Last year I started long distance hiking. I traveled to Alberta and BC and I had in mind to hike the Berg Lake Trail, which is a 26mi/42km return hike around Mt Robson, the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies. It is usually done in several days with camping along the way, but camping spots are booked months ahead. Because I also have limited time while travelling I decided to day hike it.
I never hiked or walked so much before, my longest distance was around 16mi/25km, so I started to read up online, to see what long distance hikers do and here is what I found:
The main points are: be in shape before you go and practice walking fast so you take fewer breaks; eat and drink frequently on the go, trail mix, energy/oats/protein bars, diced meat/cheese in a bag, crackers; carry less and wear light shoes.
The same website has a detailed page about food you can take with you:
The main points are: start the day carbohydrate-rich breakfast of easily digested sugars and carbs while also consuming lots of water; while moving consume at least 30–60g of carbs every hour, like energy drinks or trail mix, energy bars with lots of liquid; ensure enough sodium intake; consume a snack rich in carbs, and containing some protein and sodium, within 30 minutes of stopping.
I started training about 1 week before my trip. I usually walk at least 2km every day, but for training purposes I started with a 2km walk on a hilly terrain on day 1 and I increased the distance every day until I walked 5km in 55 minutes.
Because of the Covid-19 restrictions everyone day hiking had to register with BC Parks on the day of the hike. So I drove up to the Visitor Center at 6am to register by using their Wi-Fi.
My food for the hike was 4 double Titan bars + 1 protein bar + some cheese + some potato chips and 0.5L of water + water filter for creeks and springs (the Titan bar is similar to Snickers, made in Turkey, it has a great price in Dollarama in Canada, the double bar has 360 Calories). I had a light backpack with my camera, lenses, mini tripod, clothing, food and water weighing less than 3kg or 7 pounds. I had light trail running shoes. (I will write about my equipment I take with me in a later post)
I hiked 42km on that day in around 13.5 hours (including rests and taking pictures, my phone showed 8h active minutes), returning to my car in the evening. Elevation gain was around a 1000m. I took a longer rest (30 minutes) at the spot where the picture above was taken. I tried to eat half of the double Titan Bar every 40 minutes or so. I didn’t really feel tired the whole hike, so the menu was working. For me this was an achievement, but along the trail I saw quite a few ultra trail-runners who ran up and down. I had great weather, excellent views and an amazing experience.
