[Newt]

Unfortunately I don't train or exercise to get in shape. I improve slightly as I go along. I will admit that being in better shape at the start of the year would allow me to go further, go a little higher and go a little longer. All of which may make for a more enjoyable trip, even if just a short flat one. Being in good shape makes things easier and concequently more enjoyable. 'course there's nothing like a cold 6 pack and a pack of smokes to finish of the day. I can just see Lance Armstrong on the first day of the Tour de France, working his way into it. NN

[allison-]

Shiz our friend Erden just rode his bicycle to ALASKA with no training just because he felt like it. Now he and his crew are going to climb DENALI with no real training and my money has them doing it, if weather is cooperative.

[Jack Lalane]

So this Erden character is a sedintary guy in his late 40s to early 50s that gets a wild hair to do something adventerous, with no training, every other year?

[polarbear-]

Speaking of long journeys, is there a "trail" from Point Barrow to Tierra del Fuego? Anyone know someone who as done that trip?

[Stefan]

[JimK]

I remember a guy doing it a number of years ago and posting progress reports in the Seattle Times. I searched for that story and came up with this: Americas - South To North I think I'll stick to trails...

[Newt]

Impressive to say the least. Must be nice to have the time and money eh? 1,117,700 feet of elevation gained =211.69 MILES? Musta been straight up NN

[polarbear-]

I found this on google. George Meegan may have been the first to do it. It took him several years. I wonder if any prehistoric people ever did it?

[kleet]

Does anyone have an any idea about when you get on a treadmill or stairmaster or elliptical trainer and it asks you for your weight... does the number you enter affect the resistance, or is it simply to calculate calories burned? The reason I ask is I don't know if, when I wear a loaded pack to workout, I should enter my weight or my weight plus the pack.

[El Puma]

Polarbear: "Speaking of long journeys, is there a "trail" from Point Barrow to Tierra del Fuego? Anyone know someone who as done that trip?" In 1991/2 I spent a couple of months hiking and climbing in Patagonia. In a hostel in El Calafate (ARG) we encountered three adventurers (two male, one female) in their early 20s who had indeed biked from Deadhorse to there. They were going on to Ushuaia to meet their freighter, on which they had a passage booked to Capetown - from where they were to continue to Europe through Africa. There is an area of discontinuity along the AK-ARG trajectory between Panama and Colombia which is known as the Darien Gap. Most people circumnavigate it by ship, these individuals/purists didn't want anything to do with that and biked/carried it. The entire journey had taken them almost 1.2 yrs so far. Of all the long-haul travelers we have met worldwide, these three were in the best mental shape. They were personable, very mature, goal-oriented, didn't mind sacrificing a day or week here and there to enjoy scenery or events and were in general still very capable of absorbing their surroundings. They also treated each other with noticeable respect (and that after 1.5yrs of close quarters!), which carried over into their interaction with others. I compare that to some predominantly young Dutch, German or Commonwealth students traveling "the world" for over a year, as they commonly do. The majority of them were "travel-vegetables" - after a year or so of voyaging, they just kind of hung out at the known party spots (in Australia, Bali, Thailand etc) and struck us as being well beyond the point of retaining any experiences that came their way. It's almost like traveling turned into a chore for them; they had a return ticket for 2 months from now, didn't really feel like sitting on busses or trains anymore, yet were bored where they were. To get back to your question: The Pan-American Highway traverses most of Latin America, with a few navigable gaps. That, however, is a road - as far as hiking goes, I don't think there is a continuous official trail. I'm sure the Discovery Channel or OLN would sponsor you though if you were to create one ! This website isn't about the travelers we encountered, but nevertheless gives you a great insight regarding the task at hand: Alaska-Argentina along the Pan-American Highway

[Stefan]

El Puma pointed to a site that you can see the guy's route. The bicycle dude went over the pass east of Santiago. I have been at that pass. That pass is one killer high pass. At one point you can get out of the car, look down and see 13 switchbacks that the highway makes. And of course there is a ski lift above you......

[BodyResults]

On a machine where you enter your weight add the weight of the pack you are wearing. The resistance is adjusted to match your weight.

[catwoman]

FYI - This website - bfitonline.com - was just pointed out to me. I guess this site is from a personal trainer over in Wenatchee and they will specify training for whatever sport/activity your wanting to do.

[treewalker]

So what's a good trail in the metro Seattle area to do those multiple times a week training hikes without burning too much gas?

[Backpacker Joe]

Typically people will do Mt. Si, and or Tiger Mtn (often) for exercise/ training. TB