Just Bill
10-14-2013, 20:53
A common newbie question- if only there was an answer...
It occurred to me that the speed hike sheet I made earlier might work with a little tuning- and it did.
Of course if you're a noob you don't know what I'm talking about. Your good pal and mine- Map Man did some very exhausting and tedious work reading journals and documenting progress of past hikers- all of which resulted in some excellent articles and findings posted on the articles tab at the top of your screen. I took his average numbers and with his help and Odd Man Out we tinkered a bit to create a speed hike calculator. But remove the speed hike part, tinker a little and it works for regular hikes too.
Here's how-
Open this excel sheet (maybe I can get some help making it a google or other open format?) The reason I stuck with excel is I can lock all the cells so you can't accidently type over the formula. So open it up and you will see a NOBO and a SOBO tab. Map Man created some sections to go with his Data, and you will see those there. The sheet is saved in 97-2003 compatibility mode- so it should work for most of you. I believe you can open excel sheets like this in google docs and in Apples spreadsheet software.
Say you went on a section hike, or are familiar with one section of the trail and have an idea how fast you will go on that section. Simply plug in your expected Miles Hiked Per Day (MHPD). This number is not your average, but how far you hike on a full day (don't count zeros or neros). Pick a section, put your mileage in the dark green cell (it's the only cells you can type in) and the sheet will do it's magic and tell you how long it will take.
It will also tell you an overall average, and the total hiking days to complete.
Never touched the AT in your life?
The DWG to Harper's section is a pretty plain jane average hike- so even if you are a flatlander like me you can plug in your local numbers into that section and get a decent idea.
What about zeros?
Just look down a bit lower and you will see a zero day schedule. A few common hiking styles are laid out for you to pick from. Don't like them- just take the no zero day number and add your own.
Remember- like any spreadsheet- garbage in, garbage out. Put a bad number in and you'll get bad results.
Is it accurate?
It's average, but since you are adding a number, it's an adjusted average. Although plugging in a few known times, Matt Kirk and JPD- clearly extreme examples, it still comes out within a few percent. 55.4 days for Matt (actual 58.5), 45.9 for Jen (actual 46.3). However- they showed up WITH trail legs. Map Man's numbers reflect the fact that most of you will not show up in record breaking shape, so you won't exactly kill the first section. So really- it's probably pretty damn close. It won't take into account the week you'll be off trail at your brother's wedding- so use a little common sense.
Why do you want to know?
Mail drops, resupply, budget, gear selection and pretty well every phase of planning revolves around how long it will take. Even what day to start is affected. You want to know.
Thanks to Map Man! Good luck planning your trip.
It occurred to me that the speed hike sheet I made earlier might work with a little tuning- and it did.
Of course if you're a noob you don't know what I'm talking about. Your good pal and mine- Map Man did some very exhausting and tedious work reading journals and documenting progress of past hikers- all of which resulted in some excellent articles and findings posted on the articles tab at the top of your screen. I took his average numbers and with his help and Odd Man Out we tinkered a bit to create a speed hike calculator. But remove the speed hike part, tinker a little and it works for regular hikes too.
Here's how-
Open this excel sheet (maybe I can get some help making it a google or other open format?) The reason I stuck with excel is I can lock all the cells so you can't accidently type over the formula. So open it up and you will see a NOBO and a SOBO tab. Map Man created some sections to go with his Data, and you will see those there. The sheet is saved in 97-2003 compatibility mode- so it should work for most of you. I believe you can open excel sheets like this in google docs and in Apples spreadsheet software.
Say you went on a section hike, or are familiar with one section of the trail and have an idea how fast you will go on that section. Simply plug in your expected Miles Hiked Per Day (MHPD). This number is not your average, but how far you hike on a full day (don't count zeros or neros). Pick a section, put your mileage in the dark green cell (it's the only cells you can type in) and the sheet will do it's magic and tell you how long it will take.
It will also tell you an overall average, and the total hiking days to complete.
Never touched the AT in your life?
The DWG to Harper's section is a pretty plain jane average hike- so even if you are a flatlander like me you can plug in your local numbers into that section and get a decent idea.
What about zeros?
Just look down a bit lower and you will see a zero day schedule. A few common hiking styles are laid out for you to pick from. Don't like them- just take the no zero day number and add your own.
Remember- like any spreadsheet- garbage in, garbage out. Put a bad number in and you'll get bad results.
Is it accurate?
It's average, but since you are adding a number, it's an adjusted average. Although plugging in a few known times, Matt Kirk and JPD- clearly extreme examples, it still comes out within a few percent. 55.4 days for Matt (actual 58.5), 45.9 for Jen (actual 46.3). However- they showed up WITH trail legs. Map Man's numbers reflect the fact that most of you will not show up in record breaking shape, so you won't exactly kill the first section. So really- it's probably pretty damn close. It won't take into account the week you'll be off trail at your brother's wedding- so use a little common sense.
Why do you want to know?
Mail drops, resupply, budget, gear selection and pretty well every phase of planning revolves around how long it will take. Even what day to start is affected. You want to know.
Thanks to Map Man! Good luck planning your trip.