland. You can get a hot dinner and breakfast and sleep in a bed, indoors, every night. It was great! It wasn't "technical" but some of the hiking is quite difficult, and there's some snow pretty much all year, I believe.

As for the "are women faster" question - I (a woman) suspect that men and women can walk about the same speed on average, and individual difference outweigh the sex difference. I have noticed a weird phenomenon, though: when I hike/walk with my sister and her husband, I find that whoever is in front seems to be the most comfortable, while the other two of us scramble to catch up. This is true whether the person in front is my 6'3" brother-in-law, my ridiculously fit and tiny sister, or regular old me. Either of them could easily out-bike me, but for some reason if I'm in front they have trouble keeping up.

[JZinCO]

Random question for serious walkers - can women in general walk faster than men?  I can run much, much faster than my wife.  But when we go on walks together I'm always struggling to keep up her pace.  It's like my hips aren't built to walk that fast.  If we break into a mild jog then I'm much quicker, but something about the biomechanics of a walk and she's just better at it than I am.  What gives?

So I used to have a job where walking/hiking under load was about 1/3 of what I did. On average, men do better simply at walking for speed or length due to greater potential for muscle mass/density.
But there is significant variability so I would not make any assumptions about an individual based on what I just said. As an anecdote, my girlfriend just did the 'pack test' (45lb/3mi under 45 min) and barely made the cut. I normally do it in 37 min and have seen others do it in 34 min.

To the OP, since I've transitioned to an office-bound career, I've taken up walking under load (variable weight/distance between 45 and 155 lb loads). My goal is to once again be able to pass the "pack out" test: cover 3 mi i 90 min under a 110lb load.

edit:To make sure the pack test complies with Americans with Disability Act, a study was doe which observed men and women hiking under load and measured their speed. Without controlling for differences in VO2 capacity, strength, etc, they found no difference due to sex and only a slight increase in speed for men only during an incline.

[Northwestie]

http://www.walkopedia.net/100-best.asp

[mm1970]

Random question for serious walkers - can women in general walk faster than men?  I can run much, much faster than my wife.  But when we go on walks together I'm always struggling to keep up her pace.  It's like my hips aren't built to walk that fast.  If we break into a mild jog then I'm much quicker, but something about the biomechanics of a walk and she's just better at it than I am.  What gives?

Depends.  My husband and his mother both walk VERY fast.  His dad ambles.

I amble.  I used to be able to walk faster.  I can generally do a 17-18 min mile.  Any faster and my hips start to ache.

[Hotstreak]

Hi, everyone. I'm developing plans to do some local endurance treks (30+ miles in a mix of urban/rural/backcountry areas) and am wondering if anyone else on the board does this type of thing. I love how just my feet can get me where I want to go.

I'm not particularly interested in "trekking" vacations to exotic location (like Bhutan, or the Inca Trail) or backpacking -- I'm more interested in using my feet to take me exploring in my area. More of a walkabout, so to speak, or a pilgrimage. Think walking Hadrian's Wall in Scotland, or the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Any great websites / resources you'd recommend, if this is your type of thing?

Thanks in advance!

I've done this.  Pack a lunch and lots of water!  It's nice to have a destination sometimes, like a specific park or trail, or a grocery store across town, but a large part of the pleasure of this kind of walking for me comes from eliminating the destination.  Walk out your door and turn the opposite direction of your normal commute.  Walk for a while then turn when you feel like it.  Look at gardens as you walk by, breath in the fresh air, notice the feeling in your legs.  Just explore and enjoy yourself, take breaks when you feel like it, and turn around to go home whenever you want to.

[PawPrint3520]

When we lived in Seattle, we would walk about 15 miles on the weekends just exploring different neighborhoods and parks. Our longest walk was 23 miles in one day. We also walked through the Cotswolds for a week from village to village. Our luggage was shuttled to the villages so we didn't have to carry it, something I liked.

[big_owl]

I've done some research on the subject, men are indeed faster walkers than women.  I guess it's an evolutionary thing.  I've also learned that when men are sexually interested in a woman that they will match her pace so that she does not waste extra energy affecting the chances of her successfully breeding. Apparently the female reproductive system is much less robust than that of men when it comes to physical activity.  Who knew?

So none of that explains my situation.  Or maybe it does and little owl is walking faster than me indicating that she doesn't want to breed with me?  Hmmmm. 

I suspect it's femur/fibula ratios but am too lazy to measure both of ours and see if there's a difference.  I'll just accept that I have to work harder to keep up while walking around....but if push comes to shove and the shit hits the fan and it's time to run...buh bye....

[NoraLenderbee]

I've also learned that when men are sexually interested in a woman that they will match her pace so that she does not waste extra energy affecting the chances of her successfully breeding.

Oh, so that's the reason. I thought men did that because it's easier to get to know a woman if you walk with her than if you're 10 paces ahead.

Apparently the female reproductive system is much less robust than that of men when it comes to physical activity.  Who knew?

?? Low body fat can cause amenorrhea (no periods), but other than that, women's reproductive systems aren't any more easily damaged than men's by physical activity. And they are less likely to crumple in pain from a strike to the gonads.

Women outdo men in ultradistance swimming (that is, the best women outdo the best men) and often equal men in ultrarunning.

To the OP: Are you thinking about one-day treks, or over several days?

[big_owl]

Oh, so that's the reason. I thought men did that because it's easier to get to know a woman if you walk with her than if you're 10 paces ahead.

?? Low body fat can cause amenorrhea (no periods), but other than that, women's reproductive systems aren't any more easily damaged than men's by physical activity. And they are less likely to crumple in pain from a strike to the gonads.

Hey I'm just sharing the knowledge that I learned.   Sooo...let's think about it.  When a woman doesn't have a period...what isn't she going to do?  Get pregnant!!  You agree exactly with what I read.  I can work out all I want and probably still rub out a few swimmers.  Even if sperm count is dropped by half I still have a good chance of getting someone pregnant.  No egg = no babies, I'm sure we can agree on that.  Seems pretty obvious that a man can more successfully perform his biological reproductive function under physical stress than a woman. 

As for your first point.  Why would a man waste time and slow down to get to know a woman unless he was trying to sleep with her?  Seems pretty straightforward as well.  We're two for two!  ;-)

As for women being faster at running 100mi races or whatever, that doesn't have anything to do with what I was talking about.  But I bet those ladies don't get pregnant very easy.

[big_owl]

Random question for serious walkers - can women in general walk faster than men?  I can run much, much faster than my wife.  But when we go on walks together I'm always struggling to keep up her pace.  It's like my hips aren't built to walk that fast.  If we break into a mild jog then I'm much quicker, but something about the biomechanics of a walk and she's just better at it than I am.  What gives?

I'm a dude, and I walk significantly faster than anyone I know.  Maybe it's a biomechanics thing, not a man/woman thing.  Some kind of thigh/shin/height ratio probably explains why some people are quicker walkers than others.

Hey big_owl, your situation is similar to mine and my husband's.  He runs circles around me but when we walk he constantly asks where the fire is and if I could slow down.  I tell him I just can't walk that slow, I would be moving backwards!

We are the same height but don't know whose legs are longer.  I'll check that tonight.

In the natural world a longer tibia compared to femur usually equates to a faster run.  I remember many years ago reading that a longer femur relative to tibia was better for walking.  However it would seem to me just thinking about it that a longer tibia would also be good for walking faster, maybe whatever I read years ago was incorrect or there's more to it than that.  All things equal, whoever had the higher tibia/femur ratio should be better equipped to move more swiftly.  But then there's other variables such as muscle composition (who has more type1 vs. type2 fibers). 

[mskyle]

Oh, so that's the reason. I thought men did that because it's easier to get to know a woman if you walk with her than if you're 10 paces ahead.

?? Low body fat can cause amenorrhea (no periods), but other than that, women's reproductive systems aren't any more easily damaged than men's by physical activity. And they are less likely to crumple in pain from a strike to the gonads.

Hey I'm just sharing the knowledge that I learned.   Sooo...let's think about it.  When a woman doesn't have a period...what isn't she going to do?  Get pregnant!!  You agree exactly with what I read.  I can work out all I want and probably still rub out a few swimmers.  Even if sperm count is dropped by half I still have a good chance of getting someone pregnant.  No egg = no babies, I'm sure we can agree on that.  Seems pretty obvious that a man can more successfully perform his biological reproductive function under physical stress than a woman. 

As for your first point.  Why would a man waste time and slow down to get to know a woman unless he was trying to sleep with her?  Seems pretty straightforward as well.  We're two for two!  ;-)

As for women being faster at running 100mi races or whatever, that doesn't have anything to do with what I was talking about.  But I bet those ladies don't get pregnant very easy.

Big Owl, I'm not sure you know as much about female physiology (or women in general) as you think... No periods doesn't mean you can't get pregnant. It means you're a bit less likely to get pregnant, often it just means you don't know *when* you're likely to get pregnant, and it means you might not notice that you *are* pregnant because your period already stopped.

Always use birth control, kids!

[big_owl]

Oh, so that's the reason. I thought men did that because it's easier to get to know a woman if you walk with her than if you're 10 paces ahead.

?? Low body fat can cause amenorrhea (no periods), but other than that, women's reproductive systems aren't any more easily damaged than men's by physical activity. And they are less likely to crumple in pain from a strike to the gonads.

Hey I'm just sharing the knowledge that I learned.   Sooo...let's think about it.  When a woman doesn't have a period...what isn't she going to do?  Get pregnant!!  You agree exactly with what I read.  I can work out all I want and probably still rub out a few swimmers.  Even if sperm count is dropped by half I still have a good chance of getting someone pregnant.  No egg = no babies, I'm sure we can agree on that.  Seems pretty obvious that a man can more successfully perform his biological reproductive function under physical stress than a woman. 

As for your first point.  Why would a man waste time and slow down to get to know a woman unless he was trying to sleep with her?  Seems pretty straightforward as well.  We're two for two!  ;-)

As for women being faster at running 100mi races or whatever, that doesn't have anything to do with what I was talking about.  But I bet those ladies don't get pregnant very easy.

Big Owl, I'm not sure you know as much about female physiology (or women in general) as you think... No periods doesn't mean you can't get pregnant. It means you're a bit less likely to get pregnant, often it just means you don't know *when* you're likely to get pregnant, and it means you might not notice that you *are* pregnant because your period already stopped.

Always use birth control, kids!

Yes I looked up the difference between menstruation and ovulation before I made the post and figured someone would see the need to call me out on that.  But anyway, the literature I read from NIH and Oxford indicated that a consistent lack of menstruation (i.e., secondary amenorrhea) other than just normal small variance in menstruation cycle time was consistent with a reduction in fertility rate. 

This doesn't need to be difficult nor some battle of the sexes.  It's pretty obvious that a woman under significant physical stress is going to have less of a chance to fulfill her biological reproductive capabilities.  All a man has to do to reproduce is produce a small amount of semen and sperm and that's a lot easier than ovulating, menstruating and producing offspring.  So yes, a man's reproductive system is more robust when it comes to physical stress, which was one of the conclusions of the papers I was reading on why men walked faster than women. 

Make sense?

[Urchina]

OP here. Thanks very much to those of you who have responded about my original topic of endurance walking. I really appreciate the links! I'm just in the beginning stages. I've taken walks of moderate distance (6-8 miles) in our area already on a semi-regular basis, but am interested in lengthening those (to the 15-20/mile per day range), and also in taking overnight long walks.

For the overnight walks, I'd prefer ones where I can walk inn to inn, for example, and not carry much luggage (which means packing a daypack with a change of underwear, clean socks, and plenty of water), and I'd limit them to a couple of days for now, and probably once or twice a year at most. That is all I can reasonably think to fit into my current schedule and life.

Long-term, however, I'm very interested in the touring/walking activities I mentioned (Hadrian's wall, and that walking vacation in the Cotswolds sounds awesome, PawPrint 3520!). I also live near the Camino Real (the California Mission Trail) and there appears to be a couple of websites dedicated to walking this route, which is not really a "recognized" or officially sanctioned route yet, so there's still plenty of exploration yet to do, as well as substantial safety issues on the route to overcome (high-speed roads being primary among them).

At Superhero stage, I'd like to walk El Camino Real (800 miles), from San Diego to Sonoma. I am also toying with the idea of walking from Copenhagen to Portugal. I have an endurance runner friend in Denmark (she runs daily marathons -- a marathon a day, every day) so could hook up with her for the Danish part; the Netherlands have a great network of bike trails, I'm familiar with Northern Belgium and can get through there without being on major roads, and am also under the impression that walking the back roads of Europe may be easier than trying to navigate the freeways / highways in the U.S. Especially out here in the West, most of the traditional footpaths have been paved and cars are going 60+ mph -- not a safe feeling for me. Any international Mustachians able to help with that? I'm particularly interested in southern Belgium, France, and Spain. This is a project that is years, probably decades, out, but it would be fun to plan! And if I did it? Massive leveling up points!

For those that are interested in the biomechanics of walking, including gender differences and speed, perhaps starting a new thread to more deeply explore that topic would meet your needs and allow this thread to continue as a source of information / discussion for me as well as others who are more focused on the serendipity of wandering in an exploratory, non-competitive way. I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to more ideas / learning about the experiences of other Mustachians!

[VAR]

I love this idea.
I'm not religious but I read this book a few years ago and it was interesting:

http://www.amazon.com/Plain-Walking-Belief-autographed-hardback/dp/B00QPFIZX8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1461929573&sr=8-2&keywords=walking+my+belief

This guy goes on a long walk (multi day) walk to turn in his driver's license.
The license part is gimmicky. But the overall story and observations are a nice read.

[VAR]

Oh and the Atlanta area has multiple bike/walk paths that are longer and go through interesting neighborhoods.
There's one on the southside that goes through a very cool natural area and on to the a monastery. I've biked a piece of it. Started at a mall, went through residential, and on into the Arabia mountain area. Lots of variety of scenery.

http://www.traillink.com/trail/rockdale-river-trail.aspx

[blueflipflop]

I walked the Camino last spring it was about 740ish miles, give or take.  So I think the Camino Real is doable!

Some links for planning for a Camino trek in which you will find people who walk all the way from Netherlands as in ancient pilgrim tradition you were supposed to start from your home.  I met many people who had walked from various parts of Europe so that is an option you could consider. I walked give or take 33-34 days it was wonderful, although I will admit painful at sometimes.  If you have more questions I would be happy to answer them. 

 The link below is a good forum with way to much information on multiple Camino routes.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/

Also check out this podcast, the podcaster talks and interviews people who have gone on all kinds of walk abouts or long walks.
The Camino Podcast by David Whitson

It sounds like you don't want to backpack exactly so the Camino may be a good fit as you can walk from town to town and stay at inns or other various sleeping accommodations. If you don't want to walk along highways I would avoid a lot of walking in Portugal because most of it's long walking paths follow major highways.

[asauer]

I'm a marathon walker and trekker.  I love it!  I've done several long-ish walks like Catalina island 30+ miles and stretches of the Mountains to Sea Trail in my home state.  I love that to work out all I have to do is put my shoes on and literally 30 seconds later, I'm exercising.  No boat to load, no equipment to get out,  no gym to go to. 

I'd love to hear about some of your walks.

[asauer]

Forgot to mention- I'm super excited about this weekend b/c Hubs and I are doing a 20mi beach walk to an "island"- the inlet was closed by hurricane Floyd so you can walk to it now.  A whole day of pristine beach and estuary- yay!