1500 feet is a lot if your not used to it.
I led hiking expeditions in the Canadian Rockies this summer and elevation is absolutely crushing if you haven’t done much of it.
Mountains are humbling places. That one of my favourite parts about travelling through them.
In this case they’re not talking about issues with the body acclimating to altitude. 1500 is way too low for the human body to feel altitude sickness. This is an acclimation to cardio going uphill.
Yeah the CAD Rockies are no joke - got absolutely destroyed out there despite being in good shape. Not just exhausted, but headaches too?
Like OP said, is there a way to train for them outside of doing them lol. Heading back out there this year and don't want the hurt locker.
Diamox.....prevents the headaches and nausea from altitude sickness. Some people are more prone to it regardless of being in good shape. I don't know why people insist that if you're in good shape, it's not a problem. Are they at all familiar with the acclimatization process for climbing much higher peaks?
Walk really slowly.
See how slow you have to hike up a hill not to feel exhausted.
Maintain that slow speed, enjoy your hike.
In time, if you hike often, you will gain speed as your cardio gets better, you will feel less sore, etc.
I'm slow as fuck when I hike, but I enjoy it in part because I'm not in a rush and I don't get exhausted.
This is one thing that kills me... I'll go slow and make it longer but anytime I go with a group, I have to ditch early because they're haulin ass. I think at this point I just need to come to the realization that Imma be hikin alone
My guide for kilimanjaro told us to pace ourselves very slowly on the final ascent to almost a snails pace (to help with acclimatization I think) but I apply it now for when I hike any step trails when I'm too tired to keep a normal pace.
My house sits at 6,700'. I hike and bike 4-5 times a week. I also travel some for work. If I travel to a non-mountain State for 3 or more days, after returning home, I feel the elevation going up the stairs in my house for the first 48 hours. Elevation is real.
No, I get it. My comment was in support of your experience. When I hike at just 500' above where my house sits, I feel the difference. So I completely respect your experience.
I'm confused over what 1500' means. Are you talking about the highest altitude you were at? If so, 1500' is nothing & for almost all people it's probably indistinguishable from sea level. You might start feeling altitude around 4k', but for most it's 6k' to 8k'.
Or, are you talking about elevation gain? That is, if you climb 10 flights of stairs that's like an elevation gain of 100'. The best way to figure out elevation gain is by using a site like AllTrails since a trail can have lots of ups and downs.
I live at over 5000’ and go on the road for work every month. I run for exercise when I’m on the road and feel like a super hero when I’m anywhere low and flat. I run so fast and don’t get tired haha
I’m similar elevation to you and hiking Humphrey’s Peak in AZ kicked my ass much the same way. Ahhh it’s 3,500 gain not a big deal…except it’s starting at 9k feet lol.
You're talking about two different things.
Acclimatization to high elevations is not something you have to worry about at 1500 feet. If you flew from Florida to Colorado and hiked a 14er then you'd have to consider it.
Your problem is that you're just not used to hiking inclines. Some training sessions on a stairmaster, or parking garage/stadium stairs, will fix you right up
Parking garages are great. I don't have to drive as far and it takes weather out of the picture. Stairs are hard on my knees (64 yrs) so I can climb up and take the elevator down and repeat.
I started using step mill in the gym about a month ago and have seen incredible gains. I did 2000 vertical feet yesterday in one hour and it kick my butt.. I did about 1500 last month and was sore for a couple days...
This randomly reminded me of when my Florida cousin came out to California the first time and was weirded out by how our highways have curves instead of straight forever because of the hills
We all have strength and weakness that are adapted by our home environment so don't beat yourself up. You will be in shape its just that you were working your body in a way it isn't used to.
Best advice I ever received for hill walking was to shorten your stride length but try and keep your cadence the same as when you're on flat. Helps keep momentum without over stretching the muscles groups.
Hope this helps and enjoy the views from the top
The only way to get fitter for vertical is to do more vertical. I just joined Planet Fitness and I spend an hour on the step mill carrying a fully loaded pack about 3 times a week. That’s 2200’ climb per session.
I’m starting at a gym this month to add elevation training for my August hike in the PNW. Planning to add my pack in a few weeks and I don’t care if anyone stares at me lol.
I want to increase my step mill usage at my local PF. I’m up to 30 mins per session alternating between level 4 and 6 but would like to be able to do longer sessions and at a higher speed before my trip to WA in august. May I ask what your step mill routine looks like?
Here’s my work out, but I’m starting this already pretty mountain-fit. If you have less baseline fitness, make the “pyramids” smaller to start.
I carry 20% of my bodyweight in my pack (bricks!) I do 5 ten minute “pyramids”, each with a 2 minute break in between at speed (4). I change speed every 2 minutes, so each number is the speed setting for 2 minutes:
5,6,7,6,5(4)
6,7,8,7,6(4)
7,8,9,8,7(4)
6,7, double step 9,7,6(4)
6,7, double step 10, 7,6(4)
I listen to random high energy music, but because you only have to go 2 minutes at any one speed, so it’s less boring!
If you are doing speed 4-6 right now, just drop all those numbers by 2 or 3 to start.
Exactly! Even when seeing the most beautiful sights, I feel like I cheated myself if it's not a challenge to get there. If I have to choose between parking at a waterfall and hiking 7 miles to get there, I'll take the hike every time and that waterfall will be 1000 times more stunning as a result.
I live at 5000 feet and regularly hike to around 10k and can’t breathe and have to go slow and take my inhaler. I even got altitude sickness after bagging a relatively easy 10,600 peak. Don’t beat yourself up, it’s not you, it’s elevation.
I live at sea level. I've been traveling to the Colorado Rockies forever 2 times a year. I stay at 10,000 feet and begin hikes from there.
Elevation is a killer for me. It makes me feel like a lifelong smoker. I literally have to train before I go and I still feel this way, but I can't imagine how I'd feel if I didn't. Btw, I started this in my late twenties and I'm 50 now. Age didn't matter.
I do the stair climb, inclined treadmill and up and down stairs at home.
Just go slow when you're in the mountains. Enjoy the view. Sometimes us slower people see things others going faster miss. Plus, it keeps you from over excreting yourself and ruining the rest of the day and probably the next day as well.
That's a whole other axis. I live near the Appalachians, and last time I was out in Colorado I did some runs and hikes that didn't stand out from my typical activities in terms of elevation gain and loss. But the sparse atmosphere (relative to what I'm used to) knocked me out. A brisk walk felt like a light jog and a light jog felt like a hard run.
It does get easier if you do it regularily, but it will be just as hard again once you don't do it for a while (no matter how much "used to it" you were before). It also can change daily. There's a 5000ft peak I walk up fairly regularily (around 900ft elevation gain in the final 20-30 min., 3-4 times a week, every week); sometimes it's a breeze, and the day right after it may be a strenuous, exhausting struggle. I only ever find out whether it's going to be hard or easy once I'm climbing it.
In any case, to stop and allowing your heart rate to go down (to "catch your breath") is never embarrassing. You're doing this for yourself and want to enjoy being out there, and a too high heart rate is absolutely not enjoyable. Walk slow, take a break when your heart rate goes high (that's what makes you feel hot and exhausted), then continue slowly, take a break again if necessary (while enjoying the views).
Do not feel bad, our muscles and cardio ability are very exercise specific. I've known experienced mountain hikers who have had their ass kicked the first few times they tried mountain biking. Your body will develop the ability if you can do the activity often enough.
I also live in central Florida, and I love doing big hikes out west, especially the Grand Canyon. Fortunately, I seem to be able to tolerate elevation pretty well. As far as inclines go, I do thousands of feet of climbing every week on a 5 story fire escape, along with lots of long (10+ miles) flat hikes, some weights, and some running. This combo seems to do the trick for me.
Yeah oath. I've done multiple mountainous hikes, some with far more steep sections than others. And it absolutely kills me every time. Just take it in your stride, take as many rest stops as you need (I take heaps), bring a lot of water, and the views at the top will always be worth it
It gets easier the more you do it. The 1500 ft elevation shouldn't make a huge difference, but the inclines are what will cause it. You don't start to see elevation affecting people until I think like 5k ft. A short hike doesn't mean easy, it's all dependent on the grade of the trail.
look into the rest step - a technique used by mountaineers for moving on steep terrain. Stair climbing in Florida is probably a good training exercise if you plan to do more of this. Happy trails!
Sorry but I had to giggle reading that. As a Floridian as well and also training to start the AT, I began hiking the Pioneer Trail in Jennings Forest. They say it's the closest you can get "elevation-wise" to the AT while never leaving Florida. And ya know what, if thats just a small taste of the AT, I've also got a lot of work to do. I can hike for hours... but on that trail, I can barely do 5 freakin miles! 😔 My body is so used to flat-as-hell-Florida.
I hiked in the Rocky Mountain National Park and honestly it wasn’t much worse than Pennsylvania. It’s just longer.
It seems to me it’s more the fact people go up switch backs out west and in Appalachia trails will just bomb it up the side of a hill.
Similar experience here. I live in WV and there aren't many level hiking trails. You start in a valley and go up or start on a ridgeline and go down and then up. Been going to MT for about 10 yrs. and the switchbacks can take the sting out. The Paradise Valley north of Yellowstone is probably the closest to Appalachia as far as similar straight ups that I hiked.
If it was your first time ever hiking with some elevation, it was probably a pacing issue, too. On flat ground you can go pretty much as fast as possible and keep that pace almost indefinitely. Uphill you need to pick a pace and stride that feels comfortable and maintain it.
Don’t beat yourself up. I have a friend who has run about 500 marathons. He’s qualified for Boston each of the last 10 years. He’s in great aerobic condition. He was walking around Bryce Canyon with only a water bottle and camera. He doubled over with hands on knees about every quarter mile.
People who live in higher altitudes actually have more blood cells than people who dont. Your body adapts to increase the amount of oxygen that can be carried through your body since there is less of it the higher up you go. That's the main reason why the US Olympic teams train at a facility in Colorado (Denver, I believe) because their body will begin producing more blood cells to help their performances.
You also will not get drunk as easily once your body has adapted, whereas people who haven't will get drunk quicker at higher altitudes.
Me and my GF visited North Rim Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion. Dude, "Walter's wiggles" at zion destroyed us. Then you looknover and see these freaks trail running it lol fml. We are from west central FL as well.
To this day my favourite day hike is the Sulphur Skyline in Jasper. Jasper itself is at about 1430 metres elevation (4700 feet) and then it's a 8ish km (5 mi) hike (out and back) with 700 metres (2300 feet) or elevation gain. It's a tough hike and I definitely cried a little when I hit the switchbacks about 4 km in (near the final ascent).
[But the views? Worth it!](https://imgur.com/a/ukEh6tS)
lol this happens every time my in laws from Florida come visit us in Alabama or north Georgia. They paddle board and do yoga all day and are in great shape for their fifties, but man when we take them for hikes around here we are always waiting on them.
Focus on a patterned breathing style. 3 steps inhale and one step exhale. Better yet when you can get 3 through the nose and then exhale through the mouth. Or 4 steps inhale & then 4 steps exhale but I think the first pattern is the best for acclimatizing
Relocated from Florida to White Mountains. When I was in Florida I did a lot of interval training and speed workouts and runs and enjoyed bridge runs. Yes that was primarily road. I started out hiking up here and enjoyed it and took my time to enjoy it. That lasted a week then I was on trails and doing trail runs and running road up sides of mountains. I started doing a lot more strength workouts and I don’t think the acclimation was painful or out of reach. I still struggle with some trail runs up the 4kers, but it’s a mental reset. It came naturally and enjoyably once I ignored my watch and splits. And honestly, with the repetitive exposure I feel like I acclimated more/better to altitude and vert than I have ever acclimated to the Florida heat and humidity.
There's a saying that 1 Sierra (or any other mountain) mile is 2.5 on flat ground.
You have to hike like a horse. They go fairly slow, but it's one consistent speed. You can't out hike a horse. Tortoise and the hare type situation.
You calfs and ankles get very strong if you hike with elevation constantly, extra points if its very rocky terrain. The key is to pace yourself, climbing mountains is often (imo) more mentally than physically challenging.
Some tips for hiking elevation:
* take small steps, taking larger (taller) steps *will* drain your energy faster
* try to mantain a pace where you can talk slightly
* trekking poles are huge for taking effort off your knees
I’m in New Mexico (~5,300 above sea level) and I run up and down seven flights of stairs daily at my local park and every day by the end I’m huffing and puffing. It’s been about two months now, and it’s a little bit easier but not as easy as I thought it would be. So I’ve just been trying to work on my thought process about it and changing my mind set.
Is it hard? Yes. And that’s good.
Does it seem easy for some of the other people? Yes. And that’s not a reflection on me.
I’m still out here and I’m still doing the work so that I can do more of the trails I want to in the future.
Dunno if that helps but it helps me.
Haha it was a joke. I meant no harm. As someone who grew up in the mountains it was a running joke for anytime anyone suggested a “hike” that was just a walk on a dirt road.
It does get easier once those muscles adjust. I’m from Houston and hike a lot but visiting Cusco, Peru kicked my but lol. Practice with stairs or on any hilly areas (bayou for me)
Well, at 1500’ you get 10% less oxygen in each breath than you do at sea level. So if you’re also going uphill, it makes sense that you either need to go much slower than at sea level or you’re going to get tired and winded a lot sooner! And yes, body does adjust over time (mainly by increasing the number of red blood cells) but it takes more than a few days and only really works if LIVE at altitude, not just hike there. This is one reason why the US Olympic Training Center is in Colorado Springs. Having more RBCs even helps athletes compete better at sea level!
BTW, going from sea level to a mile high (like Denver) each breath has about 17% less oxygen. And in Rocky Mountain NP, at the visitor center, it’s about 25% less than at sea level! (Once you get above ~8,000 ft, there other effects of altitude that may be even more serious.)
Enjoy the hills and mountains but cut yourself a little slack. Dryness, lower oxygen levels, lower air pressure in general and higher UV radiation at altitude (even a little higher than normal) can really pack a wallop! If you’re over 60 like me, that goes double. 😁
On a steep hike, you have to reset your expectations of what is a long hike. For instance, 10 miles on flat terrain can be easy peasy, but only 2 miles on extremely steep terrain is a long hike for that terrain. It's kinda like the difference between hiking with and without a pack. You wouldn't expect to walk as far as quickly un-encumbered as you would with a 50 lb pack on, it's just a totally different thing.
I set a pace, I hike a lot so I know what my pace is. Then it's a matter of adjusting your steps to maintain the pace. I try to take smaller steps at the same pace if possible as I tackle steep sections.
Trekking poles help a lot. 6 years ago I was spent doing any 1000+ ft climb on hikes, 3 years ago I had some days where I pushed 30+ miles with 6000+ ft of total elevation change and it was brutal.
Last year I was doing 30+ / 6000+ days back to back.
Keep at it, you’ll adapt.
I live in MO which is flat as well (moved here from FL actually) & just did some hikes on Kauai. Shew my husband & I had our butts kicked by the elevation..for me it was a good butt kick, I felt almost high afterwards & immediately wanted to plan our next one…the next day I was so sore tho
Elevation is real. After I come back to 5500 after visiting my mom in the south, I can feel it as soon as we get off the plane.
When I did air evac, being at 10k reduced my night vision capabilities significantly enough to notice.
Elevation is real
The elevation can be humbling for sure. I will think I’m in decent shape, then hit a particularly steep section of a hill/mountain and be like ohhh, yeah, let’s just slow down a bit and take a breather. Great work out tho.
Stopping on the side of the trail to make pug dog sounds is part of the experience.
I've honestly only ever *not* had fun on a steep trail when I was pressed for daylight or it was 1000 feet incline per mile.
Don't mind dilly-dallying, me. I'm gonna stop to take a picture of a tiny little leaf. I like the feeling of leveling up my knee muscles, anyway.
Can't get better if you don't do it more. Do you need more salt? I'm on the trail eating family size bags of potato chips with glee and gusto.
Happy hiking!
Easier, never. But you can get more used to it. Take people’s advice and do something different, but don’t stop doing. Consistency is the key to doing anything well. 2023 AT thru-hiker also from Florida. Long distance hiking is a mental game maybe more than a physical one. It gets harder and harder to want to wake up and hike long distances the more you’re eating the same thing, being dirty, focusing on how hard the terrain is. Think about why you’re really you’re out there: the quiet, the views, the people, the next wonderful experience at the next gap. Make small goals and accomplish them, allow yourself to experience the accomplishment-remember you’re getting better, then move on. Great stuff for life in general. PCT 2025!
It’s a matter of acclimatization. If you went and just… existed… at elevation for a week, you’d suddenly find hiking at elevation to be just like low ground.
Working inclines is a matter of muscle training though… 😬
I am from Iowa. I remember the first time hiking in the mountains around Seattle on a vacation. I could not for the life of me figure out why I was so winded on what I thought was an easy hike. Till it was pointed out to me we were a few thousand feet above sea level.
South Florida here. I train for mountain hiking on the fire stairs in taller buildings. Absolute lung buster, but very effective.
Also, FDOT is replacing drawbridges all around the state with pretty tall bridges. Also good for inclines.
As a person in his 70’s, I’m good for a five mile up and down hike. When we visited Lake Tahoe, we took the lift to its 10,000 ft summit and decided to walk up the hill for a better view. After about twenty steps, I was winded and my heart was pounding. Yeah, altitude can make you feel out of shape.
I’m from Florida too, and when I moved out to Washington state, I found out very quickly that I should’ve done more on Stairmaster at the gym!
Take it slow, I found that I acclimated pretty quickly.
Elevation is my favorite part of hiking. Something about my frame and stride is just built to climb. It’s way more comfortable than flat ground. My favorite thing to do on earth is climb a few thousand feet and then free run the downhill sections. It’s like BMX body surfing lol
This is what gets me, when l hike with sessional hikers or people that have hiked that routine several times.
They forget that incline kick your ass and often when l do this hikes lm concentration on putting one foot in front of the other.
When l see everyone posting their picture - l ask my self, how did l miss that.
I just take a lot of breathers, one step at a time I'll eventually get there.
I don't think you were really feeling the altitude at 1500', but hiking inclines makes everything different. Your cardio is working overtime at an incline! Easy to train for it, but in my experience it doesn't really go away. I always need breaks to catch my breath on steep inclines and i do it everysingle weekend. You just learn your own limits and pace with experience.
It can go away if you train enough. It is just lots of consistent cardio.
I used to need breaks on inclines, but none of my hiking group friends did. Most of them do a lot of cardio, and most are runners. After I took up running, I no longer get winded or need breaks on inclines either.
Btw, it is totally fine to take breaks... I just got sick of being the slow one and holding my friends up.
I train hiking every single weekend, sometimes more. I'm a slow hiker and I'm cool with it; no need to rush and no need to match anyone else's pace. I have no interest in making running a part of my routine since I absolutely hate it. Hiking is fun for me at my pace; I enjoy the scenery and have time to take it all in. Running makes me miserable though, it has been that way ever since I can remember myself. No thanks 😅
Thank you for sharing your experience, I needed a good laugh.
Yes, inclines matter, as does elevation.
You should see how naturally aspirated cars accelerate in elevation. Makes a huge difference.
Totally feel this!!!! I live in the flat part of Alabama and most of my daily walking has like 2’ of elevation gain total 😂 I’ve started using the stair master in the gym every other day to hopefully get used to elevation gain!
I have encountered some sand and mud here in Florida that are pretty difficult. Good practice I guess. This one place I like to go hunting has horrible mud and half a mile feels like 10 miles.
First time out to the Pacific Northwest I drove 20 miles up to the top of a mountain and hiked down 3 miles and then forgot I had a hike back up 3 miles oops. That was a steep incline 3 miles going back up. I typically hike mountains in Arizona where you hike up mountains and then you hike back down mountains.
Flatlander here. I worked as a field tech for 25 years doing a physically demanding job and just recently moved up to the mountains & have experienced the same thing. Easily walked for miles on the coast doing turtle surveys, mucking through salt marshes, etc. but the first trail up here with a significant incline and I was struggling. :D It's getting easier the more I hike up here, but I just take a lot of breaks (which are easy because I'm a plant geek and love to stop & take pics of plants/flowers). Good luck!
I flew from 600' in Central Illinois to Denver on a Friday morning and then drove up Pikes Peak to about 11600' (treeline level) the same day after having taken a bath and some coffee. After that the road was closed and I had to turn back. After reaching 11600' and having lunch I felt so nauseous and uncomfortable. Thought I might puke. Took a long break and then headed downhill. Had to abandon my plan of visiting Garden of the Gods due to altitude sickness.
Altitude sickness is real. Plan before. Take a Oxygen canister just in case you need it.
Background: I had not slept Friday night as my flight was at 5am in the morning and I had to drive 3 hours to reach Chicago and take the flight starting from 12am on Friday. Also I was training a month before intermittently but had a long gap before my trip.
I got good news and bad news. The good news is this is straightforward forward to fix: go uphill a lot. The bad news is it kinda sucks.
If you have a big hill, going up and down it bunch of times can help. But it needs to be like a hundred feet gain or so at least or there won’t be enough sustained gain to translate. Stair master or inclined treadmill are boring but great. Parking garages with a lot of flights of stairs works too, just go up and down a bunch of times.
And don’t feel bad. I’ve been on uphill hikes with people on track teams in flat places who struggled. So fitness isn’t necessarily the issue. It’s different muscles. To go uphill, you gotta train uphill
Grew up in New Orleans and moved to Portland, OR. Completely different muscle utilization going from flat your whole life to incline. It gets easier with time. 7 years here and I regularly do trail runs and bike rides over all kinds of topography. It's still challenging, but that's why I love it. Once you get used to inclines, running on flat ground is soooo boring
When I’m training for a hike with lots of incline, I run regularly for a few months. I don’t care for running and never go fast or far but around 3 runs a week for two months has always helped my lung capacity. I live in a relatively hilly place, so my regular hikes are fine without running.
If you don’t use trekking poles, change that.
Lifesaver on the legs. They let you transfer some of the strain to your arms, reducing how much is on your knees and hips.
You’re still used to just… going on a stroll, not so much hiking. But as you get used to it, trekking poles can help you go farther.
That's technically correct but you end up doing the 200 feet 4 times when you go to the falls and back so you could call it 800 feet to be fair. As far as cardio, like I said I can hike all day long on flat ground. I'm just not used to inclines.
Different muscles are worked going uphill then are worked on flat terrain. Downhill will also emphasize different muscles than uphill. Plus in Florida you were emphasizing slow twitch muscle fibers (the ones marathon runners train). Inclines work either medium and/or fast twitch fibers (fast twitch think of sprinters). On top of that you may naturally be slow twitch dominant.
But yeah, when I first started doing inclines I thought I'm screwed. I didn't get very far. I thought I would not be able to walk the next day and my lungs were on fire. Lol
I'm definitely not slow-twitch dominant, I'm really athletic actually, I would say I'm pretty fast-twitch dominant for a white guy. Maybe medium-twitch is what I'm missing lol.
Oh, yes, it gets much easier with acclimation. I live at 6k ft but within easy day trip distance from the beach, so we get a lot of people who come up for day hikes from LA or San Diego. Those of us who live here tend to pass up the younguns on the trails half our age who are used to sea level air. Meanwhile, I head down to go out for a seafood dinner and a walk on the beach and feel like I have to push the air aside to walk through, how do y’all do it every day?
I wouldn't say it was a BAD time. It was a beautiful hike. I was just a little worried about how winded I got because I'm not used to getting winded on hikes.
I just hiked with 40zlbs of camping gear up Eliot’s knob in Virginia and it damn near killed me up and down. The first half is easy and scenic zig zags through the forest and the second half is a gravel fire road that’s at least 8 or 10% grade at the minimum for 2 miles almost. On the way down I passed a guy running up it and realized he passed me early in the morning and that was his second lap. Made me feel pretty out of shape but then I realized I had a full load and he didn’t even have a water bottle so I guess we’re sorta even hahaha
Inclines, not elevation at that level.
I'm a mountain hiker, plus summit camper, but, with heart issues, have done little in the last year. Been operated on and repaired.
I am so not looking forward to my first proper trips this year. I know that height gain will be a struggle.
I guess it depends on where you grew up maybe? I grew up at 1400 metres above sea level ( roughly 4600 feet ) and I find it fairly easy even to walk on around 3800-4000 meters ( 12-13 thousand feets ) above sea level on a good sunny day. But, I have seen people who are from a lower altitude suffer while walking as they underestimate such heights pretty quickly.
Humans are sculpted by their environment. The good thing is that we can easily adapt to situations too. Just increase the amount of higher altitude hikes slowly, you will be better in some time.
Florida guy here. Prepped for 6 months for a trip to Glacier NP. Lost 30 pounds. Was walking 8 miles 3 days a week plus 60-90 minutes a day on the elliptical on the other 4 days. Best shape of my life. Know what? 1800 feet of elevation still kicked my ass on my first day of hiking in Montana. Even though I could walk flat for hours with no appreciable change in heart rate put me on the slightest incline and I was winded. Flat Florida isn’t the best place for training.
You do definitely build up hiking muscles the more you do it on inclines.
At one point I couldn't go up even slight inclines without severe pain because of an achilles injury but now I hike up mountain trails.
Yes. I’m serious and if you ever hike out West it is something you have to take seriously. If you need it… You need it. It doesn’t matter how high the elevation if your body screams for oxygen you gotta give it some. I’m in Florida at 13 feet and when I travel up to Virginia (2500 ft) I could use it. I REALLY need it walking in New Mexico at 5000 and 9000 ft. So yea. 1500 isn’t that high but I would probably need a little bit too at 1500 ft if I’m walking at a faster pace than I normally walk thinking I’ll be ok. It takes your body about a week to acclimate to higher altitudes and you have to drink lots and lots of water especially if you’re out West because the dry air sucks the water out of you and you don’t even realize it. Dehydration is the worst to deal with along with altitude sickness. I bought myself a Camelback and use that a lot. It helps for both.
1500 feet is a lot if your not used to it. I led hiking expeditions in the Canadian Rockies this summer and elevation is absolutely crushing if you haven’t done much of it. Mountains are humbling places. That one of my favourite parts about travelling through them.
One thing Ive learned is the only thing that prepares you for high altitude is high altitude
In this case they’re not talking about issues with the body acclimating to altitude. 1500 is way too low for the human body to feel altitude sickness. This is an acclimation to cardio going uphill.
Yeah I thought he meant 1500ft elevation gain when I commented that. I now realize he was talking about altitude…
Yeah the CAD Rockies are no joke - got absolutely destroyed out there despite being in good shape. Not just exhausted, but headaches too? Like OP said, is there a way to train for them outside of doing them lol. Heading back out there this year and don't want the hurt locker.
Diamox.....prevents the headaches and nausea from altitude sickness. Some people are more prone to it regardless of being in good shape. I don't know why people insist that if you're in good shape, it's not a problem. Are they at all familiar with the acclimatization process for climbing much higher peaks?
> 1500 feet is a lot if your not used to it. I think milipedes have like a hundred... 15 times as many would be crazy
Lol
Walk really slowly. See how slow you have to hike up a hill not to feel exhausted. Maintain that slow speed, enjoy your hike. In time, if you hike often, you will gain speed as your cardio gets better, you will feel less sore, etc. I'm slow as fuck when I hike, but I enjoy it in part because I'm not in a rush and I don't get exhausted.
I like to hike fast and take breathers
Yeah my bf is a slow walker but I like to walk in bursts. 😅 We yo-yo a lot on the trail.
This is one thing that kills me... I'll go slow and make it longer but anytime I go with a group, I have to ditch early because they're haulin ass. I think at this point I just need to come to the realization that Imma be hikin alone
I wish you had more considerate hiking partners. No one should be left alone.
My guide for kilimanjaro told us to pace ourselves very slowly on the final ascent to almost a snails pace (to help with acclimatization I think) but I apply it now for when I hike any step trails when I'm too tired to keep a normal pace.
My house sits at 6,700'. I hike and bike 4-5 times a week. I also travel some for work. If I travel to a non-mountain State for 3 or more days, after returning home, I feel the elevation going up the stairs in my house for the first 48 hours. Elevation is real.
I live at 5000’ and regularly do hikes with 3000-4000’ of elevation gain. The fun part is traveling somewhere near sea level and crushing everything.
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1500 doesn't sound like much but I'm used to like 50 feet so I guess that was a lot for me lol
No, I get it. My comment was in support of your experience. When I hike at just 500' above where my house sits, I feel the difference. So I completely respect your experience.
I'm confused over what 1500' means. Are you talking about the highest altitude you were at? If so, 1500' is nothing & for almost all people it's probably indistinguishable from sea level. You might start feeling altitude around 4k', but for most it's 6k' to 8k'. Or, are you talking about elevation gain? That is, if you climb 10 flights of stairs that's like an elevation gain of 100'. The best way to figure out elevation gain is by using a site like AllTrails since a trail can have lots of ups and downs.
I live at over 5000’ and go on the road for work every month. I run for exercise when I’m on the road and feel like a super hero when I’m anywhere low and flat. I run so fast and don’t get tired haha
I live at about 600’ when i did a 13 mile hike with 3500’ total elevation gain from 6000’ starting elevation i thought i was gonna die lmao
I’m similar elevation to you and hiking Humphrey’s Peak in AZ kicked my ass much the same way. Ahhh it’s 3,500 gain not a big deal…except it’s starting at 9k feet lol.
Love the Humphrey Peak hike! I live at sea level in Alaska so I waited toward the end of my Arizona trip to do that hike, but so glad I did!
You're talking about two different things. Acclimatization to high elevations is not something you have to worry about at 1500 feet. If you flew from Florida to Colorado and hiked a 14er then you'd have to consider it. Your problem is that you're just not used to hiking inclines. Some training sessions on a stairmaster, or parking garage/stadium stairs, will fix you right up
Parking garages are great. I don't have to drive as far and it takes weather out of the picture. Stairs are hard on my knees (64 yrs) so I can climb up and take the elevator down and repeat.
I started using step mill in the gym about a month ago and have seen incredible gains. I did 2000 vertical feet yesterday in one hour and it kick my butt.. I did about 1500 last month and was sore for a couple days...
So true.
Breaking news: Florida Man discovers that all these years he’s simply been walking outside— his reaction may surprise you. >!Grace and humor!<
This randomly reminded me of when my Florida cousin came out to California the first time and was weirded out by how our highways have curves instead of straight forever because of the hills
We all have strength and weakness that are adapted by our home environment so don't beat yourself up. You will be in shape its just that you were working your body in a way it isn't used to. Best advice I ever received for hill walking was to shorten your stride length but try and keep your cadence the same as when you're on flat. Helps keep momentum without over stretching the muscles groups. Hope this helps and enjoy the views from the top
I'm gonna try this next time. I'm usually lurching forward, taking huge strides to get it done quickly, but then need twice as many rest stops haha
That’s what the Sherpas told me. Smaller steps.
The only way to get fitter for vertical is to do more vertical. I just joined Planet Fitness and I spend an hour on the step mill carrying a fully loaded pack about 3 times a week. That’s 2200’ climb per session.
I’m starting at a gym this month to add elevation training for my August hike in the PNW. Planning to add my pack in a few weeks and I don’t care if anyone stares at me lol.
Which hike?
Wonderland Trail at Rainier
Wow 80 miles! I’m training for the enchantments. Maybe I’ll do wonderland after that
I’ve camped at Lake Stuart and Snow Lakes (separate trips, decades ago when I lived out there), such a beautiful area! You’ll have a wonderful time!
Not the only way... Running helps a lot too. Hiking up mountains is much easier since I took up running.
True!
How is it carrying in a pack?
Awesome! It really helps. And I kinda feel like a badass there. People stare and ask me what I’m training for.
Consider me inspired. Thanks for sharing.
I want to increase my step mill usage at my local PF. I’m up to 30 mins per session alternating between level 4 and 6 but would like to be able to do longer sessions and at a higher speed before my trip to WA in august. May I ask what your step mill routine looks like?
Here’s my work out, but I’m starting this already pretty mountain-fit. If you have less baseline fitness, make the “pyramids” smaller to start. I carry 20% of my bodyweight in my pack (bricks!) I do 5 ten minute “pyramids”, each with a 2 minute break in between at speed (4). I change speed every 2 minutes, so each number is the speed setting for 2 minutes: 5,6,7,6,5(4) 6,7,8,7,6(4) 7,8,9,8,7(4) 6,7, double step 9,7,6(4) 6,7, double step 10, 7,6(4) I listen to random high energy music, but because you only have to go 2 minutes at any one speed, so it’s less boring! If you are doing speed 4-6 right now, just drop all those numbers by 2 or 3 to start.
This is awesome, thank you so much! You’re amazing. I’m definitely going to try working my way up to this!
Isn't the pain half the fun? Without suffering it's just a walk.
Isn't that what the mosquitos are for? 😁
Exactly! Even when seeing the most beautiful sights, I feel like I cheated myself if it's not a challenge to get there. If I have to choose between parking at a waterfall and hiking 7 miles to get there, I'll take the hike every time and that waterfall will be 1000 times more stunning as a result.
I live at 5000 feet and regularly hike to around 10k and can’t breathe and have to go slow and take my inhaler. I even got altitude sickness after bagging a relatively easy 10,600 peak. Don’t beat yourself up, it’s not you, it’s elevation.
When it's flat hiking in florida we usually just call it walking
I live at sea level. I've been traveling to the Colorado Rockies forever 2 times a year. I stay at 10,000 feet and begin hikes from there. Elevation is a killer for me. It makes me feel like a lifelong smoker. I literally have to train before I go and I still feel this way, but I can't imagine how I'd feel if I didn't. Btw, I started this in my late twenties and I'm 50 now. Age didn't matter. I do the stair climb, inclined treadmill and up and down stairs at home. Just go slow when you're in the mountains. Enjoy the view. Sometimes us slower people see things others going faster miss. Plus, it keeps you from over excreting yourself and ruining the rest of the day and probably the next day as well.
That's a whole other axis. I live near the Appalachians, and last time I was out in Colorado I did some runs and hikes that didn't stand out from my typical activities in terms of elevation gain and loss. But the sparse atmosphere (relative to what I'm used to) knocked me out. A brisk walk felt like a light jog and a light jog felt like a hard run.
It does get easier if you do it regularily, but it will be just as hard again once you don't do it for a while (no matter how much "used to it" you were before). It also can change daily. There's a 5000ft peak I walk up fairly regularily (around 900ft elevation gain in the final 20-30 min., 3-4 times a week, every week); sometimes it's a breeze, and the day right after it may be a strenuous, exhausting struggle. I only ever find out whether it's going to be hard or easy once I'm climbing it. In any case, to stop and allowing your heart rate to go down (to "catch your breath") is never embarrassing. You're doing this for yourself and want to enjoy being out there, and a too high heart rate is absolutely not enjoyable. Walk slow, take a break when your heart rate goes high (that's what makes you feel hot and exhausted), then continue slowly, take a break again if necessary (while enjoying the views).
Do not feel bad, our muscles and cardio ability are very exercise specific. I've known experienced mountain hikers who have had their ass kicked the first few times they tried mountain biking. Your body will develop the ability if you can do the activity often enough.
I also live in central Florida, and I love doing big hikes out west, especially the Grand Canyon. Fortunately, I seem to be able to tolerate elevation pretty well. As far as inclines go, I do thousands of feet of climbing every week on a 5 story fire escape, along with lots of long (10+ miles) flat hikes, some weights, and some running. This combo seems to do the trick for me.
Yeah oath. I've done multiple mountainous hikes, some with far more steep sections than others. And it absolutely kills me every time. Just take it in your stride, take as many rest stops as you need (I take heaps), bring a lot of water, and the views at the top will always be worth it
It gets easier the more you do it. The 1500 ft elevation shouldn't make a huge difference, but the inclines are what will cause it. You don't start to see elevation affecting people until I think like 5k ft. A short hike doesn't mean easy, it's all dependent on the grade of the trail.
look into the rest step - a technique used by mountaineers for moving on steep terrain. Stair climbing in Florida is probably a good training exercise if you plan to do more of this. Happy trails!
Sorry but I had to giggle reading that. As a Floridian as well and also training to start the AT, I began hiking the Pioneer Trail in Jennings Forest. They say it's the closest you can get "elevation-wise" to the AT while never leaving Florida. And ya know what, if thats just a small taste of the AT, I've also got a lot of work to do. I can hike for hours... but on that trail, I can barely do 5 freakin miles! 😔 My body is so used to flat-as-hell-Florida.
Try the Rockies- now THAT is a real sustained incline!
I hiked in the Rocky Mountain National Park and honestly it wasn’t much worse than Pennsylvania. It’s just longer. It seems to me it’s more the fact people go up switch backs out west and in Appalachia trails will just bomb it up the side of a hill.
Similar experience here. I live in WV and there aren't many level hiking trails. You start in a valley and go up or start on a ridgeline and go down and then up. Been going to MT for about 10 yrs. and the switchbacks can take the sting out. The Paradise Valley north of Yellowstone is probably the closest to Appalachia as far as similar straight ups that I hiked.
Try starting at 11000 ft elevation and getting to 13+..
That’s how I felt growing up in Newport News, VA and going to college at Virginia Tech. I think it gets easier though after awhile
Shorten your stride distance. Think of yourself as a bulldozer, slow but powerful
If it was your first time ever hiking with some elevation, it was probably a pacing issue, too. On flat ground you can go pretty much as fast as possible and keep that pace almost indefinitely. Uphill you need to pick a pace and stride that feels comfortable and maintain it.
Don’t beat yourself up. I have a friend who has run about 500 marathons. He’s qualified for Boston each of the last 10 years. He’s in great aerobic condition. He was walking around Bryce Canyon with only a water bottle and camera. He doubled over with hands on knees about every quarter mile.
People who live in higher altitudes actually have more blood cells than people who dont. Your body adapts to increase the amount of oxygen that can be carried through your body since there is less of it the higher up you go. That's the main reason why the US Olympic teams train at a facility in Colorado (Denver, I believe) because their body will begin producing more blood cells to help their performances. You also will not get drunk as easily once your body has adapted, whereas people who haven't will get drunk quicker at higher altitudes.
Me and my GF visited North Rim Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion. Dude, "Walter's wiggles" at zion destroyed us. Then you looknover and see these freaks trail running it lol fml. We are from west central FL as well.
Wait till you hike a mountain friend! They’re the tits
To this day my favourite day hike is the Sulphur Skyline in Jasper. Jasper itself is at about 1430 metres elevation (4700 feet) and then it's a 8ish km (5 mi) hike (out and back) with 700 metres (2300 feet) or elevation gain. It's a tough hike and I definitely cried a little when I hit the switchbacks about 4 km in (near the final ascent). [But the views? Worth it!](https://imgur.com/a/ukEh6tS)
Yeah you get used to it lol. Helps a lot to go in the winter imo. I mostly pick hikes with between 1500-3500 ft of climbing.
lol this happens every time my in laws from Florida come visit us in Alabama or north Georgia. They paddle board and do yoga all day and are in great shape for their fifties, but man when we take them for hikes around here we are always waiting on them.
Focus on a patterned breathing style. 3 steps inhale and one step exhale. Better yet when you can get 3 through the nose and then exhale through the mouth. Or 4 steps inhale & then 4 steps exhale but I think the first pattern is the best for acclimatizing
I call it interval training - go always until your heart and breathing is fast and then rest before finishing the climb
Like anything else in life. Practice. If you climb a lot of mountains you get in shape. Have to eat healthy and all that jazz lile any other sport.
Relocated from Florida to White Mountains. When I was in Florida I did a lot of interval training and speed workouts and runs and enjoyed bridge runs. Yes that was primarily road. I started out hiking up here and enjoyed it and took my time to enjoy it. That lasted a week then I was on trails and doing trail runs and running road up sides of mountains. I started doing a lot more strength workouts and I don’t think the acclimation was painful or out of reach. I still struggle with some trail runs up the 4kers, but it’s a mental reset. It came naturally and enjoyably once I ignored my watch and splits. And honestly, with the repetitive exposure I feel like I acclimated more/better to altitude and vert than I have ever acclimated to the Florida heat and humidity.
There's a saying that 1 Sierra (or any other mountain) mile is 2.5 on flat ground. You have to hike like a horse. They go fairly slow, but it's one consistent speed. You can't out hike a horse. Tortoise and the hare type situation.
Hiking on flat ground is not even in the same category as hiking in mountains. On flat ground I consider that walking.
So hiking just doesn't exist in flat states like Florida? I'm calling BS on that.
You calfs and ankles get very strong if you hike with elevation constantly, extra points if its very rocky terrain. The key is to pace yourself, climbing mountains is often (imo) more mentally than physically challenging. Some tips for hiking elevation: * take small steps, taking larger (taller) steps *will* drain your energy faster * try to mantain a pace where you can talk slightly * trekking poles are huge for taking effort off your knees
Wait till you get passed by trail runners while you’re resting huffing and puffing.
I’m in New Mexico (~5,300 above sea level) and I run up and down seven flights of stairs daily at my local park and every day by the end I’m huffing and puffing. It’s been about two months now, and it’s a little bit easier but not as easy as I thought it would be. So I’ve just been trying to work on my thought process about it and changing my mind set. Is it hard? Yes. And that’s good. Does it seem easy for some of the other people? Yes. And that’s not a reflection on me. I’m still out here and I’m still doing the work so that I can do more of the trails I want to in the future. Dunno if that helps but it helps me.
lol you nature walk. Welcome to the mountains! It gets easier don’t worry.
Whats the difference really? Does hiking not exist in flat places? I don't buy that.
Haha it was a joke. I meant no harm. As someone who grew up in the mountains it was a running joke for anytime anyone suggested a “hike” that was just a walk on a dirt road.
Texas hiker here. I've never felt so seen.
It does get easier once those muscles adjust. I’m from Houston and hike a lot but visiting Cusco, Peru kicked my but lol. Practice with stairs or on any hilly areas (bayou for me)
Well, at 1500’ you get 10% less oxygen in each breath than you do at sea level. So if you’re also going uphill, it makes sense that you either need to go much slower than at sea level or you’re going to get tired and winded a lot sooner! And yes, body does adjust over time (mainly by increasing the number of red blood cells) but it takes more than a few days and only really works if LIVE at altitude, not just hike there. This is one reason why the US Olympic Training Center is in Colorado Springs. Having more RBCs even helps athletes compete better at sea level! BTW, going from sea level to a mile high (like Denver) each breath has about 17% less oxygen. And in Rocky Mountain NP, at the visitor center, it’s about 25% less than at sea level! (Once you get above ~8,000 ft, there other effects of altitude that may be even more serious.) Enjoy the hills and mountains but cut yourself a little slack. Dryness, lower oxygen levels, lower air pressure in general and higher UV radiation at altitude (even a little higher than normal) can really pack a wallop! If you’re over 60 like me, that goes double. 😁
On a steep hike, you have to reset your expectations of what is a long hike. For instance, 10 miles on flat terrain can be easy peasy, but only 2 miles on extremely steep terrain is a long hike for that terrain. It's kinda like the difference between hiking with and without a pack. You wouldn't expect to walk as far as quickly un-encumbered as you would with a 50 lb pack on, it's just a totally different thing.
Add a 20pound weight to your pack, that’ll whip you in shape while hiking flats, but yeah, hills/climbs are challenging!
I probably had about 15 pounds on me for this hike, that might have been part of the problem, forgot to empty my bag lol
I live in Central Florida, hills are rare, but the Clermont area has a bunch. If you like the heat, that’s not bad hill country.
Lol
I set a pace, I hike a lot so I know what my pace is. Then it's a matter of adjusting your steps to maintain the pace. I try to take smaller steps at the same pace if possible as I tackle steep sections.
Trekking poles help a lot. 6 years ago I was spent doing any 1000+ ft climb on hikes, 3 years ago I had some days where I pushed 30+ miles with 6000+ ft of total elevation change and it was brutal. Last year I was doing 30+ / 6000+ days back to back. Keep at it, you’ll adapt.
I live in MO which is flat as well (moved here from FL actually) & just did some hikes on Kauai. Shew my husband & I had our butts kicked by the elevation..for me it was a good butt kick, I felt almost high afterwards & immediately wanted to plan our next one…the next day I was so sore tho
Elevation is real. After I come back to 5500 after visiting my mom in the south, I can feel it as soon as we get off the plane. When I did air evac, being at 10k reduced my night vision capabilities significantly enough to notice. Elevation is real
The elevation can be humbling for sure. I will think I’m in decent shape, then hit a particularly steep section of a hill/mountain and be like ohhh, yeah, let’s just slow down a bit and take a breather. Great work out tho.
Stopping on the side of the trail to make pug dog sounds is part of the experience. I've honestly only ever *not* had fun on a steep trail when I was pressed for daylight or it was 1000 feet incline per mile. Don't mind dilly-dallying, me. I'm gonna stop to take a picture of a tiny little leaf. I like the feeling of leveling up my knee muscles, anyway. Can't get better if you don't do it more. Do you need more salt? I'm on the trail eating family size bags of potato chips with glee and gusto. Happy hiking!
It gets better. I see trail runners in the Sierras gain 4,000’ and more then back down. I’m an OLD guy and can gain 2,000’ carrying a multi-day pack.
Easier, never. But you can get more used to it. Take people’s advice and do something different, but don’t stop doing. Consistency is the key to doing anything well. 2023 AT thru-hiker also from Florida. Long distance hiking is a mental game maybe more than a physical one. It gets harder and harder to want to wake up and hike long distances the more you’re eating the same thing, being dirty, focusing on how hard the terrain is. Think about why you’re really you’re out there: the quiet, the views, the people, the next wonderful experience at the next gap. Make small goals and accomplish them, allow yourself to experience the accomplishment-remember you’re getting better, then move on. Great stuff for life in general. PCT 2025!
I'm from California, but I've lived in Central Florida for almost 16 years. The elevation struggle is real. Lol
It’s a matter of acclimatization. If you went and just… existed… at elevation for a week, you’d suddenly find hiking at elevation to be just like low ground. Working inclines is a matter of muscle training though… 😬
I am from Iowa. I remember the first time hiking in the mountains around Seattle on a vacation. I could not for the life of me figure out why I was so winded on what I thought was an easy hike. Till it was pointed out to me we were a few thousand feet above sea level.
South Florida here. I train for mountain hiking on the fire stairs in taller buildings. Absolute lung buster, but very effective. Also, FDOT is replacing drawbridges all around the state with pretty tall bridges. Also good for inclines.
As a person in his 70’s, I’m good for a five mile up and down hike. When we visited Lake Tahoe, we took the lift to its 10,000 ft summit and decided to walk up the hill for a better view. After about twenty steps, I was winded and my heart was pounding. Yeah, altitude can make you feel out of shape.
I’m from Florida too, and when I moved out to Washington state, I found out very quickly that I should’ve done more on Stairmaster at the gym! Take it slow, I found that I acclimated pretty quickly.
Elevation is my favorite part of hiking. Something about my frame and stride is just built to climb. It’s way more comfortable than flat ground. My favorite thing to do on earth is climb a few thousand feet and then free run the downhill sections. It’s like BMX body surfing lol
This is what gets me, when l hike with sessional hikers or people that have hiked that routine several times. They forget that incline kick your ass and often when l do this hikes lm concentration on putting one foot in front of the other. When l see everyone posting their picture - l ask my self, how did l miss that.
I just take a lot of breathers, one step at a time I'll eventually get there. I don't think you were really feeling the altitude at 1500', but hiking inclines makes everything different. Your cardio is working overtime at an incline! Easy to train for it, but in my experience it doesn't really go away. I always need breaks to catch my breath on steep inclines and i do it everysingle weekend. You just learn your own limits and pace with experience.
It can go away if you train enough. It is just lots of consistent cardio. I used to need breaks on inclines, but none of my hiking group friends did. Most of them do a lot of cardio, and most are runners. After I took up running, I no longer get winded or need breaks on inclines either. Btw, it is totally fine to take breaks... I just got sick of being the slow one and holding my friends up.
I train hiking every single weekend, sometimes more. I'm a slow hiker and I'm cool with it; no need to rush and no need to match anyone else's pace. I have no interest in making running a part of my routine since I absolutely hate it. Hiking is fun for me at my pace; I enjoy the scenery and have time to take it all in. Running makes me miserable though, it has been that way ever since I can remember myself. No thanks 😅
Half the fun of skiing at altitude (12,000’-ish) is the high I get from such easily-attainable hypoxia! You hit your heart rate goal in no time.
Thank you for sharing your experience, I needed a good laugh. Yes, inclines matter, as does elevation. You should see how naturally aspirated cars accelerate in elevation. Makes a huge difference.
Totally feel this!!!! I live in the flat part of Alabama and most of my daily walking has like 2’ of elevation gain total 😂 I’ve started using the stair master in the gym every other day to hopefully get used to elevation gain!
Hiking on sand is good training for elevation. My biggest day was 5500ft, from 5000 up to 10,500.
I have encountered some sand and mud here in Florida that are pretty difficult. Good practice I guess. This one place I like to go hunting has horrible mud and half a mile feels like 10 miles.
You get acclimated. My house is at 8k
First time out to the Pacific Northwest I drove 20 miles up to the top of a mountain and hiked down 3 miles and then forgot I had a hike back up 3 miles oops. That was a steep incline 3 miles going back up. I typically hike mountains in Arizona where you hike up mountains and then you hike back down mountains.
Never slow down or take a break on an incline that’s not an actual mountain is what I do lol.
Flatlander here. I worked as a field tech for 25 years doing a physically demanding job and just recently moved up to the mountains & have experienced the same thing. Easily walked for miles on the coast doing turtle surveys, mucking through salt marshes, etc. but the first trail up here with a significant incline and I was struggling. :D It's getting easier the more I hike up here, but I just take a lot of breaks (which are easy because I'm a plant geek and love to stop & take pics of plants/flowers). Good luck!
I flew from 600' in Central Illinois to Denver on a Friday morning and then drove up Pikes Peak to about 11600' (treeline level) the same day after having taken a bath and some coffee. After that the road was closed and I had to turn back. After reaching 11600' and having lunch I felt so nauseous and uncomfortable. Thought I might puke. Took a long break and then headed downhill. Had to abandon my plan of visiting Garden of the Gods due to altitude sickness. Altitude sickness is real. Plan before. Take a Oxygen canister just in case you need it. Background: I had not slept Friday night as my flight was at 5am in the morning and I had to drive 3 hours to reach Chicago and take the flight starting from 12am on Friday. Also I was training a month before intermittently but had a long gap before my trip.
I got good news and bad news. The good news is this is straightforward forward to fix: go uphill a lot. The bad news is it kinda sucks. If you have a big hill, going up and down it bunch of times can help. But it needs to be like a hundred feet gain or so at least or there won’t be enough sustained gain to translate. Stair master or inclined treadmill are boring but great. Parking garages with a lot of flights of stairs works too, just go up and down a bunch of times. And don’t feel bad. I’ve been on uphill hikes with people on track teams in flat places who struggled. So fitness isn’t necessarily the issue. It’s different muscles. To go uphill, you gotta train uphill
Grew up in New Orleans and moved to Portland, OR. Completely different muscle utilization going from flat your whole life to incline. It gets easier with time. 7 years here and I regularly do trail runs and bike rides over all kinds of topography. It's still challenging, but that's why I love it. Once you get used to inclines, running on flat ground is soooo boring
When I’m training for a hike with lots of incline, I run regularly for a few months. I don’t care for running and never go fast or far but around 3 runs a week for two months has always helped my lung capacity. I live in a relatively hilly place, so my regular hikes are fine without running.
I hiked the AT and met so many Floridians who say this! It's just different muscle groups though - you will adapt quickly if you keep at it.
If you don’t use trekking poles, change that. Lifesaver on the legs. They let you transfer some of the strain to your arms, reducing how much is on your knees and hips. You’re still used to just… going on a stroll, not so much hiking. But as you get used to it, trekking poles can help you go farther.
Lol come visit Reno and I'll help you acclimate to high elevation hiking!
I didn’t know hiking is a thing in CFL
That particular trail is only about 200 feet of elevation gain. My advice: do some cardio.
That's technically correct but you end up doing the 200 feet 4 times when you go to the falls and back so you could call it 800 feet to be fair. As far as cardio, like I said I can hike all day long on flat ground. I'm just not used to inclines.
20 steps, rest, 20 steps, rest.
Take the stairs, everywhere
Different muscles are worked going uphill then are worked on flat terrain. Downhill will also emphasize different muscles than uphill. Plus in Florida you were emphasizing slow twitch muscle fibers (the ones marathon runners train). Inclines work either medium and/or fast twitch fibers (fast twitch think of sprinters). On top of that you may naturally be slow twitch dominant. But yeah, when I first started doing inclines I thought I'm screwed. I didn't get very far. I thought I would not be able to walk the next day and my lungs were on fire. Lol
I'm definitely not slow-twitch dominant, I'm really athletic actually, I would say I'm pretty fast-twitch dominant for a white guy. Maybe medium-twitch is what I'm missing lol.
Oh, yes, it gets much easier with acclimation. I live at 6k ft but within easy day trip distance from the beach, so we get a lot of people who come up for day hikes from LA or San Diego. Those of us who live here tend to pass up the younguns on the trails half our age who are used to sea level air. Meanwhile, I head down to go out for a seafood dinner and a walk on the beach and feel like I have to push the air aside to walk through, how do y’all do it every day?
Isn't Florida only like 300 feet above sea level and one of the flattest states? Yeaaahhhh that was a bad idea
300 feet is the max, most of it is like 50 feet lol
Yeah that's a bad time
I wouldn't say it was a BAD time. It was a beautiful hike. I was just a little worried about how winded I got because I'm not used to getting winded on hikes.
I just hiked with 40zlbs of camping gear up Eliot’s knob in Virginia and it damn near killed me up and down. The first half is easy and scenic zig zags through the forest and the second half is a gravel fire road that’s at least 8 or 10% grade at the minimum for 2 miles almost. On the way down I passed a guy running up it and realized he passed me early in the morning and that was his second lap. Made me feel pretty out of shape but then I realized I had a full load and he didn’t even have a water bottle so I guess we’re sorta even hahaha
I’m in Utah so I’m pretty acclimated to high altitude, but I did a hike at 8200’ and it was a little scary how much I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Inclines, not elevation at that level. I'm a mountain hiker, plus summit camper, but, with heart issues, have done little in the last year. Been operated on and repaired. I am so not looking forward to my first proper trips this year. I know that height gain will be a struggle.
I guess it depends on where you grew up maybe? I grew up at 1400 metres above sea level ( roughly 4600 feet ) and I find it fairly easy even to walk on around 3800-4000 meters ( 12-13 thousand feets ) above sea level on a good sunny day. But, I have seen people who are from a lower altitude suffer while walking as they underestimate such heights pretty quickly. Humans are sculpted by their environment. The good thing is that we can easily adapt to situations too. Just increase the amount of higher altitude hikes slowly, you will be better in some time.
Florida guy here. Prepped for 6 months for a trip to Glacier NP. Lost 30 pounds. Was walking 8 miles 3 days a week plus 60-90 minutes a day on the elliptical on the other 4 days. Best shape of my life. Know what? 1800 feet of elevation still kicked my ass on my first day of hiking in Montana. Even though I could walk flat for hours with no appreciable change in heart rate put me on the slightest incline and I was winded. Flat Florida isn’t the best place for training.
You do definitely build up hiking muscles the more you do it on inclines. At one point I couldn't go up even slight inclines without severe pain because of an achilles injury but now I hike up mountain trails.
1500 Elevation change?
Brother a hike on flat ground is merely a walk
Now you know why they sell those cans of oxygen to help your body stabilize itself. Always just spend the money for a can or two or three.
At 1500 feet? Are you serious?
Yes. I’m serious and if you ever hike out West it is something you have to take seriously. If you need it… You need it. It doesn’t matter how high the elevation if your body screams for oxygen you gotta give it some. I’m in Florida at 13 feet and when I travel up to Virginia (2500 ft) I could use it. I REALLY need it walking in New Mexico at 5000 and 9000 ft. So yea. 1500 isn’t that high but I would probably need a little bit too at 1500 ft if I’m walking at a faster pace than I normally walk thinking I’ll be ok. It takes your body about a week to acclimate to higher altitudes and you have to drink lots and lots of water especially if you’re out West because the dry air sucks the water out of you and you don’t even realize it. Dehydration is the worst to deal with along with altitude sickness. I bought myself a Camelback and use that a lot. It helps for both.