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80 BACKPACKER 03.2014 THE HALLUCINATIONS started at dusk on the second day. Trees became people, rocks morphed into tents. Hal Koerner and Mike Wolfe had slept just two hours the previous night. Their eyes were seeing what their minds craved. And in that fuzzy headspace, they relied on their training. “Running,” Koerner says, “was our comfort zone.” Koerner and Wolfe aren’t your average speed hikers. They’re athletes who finish 24-hour footraces across distances that most people would groan about driving. And they nearly met their match over the JMT’s 210.4 miles and 84,000 feet of elevation change. Of course, it wasn’t all sore-footed suffering. The Sierra granite pinches into snow-capped ridges separated by great, lake-filled basins. There’s enough beauty to all-but cancel out the pain—and Hal and Mike were seeing it in fast forward. This is what sticks with them. “That trip for me, I’ll never forget it,” Koerner says. “It was unlike any other that I’ve ever lived.” 1 PREPARE YOUR BODY FOR THE RIGORS OF HIKING LONG DISTANCES. PROFILES IN ENDURANCE HAL KOERNER AND MIKE WOLFE 3.12.41 JOHN MUIR TRAIL (SUPPORTED) IN DAYS HOURS MINUTES PASS 47 MILES OF LABYRINTHINE CANYONS AND SLICKROCK ON THE CROSS-PARK TRAVERSE FROM LEES PASS TO EAST RIM. MIKE WOLFE (LEFT) AND HAL KOERNER TRAINING NEAR JACKSON HOLE, WY, PRIOR TO THEIR RECORD-SETTING JOURNEY ON THE JMT INFO BACKPACKER.COM/ZIONTRAVERSE P H O T O S B Y ( F R O M L E F T ) B R A N D O N J O S E P H B A K E R , C O U R T E S Y O F T H E N O R T H F A C E ; J I M B E C K E R ; B E N F U L L E R T O N . I L L U S T R A T I O N S B Y S U P E R C O R N 1. OUTER KNEE PAIN Burning sensation PROBLEM Iliotibial band syndrome FIX Ease IT band tension using a foam roller. Lie with your hip on the roller and slowly work your way down to your knee, paus- ing on any sore spots. 2. KNEECAP PAIN Constant dull ache PROBLEM Patellar ten- donitis FIX Strengthen the mus- cles that support the knee (do squats and lunges, see right) and stretch your hamstrings: Sit with your hammie on a foam roller and move back and forth from knee to thigh. 3. HEEL PAIN Throbbing and tender PROBLEM Plantar fascitis FIX Sit with legs out- stretched and gently pull back on toes to stretch the plantar fascia. Hold for 1 minute. 4. SHIN PAIN Sharp and stabbing PROBLEM Shin splints FIX Stretch calves by hanging your heels over the edge of a step and lowering down. Loosen your tibialis anterior (shin muscle) by laying one ankle across the opposite knee (while seated) and pushing your toes away from your knee. Hold for 30 seconds. NO PAIN, NO GAIN Work through four common overuse injuries. PHYSICAL PERFECT 50: ZION NP, UT