Pace, Intervals And Rest

I'd never get anywhere in any reasonable time if I went slow enough not to sweat at all. The best I can do is bring a change of layers and, if I am careful, I can often get the wet ones to dry out on the descents and above tree line... But there is a very fine line between drying out and getting really, really cold. The best trick I have for this is to put on a thin wool beanie and put away the Buff.

Tim

DayTrip said:

If this is the case I guess I'm going to have to stop hiking and take up statue impersonating. I get that you have to futz with the layers as you go but if you have to stop 10 minutes into a hike to get into your pack to take off and put on stuff I would suggest you have made a bad judgement about your layering needs at the car. But some people like to start bundled up and cozy and then work backwards. Not my preference but to each his own. If you start with a good determination of the appropriate layers at the start, adjust your pace as you go, zip/unzip/hat on/hat off/etc you can go for quite awhile without the need to stop and get into the backpack.

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It isn't quite this simple. Some people have a relatively level heat output and the same amount of insulation covers a wide range--such as cold starting to a warmed-up state. Others may have a low initial heat output but a high warmed-up heat output requiring large changes in their insulation. Such people may become excessively chilled at the start up before their heat builds up if they start with their warmed-up amount of insulation.

Again, individuals vary widely in their heat outputs and what works well for one person may or may not work well for another. Minimizing the number of insulation adjustment stops (and synchronizing the stops for groups) is desirable because it saves time, but not if it compromises safety.

Doug

I guess I'm fortunate as I do not sweat much at all. My lower back is about the only issue I have. I start cold, I'm amazed at other's at the trailhead in full Gore-Tex suits, heavy mitts balaclavas. I typically wear long sleeve base layer under a softshell vest, to start, if it's to cold for that, my Patagonia Puff, but that's rare. I almost never hike uphill in a shell, that is to hard to regulate for me. At treeline, I'll switch out my vest for my Puff jacket but before I do, I strip off my LS base and replace it with a SS base, as my jacket is to hot with a long sleeve shirt. If it's windy, I will go to my shell to cut the wind. If it's epic cold, I have a Parka that I can wear over anything, I bought it to wear over all my layers, just in case, as I do not carry any bivi gear. One thing to consider is headwear to regulate your overall temp. I carry a silk weight balaclava, a beanie, a heavy balaclava and will use them according to temps, if your overheating, try no hat to vent, as the heat your generating will fly off your head like a chimney.

My MO (FWIW):
Exit vehicle garbed in a base layer shirt and an eVent jacket. Thin belaclava and wool miits inside a shell mitt.
My base layer, no matter how cold it is will absorb moisture. I can have cold everything (hands, head etc.) and still sweat.
I eschew soft shells and things that have the ability to absorb water because they always fill up and then will freeze hard if I remove them.

My shell will freeze up pretty hard too but if I put on a new base layer shirt I can always pummel my shell into shape, stick it back on and I'm good to go. It is a very light weight shell and barely holds enough water for me to bother about. Same for the base layer shirts, the less water they are capable of holding the better.

With this "system" there is no fuss, no muss. If I don't stop the extra shirt stays in my pack and equilibrium is reached and self-maintains all day long. I use various thicknesses of mitts and hats to fine-tune my subjective level of warmth and comfort.

egilbe said:

Unfortunately, screwing around with layers is what you are supposed to be doing. Either that, or slow down so you arent over-heating, and if you are sweating, you are overheating.

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I do lots of downhill skiing at local resorts and find that screwing around with layers can be very time consuming. I need a layering system that allows me to alternate between riding on chairlifts, skiing bump runs and cruising down groomed runs in a wide variety of weather conditions without stopping at a lodge to add and remove layers. I sweat plenty and have learned how to let the sweat evaporate and vent out through my shell jacket and pants. I use the same tactics when hiking.

With temperatures close to 20F today and a bit of wind in Harriman State Park I had a chance to test out new layering and pacing ideas. I hiked in a base layer and a thin fleece pullover. The start was on a chilly side but once we got moving and gain a little elevation I was pretty comfortable even with occasional wind gusts. I took off my hat in a couple of spots on up-slope sections of the trail but with occasional stops to look at the map or views I did not really sweat. Many thanks to everyone who chipped in with advice here!

Here's a link that does a good job explaining softshells. I use the lightweight single layer type.

http://www.backcountry.com/explore/what-the-hell-is-softshell

A slight change of topic, but still with regards to pace, I have noticed an interesting trend in reviewing my GPS elevation over time profiles... No matter how steep, I always seem to gain elevation at the same rate on a given hike. This is to say I have a pretty consistent vertical pace, despite my speed being fairly inconsistent. My understanding of physics suggests that this means I am using roughly the same amount of energy regardless of the pitch. I stated that this is per given hike, as each hike tends to have a unique slope, perhaps affected by fitness/health at the time. I find I sweat considerably at temperatures down to the negative single digits. Below that I am usually able to control it by managing layers. What I am getting at is what many people have indicated which is, for me to not sweat I would have to slowdown based on the temperature, which is impractical for day hikes. I'll just carry a change of shirt.

TJsName said:

A slight change of topic, but still with regards to pace, I have noticed an interesting trend in reviewing my GPS elevation over time profiles... No matter how steep, I always seem to gain elevation at the same rate on a given hike.

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Maybe you have just discovered a law of "comfortable power regime" using a word from physics dictionary!

Maintaining a more or less flat power curve is a great way to make layer management less of a hassle over the course of a hike - the more steady your heat output, the less often you have to adjust layers.

My sympathy to folks who have a tough time controlling sweat until temps go sub-zero. If I make the right layer choices, I'm good from sub-zero through the 60s. What I try for on any given day is to use my lower body layers to 'set the range' for the day, since those layers are the most annoying to have to adjust midstream. Then, within the chosen lower-body range, I can vary/adjust the upper body layers. I find that 90% of the layer management battle is to realize and ACT on the fact that I'm sweating. I don't seem to have any trouble dealing with feeling cold, but I find that it's a challenge (i.e., lots of skill and diligence needed) to acknowledge and [then get off my ass to] deal with feeling like I've started to sweat.

Regarding a more or less constant rate of elevation gain regardless of trail pitch, my experiences are similar to TJ's - but the theorem breaks down both as the trail becomes steep/'scrambly' (gaining elevation when in climbing mode is slower than when in hiking mode) and as the trail flattens (it's tough to maintain a given rate of elevation gain when the trail isn't going up).

Alex

alexmtn said:

Regarding a more or less constant rate of elevation gain regardless of trail pitch, my experiences are similar to TJ's - but the theorem breaks down both as the trail becomes steep/'scrambly' (gaining elevation when in climbing mode is slower than when in hiking mode) and as the trail flattens (it's tough to maintain a given rate of elevation gain when the trail isn't going up).

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On very steep stuff that is easy to climb I tend to get got and need little breaks, and on things that are slow climbs (or in the group is being bottle necked) I can cool-off. Tends to take a while to get cold though.

The latter part cracked me up! If a trail only rises at 50'/mile, I'm certainly not going to go 16-20 mph and experience the same level of sweat. I'll probably stop sweating altogether because I've passed out due to lack of oxygen.

The power output I have seems to top me off at about 4 mph on flat ground, and 1 mph on 'steeps' (maybe 1000' to 1400' per mile). Steeper than that I tend to have a very inconsistent pace of climbing a small section (50') then taking a small (10 second) break. There aren't many places I'll go in winter that are steeper than that (I.E. Ammo Ravine Trail).