Worth The Pain

I was asked recently to describe what it is like to backpack on a difficult journey? I know that there are many types of backpacking trips & unless you enjoy carrying what is comparable to a 6 year old kid on your shoulders all day, sleeping in the dirt & washing in cold water, all backpacking trips are hard.
What separates the hard from the extremely hard, are the miles, the elevation, the weight of pack, the length of days, the shape you are in & the will power you have. Most people can hike a few miles in a day but depending on the terrain & elevation, a few miles will still kick some butt.
When you are talking about extreme backpacking or through hikers, you are packing light & are traveling between 15 to 3o miles per day depending on conditions & elevation changes.
Most healthy hikers can hike at a pace of 1/2 hour per mile, difficult terrain with technical elevation changes will take up to 45 minutes per mile but usually you won't be this slow unless at the end of a long day & trying to conquer one more 1,000 ft elevation ascent.
You can walk 20 minute miles on good terrain with good conditions but as a rule, I plan on 1/2 hour miles just to allow for breaks. Most hikers will hike no more than 4-6 hours but if you do the math, 6 hours gets you about 12 miles. Everbody is different so walk at a pace you can maintain & if that pace is an hour per mile, so what, you are still accomplishing something & challenging yourself. This isn't a race, it is an opportunity to find yourself so enjoy the journey & pay attention to where it takes you.
My wife & I average 15-20 miles per day & as many as 28. Whether gone for 2 days or 10 days, the first day is the hardest because of acclimating to the pack & hiking a lot of miles. The body isn't made to carry a pack for 20 miles per day for more than a few days, you just break down physically if you don't take care of your body, including your feet. I recommend starting your trip with about 10 to 12 miles on the first day & increasing to what is comfortable as you progress. After a few days you should be able to do over 20 miles per day but try to take a short day or a "no mile day" after several days just to rest the body & mind.
If you aren't into "many miles per day", you should maintain a 10-12 mile per day average & for most people, that is hard but you have enough relax time to prepare for the next day.
Pack light, no more than 35 lbs to start & get less as the days pass on if going more than 100 miles. If possible try to be around 25 lbs. Make sure you have a few items that will make your life much easier: head lamp, matches, mole skin for feet, knife, water purifier, rope ( I prefer nylon strap), Bear canisters are a must in some forests, extra socks, extra underwear, aspirin, water proof jacket, warm jacket, extra camp shoes or sandals, TOILET PAPER (you want a must have--this is),light cook stove, water purifier, 2-liter bottles or water bladder, map, duct tape, hat, lube for lips, chafing or rashes, mosquito repellent, sunscreen, bowl plate combo, spork, comfortable sleeping pad & warm sleeping bag, my wife takes a small cup but I drink out of my liter bottle.
My wife uses technical walking poles while I use an oak limb that I carved into a walking stick years ago, it doesn't matter whether you use them or not but they will make your hike a lot easier in the technical terrain. There are a few extra things you can take but this will get you by. Now for food, I make my own salt mix of favorite nuts, crackers, pretzels, etc. I also make a sweet mix of peanut m&ms, dried pineapple, & various sweet items that wont melt. For dinners we put cup of soup in a zip lock bag so we don't have extra trash. We also used dehydrated mashed potato's with dried bacon bits, chives & seasoning in a zip lock bag. For breakfast we have instant oatmeal in zip lock bag or granola & power bars. We also use the bars & home made trail mix for lunch. We bring powdered electrolyte mix to add to water during day, don't use a sugar based drink like Gatorade because sugar is hard to metabolize & although it tastes good, it doesn't help for long distance only short term. An important note, if you get dehydrated or completely cramped or wiped out from no food or water, it is to late to replenish quickly, you have to rest. The way to hydrate & stay healthy is by eating small amounts of food all day (it is like building a fire, you add a little dried wood & the fire burns incredible but if you dump a lot of wood on all at once, the fire takes awhile to get the flames going again). Water & electrolytes are the same, drink as you go, I have a philosophy of a drink per half mile & with that average plan, I use about 2 liters in 10 miles & 4 liters in 20 miles. there are factors that cause you to use less or more & adjust accordingly. Know your body & what your body needs. The body is amazing & will tell you what you need but you have to listen.
One item that you can't cut corners on is your backpack, if you have a pack that is not fitted right or doesn't protect your body from the pains of carrying weight for many miles, you will have a miserable time. Remember when picking out a pack, just because it feels good in a store, you have no weight in it & even if the store adds some, you haven't carried it for 10 or more miles. I recommend checking references from people who have the pack, this is not unlike buying a car, a bed or anything else in your life that needs to be comfortable. Do not get caught up in the hype of what is new must be good, I have backpacks that are over 20 years old that are still great but I have packs that are 2 years old that kill me at the end of the day. The pack I have now is incredible & I searched it out for years, if I can carry the weight & walk all day, the pack will make it as comfortable as possible.
Everybody finds what works for them & this is what we use but regardless of what you pack or eat, you have to carry it & when people tell me how much fun this sounds, I always say that it isn't fun but it is rewarding & challenging. Overcoming challenges is much more rewarding than just having fun, even though we do occasionally have fun on the way & the beauty is incredible.
Backpacking puts your life in perspective & makes you realize how insignificant much of what we thought was important, isn't. I have hiked all day & am so depleted of energy that I couldn't take a step once I took my pack off & sat down. I have been in so much pain that I wanted to cry & became almost delusional, thinking about how far I had to go. I have also hiked over some of the most incredible trails & seen the most incredible sights that I can't do them justice by explaining them. You have an awakening of sorts, into who you are & what you are capable of accomplishing, of how you can endure pain after pain, day after day. You learn to survive with huge blisters that while every step you take, vividly reminds you that you are in a lot of trouble because you have many miles to go & the pain will only get worse. You will realize that although you think the place you are camping for the night is just over the next mountain pass, only to find that it is over two more passes & you have no energy to continue but you find an inner strength that makes you almost super human because you continue you through all the physical & mental obstacles placed before you. It is a spiritual experience when you persevere while so many won't or can't & we have seen 100s if not 1000s of people cry, complain or quit as we pass by them to a greater reward & that reward is accomplishment of a job set out to do & using your own ingenuity to figure it out regardless of the pain or obstacles.
I don't recommend hiking 20 + miles per day for everyone because you don't have much time to enjoy the beauty you are passing but regardless of how you do it, how far you go or what you bring, it is worth the pain. You will find out more about yourself than you ever dreamed possible & knowing yourself probably is a good thing.