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I've never gone that far. Maybe 15 in boot camp and 10 a few months ago. There's a difference between "testing" and risking some injuries. 50 miles is pretty ridiculous. 50 miles isn't a spur of the moment move. You gear up appropriately and have conditioning.
When faced with that distance, you make other plans and save walking for last. If you can do that, nice job.
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50 miles isn't that far for a backpacker...but it's a stretch to do in 20 hours even with ideal conditions; and conditions would not likely be ideal. We do a lot of distance backpacking (50-150 miles), a lot of logistics planning goes into that. What we don't do is trek in severe or extreme weather, at night, or bushwhacking, or trying to maintain a low/discreet profile. Add in the potential of a security threat, and it's even more difficult. Most SHTF scenarios and reality SHTF often seems to occur late in the afternoon on a Friday (maybe it's just a military thing
). That first "day" on foot will likely be limited by severe weather, traffic, poor visibility/low illumination, etc. One of the reasons we always pull off the trail if a major thunder shower is going to strike...it drops your speed to a crawl, you get soaked, cold, muddy, and slips/falls become far more frequent (not to mention is simply sucks).
When I was working back in the states, my home was 25 miles to the base. I planned (worse case scenario), three days if forced on foot for the entire distance. While I could do the full 25 miles in 15-16 hours under ideal conditions, most of my considerations were impacted by my route: many roads were dirt roads, fire-breaks/power lines access roads and even rail-road tracks that bypassed one of the two small towns on the way, I planned for the least direct/worst-case scenario. Could I do 50 miles in 20 hours? I know I'm physically capable of carry a moderate load (30 pounds) that distance under ideal conditions, but you would sacrifice your health, risk injury, and moving at the required pace would not likely allow you to really be focused on potential threats. Additionally, very few would be functional the day after doing 50 miles at one shot...most (including me) would likely need a week to recover! It's easy to plan it, which is why I applaud those that actually test it. You may be mentally tough enough to deny and ignore that your body is shutting down on you, but the stress of SHTF along with a long trek on foot is something that seriously needs a lot of planning and a balance of physical and mental fitness and an honest assessment of yourself; most especially tempering your ego with your actual health and fitness.
I did test my trek home on foot in four different "legs" to assess the routes and get a sample of time and distance. I also used my mountain bike and did the 25 miles in four hours (it was a leisurely ride
). The biggest challenge was mapping all the alternate and low-profile routes (be they foot/bicycle or truck). While 50 miles is nothing to sneeze at, it's feasible if you plan it realistically and actually match your fitness to the task.
ROCK6