How fast do you hike

A good rough estimate on reasonably easy ground with well marked trails. Book Time: is 30 minutes per mile, plus 30 minutes for every 1, feet of ascent. A good rough estimate for hiking mountains and rocky trails.

Based on the plan you entered above TrailsNH estimates your average hiking speed to be closer to MPH , or of moving time for a mile hike up vertical feet of elevation gain. Compare that with Naismith's Rule which says your average hiking moving time is around. Here are the most common estimates for how long short hikes take, generated using the TrailsNH Hiking Time Calculator.

These estimates assume the hike is on a smooth well marked path, carring a small backpack. Add on some time for breaks, taking photos, lunch, whatever. Use the calculator above to dial in your specific hiking time estimate.

The adjustment currently calculated as uses a sliding scale to add or subtract the effort involved. For example: A 2 mile hike over a foot hill, Naismith's Rule estimates will take 52 minutes. The bottom line? For those of us with no ambitions of scaling ers, there are plenty of ways to work on our walking speed:. At the end of the day, hiking is an endurance activity that requires a decent level of fitness.

Achieving that level of fitness can be simplified and sped up by hitting the gym regularly to do hiking-specific workouts. While any endurance or cardio workout will help, spending time doing low-intensity, long-duration endurance training on your calves, thighs, glutes, and core will help you hike at more consistent speeds, reduce fatigue, prevent injuries, and put in more miles per day. To increase your stamina, nothing beats a good old-fashioned jog around the park.

If you can throw a few hundred feet of ascent into your route to really get your heart rate going, all the better…! And, of course, there are far more variables to consider than bodyweight alone. Taking regular rest stops is a good way to break up your trip, take a breather, and give your muscles a bit of respite. Hiking burns more than calories per hour. Like any other sport, trying to do without adequate nourishment or on an empty stomach is unlikely to yield the best results.

The best foods for hiking are calorie-dense eats that keep pack weight to a minimum but give you the fuel needed to put in all those miles. Some examples of great trail foods include peanut butter, nuts and seeds, dried fruits, and granola bars. Between hikes, a healthy, balanced diet that includes plenty of protein for muscle growth and repair, as well as complex carbs and healthy fats, is optimal. We hope the above post has shown you that measuring your average hiking speed is something well worth doing and an important tool that can help you both plan hikes better and enjoy a safer time on whatever trails you may be hitting.

How did you enjoy our article? If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them in the comments box below. Eunice Kryna Verula is a writer by trade and a mountaineer by heart. In her quest to bag the 10 highest mountains in the country and Asia, she spends most of her days trekking and learning from seasoned mountain guides deep in the one of the most mountainous regions of the Philippines.

While not in the backcountry she is striving to launch community programs to support local mountain guides and to equip them with proper mountaineering gear. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Eunice Kryna Verula. The Appalachian Trail is 2, miles long. The average thru-hike completion time is days.

If a hiker takes 1 zero day per week on average, that translates to days of actual hiking. If we divide 2, miles by days, we can conclude that an AT thru-hiker covers So far, so good. Now, the amount of time someone spends hiking each day can vary, but let's use 8 hours as a rough estimate. Pretty darn close to 2 mph. We've built a simple calculator for you to play with. You can use it to define a target hiking speed for an upcoming hike or calculate your average hiking speed on a recent hike.

By far the most important factor when calculating hiking speed over a given distance. Elevation gain is how many feet you are climbing over a given distance. So, if you start at 5, feet in elevation and climb to 8, feet over 3 miles Some rough guidelines on this:.

The slope itself also has a direct effect on your hiking speed. The steeper the ascent, the slower you will hike. Likewise, as you head downhill, you can expect your pace to quicken. Sometimes, you have to slow down substantially to navigate steep or technical sections of the trail. In these areas, you often can hike up faster than you can hike down. Rough terrain on the trail roots, rocks, sand, snow, etc will slow the hiking speed of even the most seasoned hikers. Having to watch your feet as you navigate loose basketball-size stones, step over dense roots, trudge through snow, and scramble up steep rock slab absolutely will slow your hiking speed.

Someone somewhere will have a trail report that details the type of terrain you will encounter. Hiking speed is different for every person. The more fit you are, the faster and longer you can hike. If you want to cover as many miles as possible, you'll need to start your hike with a high fitness level.

Don't get frustrated if you are not up to hiking machine standards. The best way to increase your fitness is to hike and hike some more. Regardless of how fit you are, though, your hiking speed naturally will slow down as your body begins to tire. The heavier your pack, the slower you will hike. Keep this in mind on multi-day trips or after resupplies.

Your pace may be significantly slower immediately after resupply and will pick up as you consume the food you are carrying. Also look at your base weight before leaving and make sure it's optimal. We've written a separate post with 42 tips to shave pack weight.