Hiking Uphill

Posted on December 8, 2003 in Hiking

I’ve observed that, when a hiking a steep grade, it is best that you do not look to the summit. Plant your steps evenly and at a rate you can sustain without becoming winded. If I look ahead, I find my feet plagued by the desire to get it over with. They press harder and faster than is good for me, causing me to stop several times on the ascent and taking longer than if I plod.

Lynn is faster on the uphills and slower on the downhills than I am. I’ve been told that it is because I have more personal weight to carry. She has bad knees — duckfeet caused by the twisting of her tibia from birth. So she takes her time on the downhills where I can move along at a fair clip.

I’ve observed on my uphill climbs that to get anywhere, you must raise your foot higher than the spot where you intend to place it. It deceives gravity: the pull of the earth is confounded by the motion. In every tiny uphill advance there is a coming down. So you offer unto the god of gravity its due sacrifice of weight and garner as a boon an increment of altitude with each step.