Paired with the right gear and food, physical preparation is the key to a fulfilling and truly enjoyable trek. If your normal life does not comprise hiking 6-8 miles and gaining an average of 3000 feet of elevation each day for multiple days carrying 25 pounds, then training is very important. Exercising to build stamina is very personal – what works for one individual may not click with another. We suggest some routines below, but you should go with what feels right for your body. Almost every year, one or more PRH participants drop out because they find the hiking too difficult. The typical root cause for this is insufficient preparation. The more you prepare, the more you will enjoy the PRH.
Basic training routine
Get into a daily exercise routine no later than the start of spring, and continue it until a week before the PRH. Put on that pack, add some weight and start walking around your neighborhood – or better yet a nearby hilly area – a few times a week. Slowly increase the stats: distance, elevation gain, the pace, weight and duration.
In each session, do not exercise until exhausted. At whatever level of distance, elevation gain, pace, weight and duration you start to feel moderately tired, it is time to wind down, stop, and note down these stats. Repeat this in the subsequent sessions, again keeping track of the stats each time. Over the course of this routine, you will find that your stats are gradually improving.
On the evenings of days you aren’t walking with your pack, do some sort of light upper-body workout. The process of building up those upper chest and shoulder muscles will make carrying a pack easier. Don’t forget that you will be carrying roughly twenty-five pounds for eight days over rough terrain.
Weekly surge
As close to weekly as life permits – on weekends, for example – include a more aggressive training session. This workout should entail a sufficient ramp-up of the stats to enable you to feel exhausted before you wind down. Limit the following day (or possibly two, early on) to simple stretching and resting. Until your next surge day, resume your basic routine.
If you are able to work up to the stats of a typical PRH day, add a second day to the surge, again finding the level of stats at which you get exhausted on the second day. Experiment with this in your next surge by ramping down on Day 1 so as to permit you to hike as much on Day 2 as you did on Day 1.
If your schedule does not permit a Day 2 for your surge, another option you can try is to keep going with a single surge day that takes you beyond the parameters of a typical PRH day. As a very rough rule of thumb, try considering 150% of an average PRH day to be the exercise equivalent of two consecutive 100% days. As with the basic routine, discontinue the surges at least a week before the PRH begins.
Happy feet
In addition to developing the stamina necessary to traverse the distance, elevation gain and terrain of the PRH, we must also ensure that our feet are up for the task. Take care to make sure your boots fit properly and are well broken in, and that your socks work well with them. If you feel the slightest rub or tickle on your foot as you set forth, you can count on its evolving into a hot spot or full-fledged blister over the course of your day. Keep constant track of how your feet are feeling and make adjustments as necessary. Happy feet make possible a truly happy outing.
Training venue
If you live anywhere near mountains, by all means use them during your basic and surge routines as much as weather and logistics permit. Do some 4000 footers in the course of your surges. If you live outside New England and not near any mountains, try to spend a few weekends in an area with hilly hiking trails if possible.
If you have access to a gym, try out the Stairmaster and work up to at least 30 minutes on a high level. If you use a treadmill, start increasing the incline to the max. In either case, you can also start wearing a light pack on either machine; it will get you ready. Also remember that your legs must get ready to walk downhill which can put lots of pressure on knees. For those who live in the flat lands, local stadiums have plenty of steps for training. We have had groups who trained by hiking up and down high-rise buildings.
Moderation
Our bodies include a variety of biometric systems, all of which are highly sensitive to any changes in exercise demand. Even a 10% increase in exercise can be a shock to one or more of your systems. For this reason, it is critical to ease into your training efforts. If a particular activity feels uncomfortably intense, ease up on it until its demands feel reasonable. If you are feeling any Day 2 soreness after a training activity, go easy with your basic routine until you have recovered—and the next time around, back off a little on the offending activity. Listen to your body. Pushing harder on a body that is already reporting pain could potentially result in trip-stopping injuries.
Preparing for rugged terrain in tough conditions
Due to the broad variety of possible terrain challenges and hazards, training for a mountain hike entails more than just purely physical strength and endurance in key muscle groups. Dealing with small rocks. Medium rocks. Big rocks. Wet rocks. Boulders. Rocks that move. Spaces between rocks. Stepping across them. Maneuvering through them. Small ledges. Big ledges. Exposed tree root tangles. Stream crossings. Rain. Fog. Sun. Hot. Cold. Wind. Rain. Hail. Mud. Swamp. Lightning. Fallen trees to step over. Wriggle under. Hike around. Rocks about to fall. Dead trees about to fall. Tree and shrub trunks, stems and branches.
The more varied your hiking skills and experiences along the above lines, the greater will be the degree of security you feel on the PRH. As a component of your training for the PRH, try for some venues that have the potential to help you broaden and grow your terrain abilities. For skills that may not be well represented in your past hiking or prep (example: lightning), the leaders will be there to guide you.
Conclusion
The bottom line: you will need to prepare for this hike. Don’t underestimate it. Although the White mountains are not as high as a lot of other ranges, the trails are more rugged, rockier and steeper, but just as rewarding. You will do fine if you arrive in shape and follow our instructions about eating and drinking properly. There are lots of ways to prepare. Find what works for you and start doing it! Remember: we will be hiking for 6-8 hours on average per day.