Training for Glacier

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Training for Glacier

Post by Hockey Ref »

Thought I might throw this one out for discussion: What's everyone doing to get in shape for Glacier? Got any tips to share? Special training methods? Etc.?

I'll start: I'm 52 and in okay shape. I spent April doing a lot of walking and some biking. Averaged about 4.75 miles of walking per day, mostly on flat streets in the evenings. But I combined that with longer weekend trail hikes in the 10-11-mile range at a local park. And I added a few outdoor stair sessions to get in some uphill work (one of the problems we have is that Indy is very flat). Now, with 90 days to go before my trip, I'll increase the daily walking average a bit in May, then crank it up even more in June and the first half of July, especially the uphill. And I'll throw in three or so bike rides per week as well. I'm also hoping to train with two other contributors to this site whom I "met" here last week. Apparently we all live just a few short minutes from one another. Small world.

My plan is to do about 90-100 miles of day hikes over 8 days once I get to Glacier.

Any comments on all that? Suggestions?
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Post by Dave Parker »

Well that one is pretty simple for me Ref!

I live here! and have to stay in shape to handle walking around the yard!

LOL

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Post by dorf »

I'm 42, 20 lbs. overweight, have little cartilege left and no ACL in either knee. A couple of years ago I spent a half hour every day pushing pretty hard on an elliptical in anticipation of the big trip and suffered a bit on the trail. Of course, that could have been due to a 45 lb. pack weight :? Last year I did just about nothing to prepare and felt 100% better while only carrying about 33 lbs.

This year I won't get out there but will be hiking in the Winds for 11 or 12 nights so I'm back on the elliptical despite shedding another 4-5 lbs off my base weight ( I'm an admitted gear whore who spent significant amount of $$$ this winter/spring without telling his wife :twisted: ) because of the significantly higher altitude. We'll be starting roughly 1000' higher than we ever got in Glacier, hence the working out again.
So many mountains, so little time.
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Getting in shape

Post by JohnsonA »

WE've been working out at the YMCA 3 days a week. Yesterday we went hiking at a place called Old Rag Mountain here in Virginia. Its 4 miles to the summit and a gain of 2280 feet in elevation. The last 3/4 mile is very steep (at least in places) and involves negotiating many rocks and boulders. Going down the back side is 2 miles down a fairly steep trail with rocks in it followed by 3 miles on a fire trail.

I thought I was going to die. We need a new exercise plan. On the other hand we made it.
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Post by Guest »

Dorf- did you get one of those crazy tarp tents with no floor? I refuse to weigh my tent- too depressing. I suppose your kids will serve as pack mules, which will lighten the load further. :twisted:

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Post by gumchain »

Wow, I'm impressed by your exercise schedule, Hockey Ref. =) I have not been doing that much training, but I've been trying to get out to a state park every other weekend or so and do 4+ miles of hiking. We go to the YMCA once or twice a week and do step aerobics, and we play volleyball. The problem with Texas is that it is flat and has very low elevation around where we are. I'm afraid of elevation sickness and losing steam on uphill hikes.

=) gumchain
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Hockey Ref, sounds like a good plan

Post by Dusty in CT »

Sounds a lot like what we are doing, we're in just about the same age category (one older and one younger :wink: ) and I'm told in order to get in hiking shape, you have to hike!!
So luckily we are in CT and it is pretty hilly so we will be hitting the Appalacian Trail every weekend from now until June 10. We try to get a short 1.5 or 2 hike in on a Friday night and then pray for decent weather to hike the weekends. Otherwise, we've been known to actually hike in the rain. There are so many great hikes in Glacier, trying to fit them all in is a challenge (and a wonderful challenge at that!!) I try to walk during my lunch hour, just bought a new bike so will mix it up with that. Our trip is June 14-24 so time is running out. Plan the same kind of hiking as you. Hope to get the "Hockey Ref" hike in but know that might not work because of the snow. Will revisit Many Glacier and check out the Two Medicine section.
Kind of interested in the Crypt Lake hike in Canada. Anyone with some experience there??
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training

Post by july gal »

(age 32, out of shape every winter, back in shape spring/summer) well, about a month ago i got out of my winter exercise slump and got back to the YMCA for 5 days of elliptical (about 45 mins a pop) and hiking on the weekend. we did a mild 1 hour hike this weekend that we'll likely take a pack on in a few weeks to test it out. we're planning a 7 mile, 2500 elevation gain hike next weekend (weather permitting) for endurance.

i think cardio helps on the endurance. i'd love to add strenght training in, too, but one hour a day is hardly enough for both and cardio drops those extra 20 lbs faster than weights.

Glacier, here we come! :lol:
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Post by dorf »

July Guy:

Yes I did---but with the floor sewn in. I got the henry Shires Cloudburst 2 which doesn't use trekking poles. It's still only 2.5 lbs. and we don't have to deal with bugs. The difference between that and my TNF Slickrock is amazing:about 1.8 lbs. lighter and packs down to the size of an 18' long loaf of french bread.
So many mountains, so little time.
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Post by Ref »

Hey, Dusty --

Re. getting in shape by hiking, I took both my brother (age 46 at the time)and my daughter (age 23) to Glacier on separate trips. I warned both of them that they needed to be in good shape if they wanted to really enjoy the hiking. Both of them struggled somewhat, especially with the overall endurance. My problem wasn't hike length, but going uphill, so that's what I really want to do a better job with this time around.

Re. Crypt Lake, I've been told by others on this board that a better alternative might be the Alderson-Carthew Trail. While Crypt offers an interesting tunnel that you have to crab-walk through, and -- judging from some photos I've seen -- an equally interesting scramble up some relatively exposed rock faces, Alderson-Carthew supposedly is better for overall scenery. It's on my to-do list for this summer.

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getting in shape

Post by sam »

Not in good shape here either., atleast 15 lbs overweight. I know it can take away from the experience if you are in real bad shape on those long hikes up hill. I walk once a week 2-6 miles on hikes with pretty steep hills and do the treadmill at the gym durring the week. About 2 months before I will mix in a few 10 mile hikes. Fortunaltely I have a dam close to my house that has 116 steps. Its no fun walking up those steps but it really helps you get use to those steep grades. Its a good idea to load up with a backpack also now and then.
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Post by southernguy »

We are both 56 and in reasonable shape. We plan to do about 60-65 miles in 5 days of day hikes. We are in Mississippi so we don't have any elevation but we go to Vicksburg about once a month and do 10-15 miles in the hills there with our packs. We think it helps with the endurance.
Otherwise we workout about 3 times a week at the qym. Mostly treadmill at max incline.
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Post by Heff936 »

Living in the flatlands, it's tough finding places to train for any kind of mountain activity. But we've found that combining long slow trail runs with hikes, often with full packs, works very well. We run in in the hilly place we can find nearby, which fortunately is less than 10 minutes from the house. HockeyRef also trains at this same park. The trail runs build more cardio fitness than the hikes which translates to better endurance once we get in the mountains. We don't run fast, just try to keep a slow steady pace. A little less than half the time is spent going up hill, so it makes for a very intense cardio workout. The main thing we noticed was how quickly our endurance improved once we started these trails runs. it also made the hikes with packs easier. We are just starting our training for this summer. We'll run twice a week and hike with packs once a week. We'll increase that to four workouts a weeks in June. This approach has helped us a lot in the mountains. We've made it to significant elevation (over 19,000 feet) using these training methods.
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Training

Post by old_hiker »

Dont do much I am 71,smoker at least half pk day.Tried numerous times to quit,wife says I get too darn miserable when I try quitting.
The smallest grandchild 3 yrs old seems to be my training method--get my son to drop him off now & again,seems to work for me.
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training

Post by Teresa »

Wow, you guys are scaring me. I'm walking a few miles several times a week and doing aerobics a few more times, and hiking on the weekends. I don't have time to do more than that. I'm resigned to the fact that I can't possibly lose 50 pounds between now and July 21st, but I'm hoping I'll be okay anyway. We won't be attempting 100 miles in 5 days or anything crazy like that. We are planning to do Siyeh pass, Highline/swiftcurrent and either grinnel glacier or iceberg lake. We'll only be hiking every other day. I know I can hike 10-12 miles here on the east coast, so hopefully I can do it in glacier too.

JohnsonA - I haven't been to Glacier yet, but the Old Rag trail is harder than anything I've ever done in Yellowstone by far. My experience has been that the trails out west don't have all the exposed rocks and tree roots, which makes for much easier walking conditions. (I'm hoping that applies to GNP too). I do think Old Rag is about the most scenic trail I've done in this area... but it's brutal for sure. I've done it several times, but I wouldn't attempt it again until I've lost a few pounds, and maybe run a few marathons. lol.
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