Recently I was asked at what pace I hike in comparison to the Durango Seniors Outdoors pace descriptions. That’s a good question and one that it appears can be difficult to answer satisfactorily if you’ve never hiked with the person. My moderate pace could be quite speedy for some or slow for others. I know I go more slowly than some hikers uphill but faster down. I also know I can clip along off-trail faster than many. So to really answer this properly I think you need a yardstick for comparison. I propose that yardstick is a single timed hike that everyone knows and probably does at least once a year (if they can deal with the crowds). That hike would the loop from the Coal Bank Pass trailhead to the social rock on Engineer Mountain and return.

That’s a super common hike with enough elevation (1145′) and distance (4.67 miles) to assess speed relative to many on-trail San Juan hikes.

Having now suggested this, I decided to time my hike this morning by walking at my normal pace for this loop. My results for this loop are almost exactly 2 hours total. That pace is 2.33 mph which is my moderate speed. I didn’t attempt to make it speedier or slower, but just walked at the pace that I normally clip along at.

So what Seniors Outdoors pace is that and how close do the SO paces match up with your expectations? To get a real answer you need substantive comparison to other hikers against the proposed metric and then build speed categories within some timed percentage of common hike times.

For instance if many hikers fell within plus/minus 5 to 10 percent of this, that might be a category. Building an accurate category list would be dependent on having sufficient data points (individual timed hikes). To that end I’d suggest the next time you do this hike…time it and send me the results either by email (wimberosa at gmail) or posting a comment on this blog. I’ll add it to the following table and see if we can come up with good speed categories.

Dave Craft

Now that we are starting to have some rain, it is time to think about hiking in the rain…or getting caught in a storm while you are out hiking.

As you know, the weather here is ever changing, especially in the mountains. Sudden showers crop up so be prepared.

While this won’t cover all considerations, I wanted to remind you of at least a few ways to prepare:

• If you don’t have a pack cover, have your rain jacket large enough to cover your pack.
• If you choose to carry an umbrella, make sure it is large enough to cover the pack as well.
• A gallon size zip-lock type plastic bag is a good place to carry your map, phone, and anything else that would be damaged by water.
• Throw in the towel. Consider carrying a small towel that will dry quickly. It is especially helpful if it has a loop so you can attach it to your pack to dry while you are hiking.
• Dress lightly in layers so you can add/shed layers as needed. (Always a good plan, no matter the weather/season.)
• Synthetic, wicking fabrics like polypropylene wick moisture from you skin to help you stay dryer/warmer.
• Make sure your clothing is waterproof and breathable. You may have moisture condensing on your skin/clothing, not just sweat.
• Hands down and jacket cuffs open. This helps to circulate air beneath your shell.
• If you have a long sleeved shirt on, pull the sleeves up a bit so that the cuffs don’t get wet.
• If possible, wear gaiters and rain pants. The rain pants should go over the gaiters to help keep your boots dry.
• A wide-brimmed rainhat will keep you from having to pull on your hoodie (and being miserable like the person in the image above). This gives you more circulation than you have with a hoodie.

This may be basic but it is just meant to jog your mind and plan ahead.

Have some favorite rain gear? Shoot me an email and we can let our members know.

Dell Manners gave me an unaccredited article on lacing your shoes/boots for a better fit. Since our feet are key to almost any activity that we do, a quick review of common issues may be of interest.

1. High Instep/High-Volume Foot
   1. If the top of your foot falls asleep or you have an irritation on the top of the foot, you may have a high instep. This causes your foot to take up a large volume of your shoe.
   2. To alleviate the irritation, follow the lacing pattern below to give you more space
   3. Use the eyelets closest to the tongue of the shoe. This technique gives the foot more space.
2. Low-Volume/Narrow Foot
   1. If tightening your laces doesn’t prevent your foot from sliding around in your shoe, you may want to lock the laces to eliminate the excess volume in the shoe.
   2. Or use the eyelets farthest from the tongue of the shoes. This will bring up the side of the shoe.
3. Heel Slippage
   1. In either the two holes farthest away from your toes or the last hole and that odd hole that is past the curve of the shoe
   2. Use every eyelet, making sure that the area closest to the heel is tied tightly while less tension is used near the toes. When you have reached the next-to-last eyelet on each side, thread the lace through the top eyelet, making a small loop. Then, thread the opposite lace through each loop before tying it.
4. Narrow Heel and Wide Forefoot
   1. Use two laces. Thread through the top half of the eyelets and the other lace through the bottom half of the eyelets. The lace closest to the heel (top eyelets) should be tied more tightly than the other lace closest to the toes (bottom eyelets).

Pictures & details: American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society^®
Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Foundation, , Enwild.com, and an unknown source.