Warning: a guy on the AT told me my 30 mile day plan was 'a young man's lie,' and he was right

Drew Mason · 2026-10-03T17:20:02.675259+00:00

I was sitting at a shelter near Hot Springs, NC last month and heard an older hiker say that to some kid with a spreadsheet, and I laughed until I realized he meant me too. I had 30 mile days penciled in for week two, and by day four my knees were toast and I was doing 14. The long miles only work if your body has done the miles before, not the map. Cut my whole route down to 18 a day and finished without hating everything. What is the biggest gap you have had between planned miles and real miles on a trip?

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Warning: a guy on the AT told me my 30 mile day plan was 'a young man's lie,' and he was right | Backpacking Routes - Talk Freely