What is the furthest you've ever walked?

[The Stig]

At one time?
Most demanding conditions?
What sort of geography and terrain?
What sort of gear did you have on?
What were the weather conditions?

There's a good chance during a SHTF event you'll have to walk some distance. Can you do it and under what conditions?

[izzyscout21]

I did an 18 mile forced march while I was in Germany. Took me 4 hours and 17 minutes to complete. I had a 63 pound ruck plus my LBE and weapon. It was over hilly terrain I I was dressed in full BDU''s and boots. Weather conditions sucked. About 35 degrees outside and rainy.

[bacpacker]

At one time? 19-20 mile in one day.

Most demanding conditions? Started off snowing, changed to heavy rain just after lunch. Lost almost 5000' elevation.

What sort of geography and terrain? Hike started at about 6400' around 7:30am on the approach to Clingmans Dome, which is the 2nd highest peak east of the Mississippi river at 6693'. Stopped for lunch around noon, still snowing. We were moving again by 12:30 and by 1:00 we had dropped out of the snow and was in rain between 1/2 to 1" an hour the rest of the trip. We got to where we were suppose to camp around 3:30, which was near a river in a bottom. The whole area was under water. Probably a foot deep in places. The scout masters decided we would hike on out instead of spending the night. Very good call. At this point we still had over 5 miles to go to get to the van, which was about 1600' elevation.

What sort of gear did you have on? Leather work boots not treated or waterproofed. Blue jeans, cotton long johns, sweatshirt, wool toboggan, gloves, and a poncho.

What were the weather conditions? Starting temps around 20-25, at the end between 35-40, not much wind thankfully


There's a good chance during a SHTF event you'll have to walk some distance. Can you do it and under what conditions? I agree, depending on what the SHTF is. Yeah we can do it, maybe not as fast as I used to but can still get it done. Conditions other than this damn heat we can handle. Heat will slow us down a lot more.

The trip I described above was in Feb 1974, I was 13 and with a group of about 12-15 Boy Scouts ranging in age from 17 down to 11, plus 2 scout masters. This was the longest trip any of us had been on. By the time we got to about 2 miles from where we were suppose to camp the 4 guys who were 11-12 were spent. We ended up unloading them and dividing up their gear. By the time we got to the van, we were all trashed. I honestly don't remember the ride back home.
Lesson's learned on this trip that I practice to this day. Don't wear cotton if you are going to be anywhere with any chance of rain or snow. It can kill you. I have tried to maintain good rain gear( Gore Tex is my preference ) and I like a coat and pants over poncho's, they are much easier to vent, which is needed because sweating will get you every bit as wet as getting rained on. We also didn't have any of our gear waterproofed at all. I now keep most everything in waterproof stuff sacks and use a pack cover. Lastly pay attention to the weather going on around you and if conditions allow what looks to be coming your way. You can't always count on getting to the site you plan on, so allow flexability as you travel. What a trip, something I'll never forget.

[ak474u]

Just under 200 miles in 19 days. 2 Days at the same location, so I guess really 18. Mountainous terrain, improved trails, 45 or so lbs. pack.

[izzyscout21]

I agree, depending on what the SHTF is. Yeah we can do it, maybe not as fast as I used to but can still get it done. Conditions other than this damn heat we can handle. Heat will slow us down a lot more.

The trip I described above was in Feb 1974, I was 13 and with a group of about 12-15 Boy Scouts ranging in age from 17 down to 11, plus 2 scout masters. This was the longest trip any of us had been on. By the time we got to about 2 miles from where we were suppose to camp the 4 guys who were 11-12 were spent. We ended up unloading them and dividing up their gear. By the time we got to the van, we were all trashed. I honestly don't remember the ride back home.
Lesson's learned on this trip that I practice to this day. Don't wear cotton if you are going to be anywhere with any chance of rain or snow. It can kill you. I have tried to maintain good rain gear( Gore Tex is my preference ) and I like a coat and pants over poncho's, they are much easier to vent, which is needed because sweating will get you every bit as wet as getting rained on. We also didn't have any of our gear waterproofed at all. I now keep most everything in waterproof stuff sacks and use a pack cover. Lastly pay attention to the weather going on around you and if conditions allow what looks to be coming your way. You can't always count on getting to the site you plan on, so allow flexability as you travel. What a trip, something I'll never forget.

Threw me off there for a sec, BP. I wasn't expecting my screen to light up red. Thought I was losing it. LOL

[bacpacker]

Sorry about that I thought it's be easier to follow. It don't look worth a crap that way. My BAD

[LUNCHBOX]

I did around 25 miles through the night 100 years ago while in the Infantry. I was stationed in Hawaii at the time, terrain sucked, weather was ok, full gear and pack with weapon. Took all night with the start and stops. I do know that you will get used to the gear you carry with enough time, its just the beginning of that time that will be the worst (of course, you will have the E.O.T.W. to keep your mind off the pain)

[mitunnelrat]

My longest is 25 miles. I did that while I was in Missouri and almost half the age I am today. It was overnight, and I don't remember the weather contributing to any issues. No packs, no weapons, and while we had some hills I don't remember anything too extreme there either.

Toward fall of 2007 I walked 15 miles along a roadway while wearing business casual. It took me all of 5 hours and was 1 am by time I finished. I bought water at two separate locations, and that was the extent of my gear.

Of course, I've done some recent trips under a load within the past year, if you've dug around you've seen me bitching about that! Its a whole different animal when its cross country with a pack and weapon.

[Fatty]

25 miles while in the service, stepped off at zero-ass early in the morning in Hawaii, the first time was hardball blacktop, 2nd was hilly/rocky terrain. Wait, this sounds familiar...

[LUNCHBOX]

I'm starting to think Hawaii isn't the vacation everyone thinks....lol.

[RedJohn]

I cannot tell you the distance because I am not sure of where I crashed the plane, but it was 6 days walking with an AK bullet in my leg.

[bacpacker]

Good one Fatty! How close to Zero-Ass thirty is O-Dark thirty?

[Fatty]

About 15 minutes in between for a quick jerkoff in the bush.

[The Stig]

I cannot tell you the distance because I am not sure of where I crashed the plane, but it was 6 days walking with an AK bullet in my leg.

I would assume there is some sort of backstory to this? Please...do tell.

[Twitchy]

I cannot tell you the distance because I am not sure of where I crashed the plane, but it was 6 days walking with an AK bullet in my leg.

I'm interested in the back story as well...

[beginner]

About 10 miles. I guess I'm a slacker.....mind you that was when I was 16. Shortly after.....I got a car.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Not the longest, which was 20 miles, but the roughest was the trail to Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon. 5200" of elevation change, 25 F temperature change. Going down was much easier than coming back up. I was 25 when I did that. Cured me of wanting to hike I'll tell you. As a young exploration geologist I did about 10 miles daily, usually ending the day with about 50 lbs of samples. That came back to haunt me in my 40s when I had a hemilaminectomy and discectomy. I ride horses now instead of hiking.

[RedJohn]

I would assume there is some sort of backstory to this? Please...do tell.

Yes there is one. There won't be any "details", not for another year. When I was young, I was working Navy Intelligence. I was deployed in Africa. Outside of the information gathering, there were some other special missions. For this particular mission, there was nothing extraordinary to it. Steal a plane, fly to a neighbor unfriendly country, land on a dirt road, get the package that special forces were to deliver to me, bring the package to the original location. Mission's over. I am at this time a cocky bastard. Some say that I am still to a certain point. I am James Bond meets Superman. I'd accept anything as long as adrenaline is flowing.

Borrowing the plane was easy to me. I choose a Cessna 210 that should do the job. This choice would save my life later because of its construction. As I reach the country's border, I drop below radar (these Russians radars were no that good at that time) and get to my destination fairly easily. I land on time and within an hour the package arrives. The problem is that the package was to be bailed out of a local jail and that not everything went according to plan. They were closely followed by a party whose intention were definitely unfriendly. I have to attend to the package because he had been mistreated in the jail and I would not be able to do it while flying low out.

As I start the engine, the search party is making its way in the area. I have only one way to take-off and it is going toward them. The Cessna can take-off fairly rapidly and climb very high fast but the speed isn't there anymore. I decide to use that method and offer an angle on the plane that is showing a lot of it. As I climb they start firing at the plane. lucky for me they're not too good shots. I manage to get hit by a few bullets while taking off. I guess (I can only guess because I never got to inspect the plane later) that they hit the battery and/or the generator because I loose electricity almost immediately thus losing any instrumentation that is not vacuum powered. I believe they also hit the engine as I will lose it later and a couple rounds go thru the cabin floor. Where I got lucky is that the floor of that pressurized plane was stronger built than other models. One of the bullets that made it thru the floor ended up in my leg but had lost enough velocity that it stayed in the muscle and did not went up and explode my knee. That would have been bad.

As I am flying away, the engine start giving me troubles, I am above water. My HF is down, my navigation system is down, so I cannot call for help and tell them where I would crash. I am basically on my own, I am wounded, and my package is not in a very good shape. I can see the coast when the engine starts to crap up on me. I am over an hour out so I am safe as far as the enemy is concerned, I decide to make it to the coast line. I'd rather crash on land than at sea. We have life jackets but no raft.

Well, faith decided that we needed to swim a little. At less than a click off-shore I have to put the plane down. The engine has quit running and I am not high enough to reach land. All in all the water landing went smooth and because of the pressurized cabin (it only has a couple small holes) the plane stay afloat. I have time to put my life jacket, strap the package into his, open the door and as the water rush in the cabin, I have time to pull the both of us out. It is swimming time now. The salt water on my wound is not helping and I am afraid that our blood would bring sharks. Strangely enough I did not bleed much.

After the swimming part, that seemed to take forever, we got on the beach. I took care of both our wound with what was left of the kit that was in my side pocket. After resting a little, we left in search of civilization. That was not going to be easy. I have a gun, 2 spare mags and a knife. I have cash too and this would be very helpful later on.

To make it short, after roaming in the African bush for 6 days eating whatever we could find or kill (none of us can run and my leg is taking a color I do not like). We reach a village where my cash made a beat up truck magically appear, we're brought to a hospital where we both recovered pretty nicely. The doctor told me that I was about a day away from loosing my leg.

So what was the distance walked? I cannot even guess. I don't know exactly where I crashed, I don't know where is the village that had the truck. To me, it looked like a thousand kilometers. It may have been a hundred. I have no clue, but we were not walking fast, either of us. One of the days, we did not walk at all. I had killed a fairly big animal at a water point. We ate, drank and rested that day. I think that it did us a lot of good.

That was a eye opener to me. I was only carrying what was on my person. the gun, the knife, the cash and the life vest. The mirror from the vest was a life saver. I had no food, no water, NOTHING! At that time, I also had not completed a decent survival training yet. It ended being a freaking fucked up mission. I never went anywhere without a backpack after that. Also remember that this was in the early 80's and we did not have the equipment that we have now.

[The Stig]

RedJohn says, "John Miller is a wimp"

Wow. That is some intense stuff.

[Twitchy]

Hats off to RedJohn... that is an amazing story!

[RedJohn]

Hats off to RedJohn... that is an amazing story!

Well, I personally think that I made a couple bad decisions and got lucky during the whole process. I do enjoy thinking about it since I got out of it alive. Maybe when the 30 years gag order elapse completely and if I am still alive and I surely hope that I will be in 2017, I will write the book I always wanted to do.

[Twitchy]

Well, I personally think that I made a couple bad decisions and got lucky during the whole process. I do enjoy thinking about it since I got out of it alive. Maybe when the 30 years gag order elapse completely and if I am still alive and I surely hope that I will be in 2017, I will write the book I always wanted to do.

I'd buy it... :)

[bacpacker]

Damn RJ! Glad it worked out for you.

[izzyscout21]

fun stuff! RJ, I'll buy the book.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Me too! Amazing experience. And thanks for your service RJ.

[bacpacker]

Me three! Be sure and include an e-book version. I think by 2017 they should be selling very well.
THANK YOU for your service.

[The Stig]

A plane meeting a secret agent type guy and then getting shot down in badguy territory.......that gives me an idea.....


:)

[izzyscout21]

you should just start asking around here for creative writing inspiration. I forsee the next couple stories involving Izzy and RedJohn saving Miller's ass.LOL

[RedJohn]

you should just start asking around here for creative writing inspiration. I forsee the next couple stories involving Izzy and RedJohn saving Miller's ass.LOL

I do have have interesting stories. However, in my time to listen to a conversation, we had to go inside and bug the place. Now, it is too easy and a lot less adrenaline flowing. In my time USSR was still alive and kicking. My more recent action as a PMC is so commonplace that there is nothing extraordinary to tell. Except maybe for the suicide bomber that killed 5 of my teammates so close to me that my ears are still ringing today.

[idahobob]

As I was going through older posts, I ran across this gem, and it brought up memories from long ago.

Back in '75, i was in an Infantry unit at Ft Lewis, WA.

After an FTX at Yakima Firing Center, our Battalion Commander thought that it would be a really good idea for the entire Battalion to hump it back to Ft Lewis, over the Cascade Mtns.

We were first ferried by Chinooks to the foothills, and then away we went.

The short of it was it took ten days. Dunno what the mileage was, but it was a grinder! Imagine, a whole Battalion of grunts humping through the Cascades with LBE, weapons and Steel Pots.

Oh yeah, and to top it off, the ending was a 5 mile run, in formation, with above equipment on.

Remember those Jody songs?

Fun Times!

Bob
III

[GunnerMax]

I ran 12 miles nonstop on my 18th birthday. Other than that, just normal walking distances.

[Evolver]

Nice find Bob!!! I enjoyed reading RJ post and can't wait for the details.

As for me the longest distance hiked in one day was 23mi. It was one day of a nine day trek across the Unita primitive area in Utah with two of my brothers. Total distance was 115mi and well over 12,000 feet in elevation changes. Our packs at the start was 45lbs and at the end around 28lbs. Food was all freeze dried and water was collected/purified as we went. Fishing is always good so we planed on fish for the main source of protein so we was able to cut back on the amount of food packed. We started out a at Chepita lake north of Roosevelt Utah and ended up at Mirror lake south of Evanston Wyoming hiking the Highline trail.

The 23mi day started out on day four and was suppose to be a 14 mile to our next planed spot but when we got there we where in a state of euphoria and didn't want to stop. I've only experienced feeling this a few times but I loved the way my boots felt as they hit the gound, I loved the squeek in my pack, rocks on the trail, sweat cooling my back and the pine small in the air. It was like being on the best drug that there is. After we arrived at good spot and set up camp the three of us talk about how we all experienced the same thing. Good times!!!

[bacpacker]

Sounds like a sweet trip Evolver. I had a trip planned a few years ago in both Bryce and Zion national parks. Trip got cancelled but i look forward to getting to do them one day. Utah is a beautiful state.

[helomech]

Longest I walked was in basic training 18 miles and the terrain sucked. It was on Fort Knox and Heartbreak and Agony are 2 huge hills. Did one one day and the other a couple days later. And why in the hell do they give the biggest gun to the smallest guy. I weighed 117 lbs when I joinged the Army, and I had to carry my pack, gear, M-16, and my M-60, the whole way. I am pretty sure the gear weighed more than me.

Longest I ran was 12 miles and that was on Fort hood.

[Stormfeather]

Longest in one day was in the Marines, we had to do what it called a Marine Combat Ready Evaluation EXercise, 25 mile forced march, various terrain, 8 hours or less to make the Obj Area. Yea, was a crappy day!

[Zombiehuntereky]

Twenty-seven mile Wolfhound March at Schofield Barracks with a combat load in 23 hours. Terrain was both hard ball and off road with some mountains thrown in for fun. We done it at night in temps around 70-75 degrees 90% humility. Fun times.

[Sniper-T]

I made a bad shot on a moose, and off he went. I followed/tracked him in about a foot of snow, for the better part of a day through black alder swamps, over rock ridges, through some of the nastiest bush I've ever seen. I broke through on one river, and in a couple of swamps. When I finally caught up and dispatched him, I had travelled 7.5 miles (as the crow flies), and let me tell you, that moose never knew the definition of that term!

After I gutted and prepped it for the night, I blazed a trail back out to my hunt camp, which involved trekking by compass, and marking trees, to create the best possible trail, that might be followed the next day, without too much tree cutting. So there was a lot of back and forth. I was fairly well equipt for food/clothes, and only stopped once for a fire and a hot meal. I got back at day break, hooked up with my dad, and worked our way back in with the snowmobile and sleigh. We traded off walking, and cutting vs. riding, but it was after dark again that second night by the time we got back to camp.

I don't know what the final milage total was for that 'day'... but it was sure something I never want to repeat!

[TEOTWAWKI13]

At one time? 32.5 miles in 2 1/2 days....18 miles the last day.

Most demanding conditions? It was on the Appalachian Trail from Clingman's Dome to Fontana Dam, starting at 4:30pm on a Wednesday in snow at 6500'

What sort of geography and terrain? Mountainous terrain, especially day 2 which was nearly striaght up. Day 3 was straight down hill, crossing a creek 12+ times, than switchbacks.
What sort of gear did you have on? Probably over. Nearly 50 lbs in a backpack. Appropriate clothing, etc.

What were the weather conditions? Snowing day 1, then light rain, Day 2-3 were sunny and about 65 degrees.

There's a good chance during a SHTF event you'll have to walk some distance. Can you do it and under what conditions? Can and would. I am hiking now to get in shape.