Distance Challenge

For my upcoming thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail starting at April, 10th 2018 I definitely need some more training. I have a bad knee injury for a few years. My patella is broken on both of my knees. I’m forced to hike with a bandage on each knee.

A friend of mine and myself thought about doing a distance challenge. So far, we never hiked more than 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) in a day. We choose a distance of 37 kilometers (about 23 miles). He planned his own tour. If you’re interested in the tour, check out this link.

We started early in the morning, about 8 o’clock. I already was a bit exhausted from the 18 kilometer (about 11 miles) hike the day before. The scenery on our hike was not that amazing, but the distance was the goal we wanted to reach. We were able to complete the first 19,5 kilometers (about 12 miles) in just 3,5 hours, which was pretty neat. After our first lunch break my feet were hurting like crazy. Every step was real pain. I sometimes moaned like a little child, but my friend always lifted my mood. We did our second break after 29,5 kilometers (about 18 miles). At that point I realized I only have 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) more to go. From this step on I gained strength and we completed our 37 kilometer in 6,5 hours. I haven’t had any issue with my knees, which is pretty satisfying to me. After reaching the finish line I was really happy and confident.