Backpacking with late 40s knees

Not looking for “medical advice” just anecdotal experience from others😁Female, late 40s relatively fit started training 3 months ago to prepare for a 40 mile backpacking loop, about 10 k total elevation, in 4 days. Anyway, I over did it a couple days in a row and now my knees are both weak feeling, jelly-ish.. not pain really. I took a break a few days, just did a 5 mile hike with poles and compression, felt pretty good. But they are still feeling inflamed/weak. Also, never have had issues in past with knees. I’m now torn between continuing training for next couple weeks (maybe better for cardio and muscles) or totally resting (better to heal knees?) and hoping for the best. Resting but doing NWB exercises/stretches, try to heal but also target some weak areas. Anyone face a similar dilemma? --- **Post Details:** - **Subreddit:** r/backpacking - **Author:** u/Substantial_Coffee43 - **Score:** 11 upvotes - **Upvote Ratio:** 87.0% - **Comments:** 42 - **Posted:** 7/13/2025 - **URL:** https://reddit.com/r/backpacking/comments/1lz53tk/backpacking_with_late_40s_knees/