The first-hour pace rule that stops the post-hike crash

A question came through the multi-day readiness quiz this week that I have not stopped thinking about.

A reader described feeling strong and energetic the whole time they are out on the trail. Then the hike ends, and the exhaustion lands all at once. They are finding it harder to judge how far to walk each day as they get older, and harder to judge the rest days too. And underneath it all sat one quiet question: is this just me?

It is not. It might be the most common thing in hiking that nobody talks about out loud.

If that could have been written by you, hit reply and tell me. I read every one, and this week I genuinely want to know how many of you this describes.

Here is the part worth thinking about: the post-hike crash is not a fitness failure. Most of the people who feel it are fitter than they give themselves credit for. What changes as you get older is not your ability to do the day. It is how much the day costs, and how long the bill takes to clear. That is a pacing and recovery problem, and pacing and recovery problems have fixes.

Three that have earned their place for me over 35 years of multi-day walks.

First, set a morning pace ceiling. The first hour writes the invoice for the whole day. The energy you feel at the start is not a reading of your tank, it is a reading of your excitement, and it can lie. So for the first hour, hold a pace where you could speak full sentences without catching your breath. In practice that is about 20 percent slower than whatever feels natural when you set off. It will feel too slow. At 4pm it will feel like genius.

Second, fuel before the fade, not after it. The afternoon fade arrives 30 to 45 minutes after the fuel gap that caused it, so by the time you feel it, you are already behind. From the second hour onward, eat something small every 60 to 90 minutes, roughly 150 to 200 calories, without stopping for a full meal production. A handful of scroggin on the move beats a big lunch you sit down for and then have to climb out of.

Third, structure the rest instead of hoping for it. On a multi-day trip, alternate a long day with a deliberately shorter one rather than banking on one full rest day that never quite lands. And treat the day after the trip as part of the trip. Book nothing for it. At 47 my recovery is not slower because I am weaker. Recovery is simply the system that ages first, so I plan for it the way I plan water.

None of this is about walking less. It is about finishing days with something left, which is the whole point of being out there.

And if you haven’t taken the multi-day hiking readiness quiz.

THAT’S ALL FOR THIS WEEK

Thanks for reading Mowser’s Musings. I hope this helps you hike further and happier.

Until next week, keep exploring.

Mowser

Discover more. Hike further.

P.S. If the fuel side is where you fall down, the food and cooking kit I actually carry is on the TrailKit food page. Most of the lightweight items there come from Ultra Light Gear Australia, which is where I would start.