A 400 mile hike is unrealistic for virtually everyone.

I walk 3.25 miles every morning and take 3-10 mile hikes on weekends.

I would not try more than a 20 - 40 mile hike.

Actually, I have a plan for walking home from work regardless of how many miles I might be from home in the event of an EMP Event.

My planning is extensive, with agreements with friends already in place that includes locations where I can rest and resupply along the possible paths I would be using.

It is not such a trek that can be taken lightly with any hope of success. Only proper planning, perseverance, and a combination of patience, skills, & some prior experience can make such a plan at least feasible.

That's my story.

The Appalachian Trail is somewhat in excess of 2,000 miles and a LOT of people have completed that hike. So, rather than making a monster out of a 400 mile trek, look at it as being just 20% of the AT. At ten miles per day, it takes 218 days to hike the AT. Allowing for 30 "zero" or "nearo" days, that's a shade over 8 months. That's doable.

Applying the same math to a 400 mile trek, we get 40 days of active hiking. Allowing one day of rest per two days of hiking we get a total of 60 days, or two full months. That's very doable.

If you break a 400 mile journey down into increments of roughly 10 miles per day, there would be plenty of daylight left to set automatic fishing reels* and / or fish traps* in any promising body of water nearby while setting snares* or foraging for wild plant foods* . Unless you are being pursued, if the food supply where you are is plentiful, stay there a couple days to recharge. Smoke or dry some of the fish or game, dry some of the fruit and roots, eat as much as you can, then stand up and resume the journey.

I'm not saying that a 400 mile hike to find help is desirable or even reasonable (was there no kind person to be found any closer?), only that it is doable.

The best way to train for something is to do it. You don't train to run by doing push-ups and you don't train to lift weights by taking long walks.

My information about hiking says that, within a week (in most cases), the body responds to the new demands being made on it and that 1,000 pound pack will seem to be a whole lot lighter and there will be a spring in your step that hasn't been there for years.

I'm not making light of that long journey, only trying to be reasonable in my appraisal of it. It can be done. It has been done. It is being done even as I write this (Oct. 23, 2012) and it will be done -- again and again.

The most serious hindrance that might keep any of us from making such a journey, should it become our best option, is fear. Conquer that and the rest will fall into place.

* Legal Notice: such activities may be regulated or even illegal in some jurisdictions. It is your responsibility to know and obey governing law. If other humans are nearby, you might find the necessary nutrition at lower caloric cost to you by either buying food or dumpster diving. If you've been out on the road for a while, you probably look and smell like a bum and would thus fit right in with the other folks checking the contents of bins. With survival at stake, how many inhibitions can you afford?

Agreed that it is possible...but not to carry 60 days of food with you to do it. most people carry only 5 days.

"In June, three men set out to walk across 600 miles of Alaskan wilderness and they set themselves some rules, as they would go. They would not forage, or hunt, or receive food deliveries of any kind, along the way. They would carry everything they needed."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5551705

Kids, don't try this at home!

The gentleman intervied, Roman Dial, is a true Alaska wildman. Among other adventures he has several times won the Alaska Wilderness Classic. (Though one could fairly say that anyone who has managed to even finish the Alaska Wilderness Classic is a winner.)

Any of you folks who think you are really tough should consider trying the Classic. The rules are pretty simple. Start at point A, finish at Point B. Human powered. Carry all your gear, no outside support. What route you take is up to you. I know several Wilderness Classic racers. They are all great guys, but are also all certifiably crazy. For info on the 2013 Classic see 2013 AMWC Race Info. For info on past races, see The Classic Report

Hopefully Krista comes back and reads these updates. I think we scared her away with our (for the most part) collective refusal to entertain the thought of the plan she wanted help with in the thread that gave rise to this thread.

Reading this entire thread is truly fascinating. One conclusion is that some of us are definitely not hikers, nor do they intend to be. Nothing at all wrong with that; this forum is enriched by a wide variety of viewpoints and opinions honestly expressed...

Not related to this thread in particular but related to BPJ's remark :



I am afraid Krista is not the only one.
Another ETS lady is missed and we'll be happy to see her back : Susan

Having more ladies in ETS is beneficial to get a more balanced view on things.

In what scenario would someone bug out 400 miles on foot?

I’m prepped for a temporary disruption (two months). I have a vehicle and several places to bug out. One is a goat farm, another is sixty acres of land. All of them are not even 100 miles away, let alone 400.


How can I help?

Jeanette Isabelle