How much does altitude affect hiking? I am planning to hike the JMT next year and would like some idea of how many miles I could expect to cover on average each day compared to a day hiking the AT in the Whites. I thruhiked the AT but just talked to someone who hiked some 13K peaks for the first time and he said it had a tremendous impact.
Steady On
I have always hiked in the East until two years ago when I hiked a section on the Colorado Trail. I started in Breckinridge so was almost immediately over 10,000 ft. On day two I went over 12,000 feet. It was awful. You cannot believe how hard it is to hike at altitude until you do it. I got sick with nausea and a bad headache until I got back down below 10,000 feet on the end of day 2. However, after 4 or 5 days I started to get used to it and by the end of two weeks it wasn’t bothering me all that much. The first couple of days I was limited to 10 to 12 miles in a day but by the end of the hike I could do 16 to 20 mile days. It helps that the trails are so well graded and the scenery is so great.
Big B
Re the JMT, I understand that if you start at the north end you are at a lower altitude so can acclimatize more gradually. Do expect that you won’t be able to hike nearly as far as you normally do for the first few days.
The two methods of high altitude acclimatization are (1) Climb high and sleep low for the first few days, gradually raising the altitude for both, or (2) Don’t climb more than 1,000 feet per day between sleeping places. Symptoms of acute mountain sickness are more apt to develop during sleep. Severe (as opposed to “normal”) headache or difficulty breathing constitute a medical emergency (high altitude cerebral edema or pulmonary edema, respectively)–descend immediately and seek medical help ASAP.
grannyhiker
I didn’t experience any altitude issues during my JMT hike last September. We started at Horseshoe Meadows and hiked north. 11K right off the bat. I even did a 4-5 mile trail run the first night to test the lungs and everything felt good. Tho I talked to people climbing out of Yosemite that had to take a few days and acclimatize. So who knows.
Good luck on your hike.
Phreak
Thanks to all for your input. Phreak, do you live in a high altitude area? It’s amazing the altitude did not affect you. The person I talked to was a 30 year old distance runner in good physical shape.
Steady On