Hit 100 miles on the AT last week and my knees let me know about it

I finally got to the 100 mile mark on the Appalachian Trail last weekend near the Virginia line. My right knee started clicking on every downhill after that, which never happened before. I figured I was in great shape from hiking local parks, but trail miles hit different. Anyone else find a weird muscle or joint that held them back around that distance?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia8431mo ago

Wait, your right knee started clicking too? Same here right around 90 miles, I thought I was just getting old. It's this weird little pop with every single step downhill now, like a tiny machine gun in my joint. I had the same idea about being trail-ready from hiking local stuff, but the AT just laughs at that kind of thinking. Feels like my knees are keeping a tally of every mile, and they're not happy about it.

sage_lewis101mo ago

@julia843 that machine gun pop is no joke. Mine started around mile 95 and it's this sharp click every third step on flat ground. I tried a different shoe insert and it went away for a week, then came back worse. You ever try changing up your footwear, or you just living with the soundtrack now?