Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms

Estimating Hiking Times

There is no good way for a stranger to estimate your hiking time because they don't know how fast you walk! Giving an "average" figure might only be laughable to fast hikers but might be dangerous to slow hikers who expect to reach a place of safety faster than they do. Therefore we have provided an Estimator for you to estimate your own hike time, inspired by the work of Mohamed Ellozy. The Estimator will only work if your browser supports JavaScript, and JavaScript is turned on.

The Appalachian Mountain Club's White Mountain Guide uses a very approximate formula to estimate the time a given hike will take. (Some times in the book are adjusted for intangible factors so not all times will match this formula.) They estimate half an hour for every mile of distance (a pace of 2 miles per hour), plus half an hour for every 1,000 feet of ascent. Descent is assumed to take no additional time over walking on a flat trail. The Estimator below can be used to estimate "guidebook time" if you accept these default speeds.

To estimate "guidebook time":

• JavaScript will treat commas as decimal points so don't use them!
• Estimated times are rounded to the nearest five minutes.
• For a hike in which you return by the same route, in the first row you enter the hike distance each way (in miles), the elevation gain going (in feet), and the elevation gain return (in feet). Accept the defaults in the second row, click on "Estimate", and the estimated times will appear in the third row.
• If you are doing a one-way hike rather than returning by the same route, input the total distance and elevation gain going in the first row, and ignore the elevation gain return. Accept the defaults in the second row, click on "Estimate", and the estimated time for the hike will appear in the third row in the "Going" box. Ignore the "Return" box.

Many people who hike slower or faster will find the "guidebook time" useful if they apply a factor to it. Other people may know more about their own hiking style and wish to use different speed constants. For instance, somebody with knee trouble might take as long to go down a thousand feet as to go up, while somebody with respiratory trouble might go faster than book time on the level but slow to a crawl on the uphill. The same person may hike slower or faster depending on how they are feeling, and whether the trail is slippery. Hence this Estimator also allows you to adjust the factors in the second row to match your own speeds. If you have times and distances available from previous hikes, you can try guessing at speeds until the estimated times match your actual ones. Then write those speeds down to use to plan your next hike.

To estimate time based on your own speeds:

• JavaScript will treat commas as decimal points so don't use them!
• Estimated times are rounded to the nearest five minutes. If you enter your speed as 4 minutes per mile, the estimate to hike exactly a mile will be 5 minutes :-)
• For a hike in which you return by the same route, in the first row you enter the hike distance each way (in miles), the elevation gain going (in feet), and the elevation gain return (in feet). Input your own speeds in the second row, click on "Estimate", and the estimated times will appear in the third row.
• If you are doing a one-way hike rather than returning by the same route, input the total distance and elevation gain going in the first row. If you have assigned a speed for downhill hiking, you also need to input the elevation gain return. Input your own speeds in the second row, click on "Estimate", and the estimated time for the hike will appear in the third row in the "Going" box. Ignore the "Return" box.

Note that hike time is your actual walking time only. You should add extra time for lunch, photography, swimming, and other breaks that you expect to take. You should also allow extra time if the hike description indicates anything that might slow you down under the prevailing conditions, such as brook crossings, ledge scrambling, or overgrown vegetation.

Finally, give yourself a margin to get back safely. You need more of a margin in time depending on how important it is to be back at a certain hour. You need more of a margin of daylight if you get nervous in the dark than if you are a spelunker carrying three sources of light. If it took longer than planned to get somewhere, assume that it will also take longer than planned to return and allow for it.

HIKE TIME ESTIMATOR

THE HIKE	Distance Each Way (miles)	Elevation Gain Going (feet)	Elevation Gain Return (feet)
[Do Not Use Commas!]
YOUR SPEED	Level Hiking (minutes/mile)	Extra Minutes /1000 Feet Up	Extra Minutes /1000 Feet Down
	Estimated Time	Going	Return
	hr:min

One last note - the estimator is not yet completely tested! If the result you get doesn't sound reasonable, don't use it! Send us an e-mail or note it in the NH Hikes and Walks Forum giving your input values and the results you got, and we'll try to figure out what is wrong and fix it.

Implementation notes for geeks:

The calculation is done GIGO, that is almost no input validation is done. The only test is that the Elevation Gain Return must be positive in case somebody enters it as negative by mistake. The Estimator is designed to work for reasonable hiking distances and speeds - entering very large or very small values will of course cause an overflow. If you need to know how long it will take a snail to complete the Appalachian Trail, you will need to write your own estimator.