Hiking Kicked my butt!

[ychuck46]

Not much you can do about altitude except get acclimated. I lived in Boulder for most of the 1970s. I was a runner and good athlete overall when I moved there, but came from a much lower elevation. My first run up Boulder Canyon I thought there was something wrong with me. But within a short period of time I was doing the 14K peaks like they were nothing. Of course, I was in my 20s then so it might take a little longer now

 

[imnontrad]

Welcome to Colorado! I'm in Colorado Springs.
Yes, hiking at elevations can really take energy. When walking with ups and downs, I take poles with me to make it easier on my knees, take water and snacks and don't feel bad about going slow and taking a lot of breaks.

 

[mountainsoft]

I'm 58 and do alot of walking, but it is on level ground. I thought I was ready to go on some site seeing hikes. We visited our Son in Colorado and did a few hikes with him that involved some elevation. Nothing too drastic, just some moderate inclines and declines. It was very humbling.

My wife and I enjoy hiking, though we generally aim for trails in the 3-5 mile range. We've done a couple 7 mile hikes, but those are rare. We stop and take a lot of photos along the way, so we typically only average a mile or two per hour. We're definitely not speed walkers out on the trails.

As others have mentioned, the best way to prepare for hiking is to go hiking. We usually start with easy trails in the spring and advance to more difficult trails later in the summer.

Unfortunately, COVID restrictions prevented us from going hiking last year (never understood why trails were closed. There couldn't be anything more socially distant. ). We've done a few short hikes in the local parks this year, but we're really out of shape compared to past years.

We're actually getting away this weekend to go on a couple hikes. It will be our first real hiking since the summer of 2019. They're not difficult trails, but I suspect they'll take a lot more effort now.

 

[Bamaman]

If you're going to be hiking in the hills, you need some preparation. Some people do well climbing hills, and some have difficulties going downhill.

I would find a good high school stadium and do some serious stair climbing. Or find a tall building to hike the steps in.

 

[TheWizard]

Yes. Hike more!
Seriously. I hike my local mountain once a week which is very
strenuous. 1850 ft of elevation gain in only 1.9 miles.
However the total elevation is only 3165 feet so there are no altitude effects like you can get out west. Did you come from a lower elevation and not acclimate to the altitude slowly?

Sounds like Mt Monadnock to me...

 

[RobLJ]

Not sure where you were in CO, but the elevation will kick a lot of visiter's butts. DW and I lead hikes here in Reno and a lot of people have trouble adjusting to 5-6k elevation, never mind higher areas in the Sierras.
Okie Granddad had a cabin downvalley from Aspen and when I was 20 a friend of my from Oklahoma visited and we hiked with Granddad (he was 80) to a place on the back side of Maroon Bells--about 8500 feet. Granddad kicked my 21 year old friend's butt on the hike back. My friend clearly had a light case of altitude sickness.

So give yourself a couple days to acclimate and spend a couple weeks hiking at home beforehand. I'm pretty sure it was more an issue of adjusting to the altitutde.

[Edit: sorry, I thought there were only 3 posts and didn't realize a lot of people had covered this. Nothing like beating a dead horse vigorously and repeatedly, like Dostoevsky's Karamazov.)
Tomorrow morning, I'm hiking with friends to Mt. McClellan from Washoe Lake--about a 2500 elevation increase (9-10 miles). I've also found it's good not to go hungover.

I'm 58 and do alot of walking, but it is on level ground. I thought I was ready to go on some site seeing hikes. We visited our Son in Colorado and did a few hikes with him that involved some elevation. Nothing too drastic, just some moderate inclines and declines. It was very humbling.

Any thoughts on how to better prepare for that?

 

[Badger]

The elevation will definitely make a difference, I like to visit Breckenridge in the fall and it does take some time to adjust. Trekking poles help take some of the stress off the legs, especially the knees when going downhill.

+1 Downhill will destroy knees. Uphill not so much. Learn how to use trekking poles and adjust the length for up hill (shorter) and down hill (longer) . Flatlanders usually have more difficulty with their breathing in high altitude areas. Less oxygen results in more rapid fatigue. I wish I could still backpack in the mountains like I used to.


Cheers!

 

[finnski1]

Sounds like Mt Monadnock to me...

 

[lem1955]

Cross train - Cycling fast on flat ground builds legs and VO2 capacity. And the Concept2 Ergometer does the same if you have proper rowing technique.

 

[Ronstar]

I hike an average of 3 times per week. 4-8 miles per hike. Mostly Illinois prairies around 500 elevation. Almost always less than 50' vertical gain per hike. But I sometimes hike Starved Rock State Park having an elevation change of 200'.

I used to be an Arizona snowbird, hiking between 2000 - 3500 elevation. At the beginning of winter Az hiking season, I could feel the difference in elevation between Il and Az and its 1300' vertical ascents. But after a winter of 40 Arizona hikes, my legs and cardio system got used to the elevation and vertical change. But the Colorado rockies and Grand Canyon kick my butt.

I agree with others that trekking poles help the knees. I use a single hiking stick. Works for me.

 

[DrRoy]

Yes. Hike more!

11 years ago DW and I started taking scenic trips and hiking. At 49, the first one kicked her butt. Now at 60, with more conditioning, she does better.

It's very important to make sure you are hydrated at altitude

+1, and at low altitude too.

The elevation will definitely make a difference.

Our toughest hike may have been Upper Cathedral Lake in Yosemite, which started at 9500 ft. O2 is 1/3 thinner at that altitude and we knew it.

 

[Sniggle]

As others have said, hiking hills is the best way to get more comfortable hiking hills. They will never be easy, but eventually you will feel much better after a steep climb.

- Try adding some weight to your day pack. When I hike around the neighborhood I have 50# in the ruck + water.
- Poles for old knees are a must in my opinion. Going up hill they engage the upper body some, but they make their money going down hill saving the knees.

A couple years ago I trained with my son to climb MT Rainier from the eastern panhandle of WV. We had one good hill climb near us (Maryland heights) that we climbed once a week for 12 weeks, doing it 2 times in a day closer to the climb date, with 50# packs. We showed up to Rainier in great shape and made the summit because our legs were ready, but the altitude kicked our ass above 12000 regardless.

 

[shafer9]

My wife has a rental condo in Colorado that we use. It’s at about 7500 feet elevation n we go out for hikes—and some r easy and others hard.
I have found over the last 15 years that it has gotten more difficult. LOL. But we still keep at it because I think it’s really good and it ends up being fun. And we sleep very well after.

 

[folivier]

Has anyone used a high altitude training mask?
They're supposed to simulate high altitude by restricting the air flow?

 

[Winemaker]

Has anyone used a high altitude training mask?
They're supposed to simulate high altitude by restricting the air flow?

Really? Just wear a mask.

While working underground, I wore a respirator when I was in dusty conditions, and wore it more than many co workers. It does make breathing more difficult, but the restriction is not healthy. Many MESA, MSHA and NIOSH studies about detriments of respirator wearing, but breathing silica particles is worse.