![]() ![]() These hikes require a little more planning, including knowing how much food and water to bring and setting a turnaround time-especially if you’re hiking in early spring/late fall, when the days are shorter. This level is designed to help hikers get accustomed to longer day hikes in the 5- to 8-mile range. Level 3: Routes More Than 5 Miles with Small Peaks Suggested hikes: Bradbury Mountain (Maine) Mount Major (N.H.) Mount Wachusett (Mass.) Breakneck Ridge (N.Y.)* Neversink Mountain Preserve (Pa.) Sugarloaf Mountain (Md.) Uphill climbs are another challenge, in addition to longer distances, so give yourself time to adjust. Level 2 hikes may include mountains with summits lower than 4,000 feet and should not exceed 5 miles round trip. Once you’re comfortable with your local haunts, it’s time to branch out to smaller peaks. Level 2: Routes Less Than 5 Miles with Small Peaks Suggested hikes: Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park (Maine) Middlesex Fells Reservoir Trail (Mass.) Central Park Ramble Trails (N.Y.) Mount Vernon Trail (Va.) Valley Forge National Historic Park (Pa.) Routes at this level should have minimal elevation gain, but if you’re walking through a park with a nice lookout point, add that to your path as you get stronger. Start small, with a mile or two around your local park, or take a stroll through a popular tourist destination in your city, adding miles each time you go out. This step is appropriate for any skill level and gives you a chance to build stamina while exploring your hometown. Want to try this at home? You can! Follow the steps below, modeled on the Young Members’ program, or sign up for a chapter-led Couch to 4K series. The goal is to feel safe and in control in the outdoors, and that takes experience.” If you feel like you want to repeat a level, there’s no shame in that. “If you finish a hike at one level and feel like you still had 20 to 30 percent of gas left in your tank, and the distance or strenuousness wasn’t uncomfortable, you’re probably ready to go to the next level. “It’s all about comfort and fitness,” she says. Worcester’s Steph Krzyzewski Murphy says the goal is to help would-be hikers get into shape and build up to summiting 4,000-footers by starting with shorter local hikes-sort of like a couch-to-5K plan, as in “5 kilometers,” for new runners. That question led to the birth of Couch to 4K, a program developed by the Young Members committees of AMC’s Boston and Worcester chapters. But where to start if you’ve never hiked before? ![]() For others, it might be a single mountaintop. For some, the goal is to complete all 48. Thousands of hikers flock to them each year in search of a challenge. You’ve likely heard of New Hampshire’s 4000-footers, those peaks in the White Mountains with summits cresting 4,000 feet in elevation. Conquer the incredible feat of hiking one of N.H.’s 48 4000 footers using an AMC training regimen that starts small. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |