Realistic Distance to Hike in a Day

[Dennis Schaub]

Obviously, this is very personal and varies from person to person and place to place. I'm trying to figure out a realistic distance my son and I can hike in a day. Seems like the average hiker is around 10-15ish. I would like to cover more ground than that. We are leaving Harper's Ferry next week heading north, 3 days, two nights. I am 42/m, he is 13/m, both very fit (marathoner, obstacle course racing, etc). In my mind, I was planning 20 mile days, but after more research, it looks like the average is only half that?

[Berserker]

Depends on what you want to get out of your hike. You can surely do 20 mile days, but you'll be hiking from dawn till dusk and then eating and sleeping the rest of the time. If you want to spend time hanging out in camp you'll want to back that off a bit. If you are doing MD, that's easy terrain, so you should be able to leave camp in the morning, hike 10-15 miles and then make camp around 4 - 5 leaving you time to hang out. Also, not sure if your 13 year old is into 20 mile days or not...that's a lot of mileage per day.

[Heliotrope]

If you haven’t done any overnight trips together then you don’t have a reasonable point of reference to base your trip on. Perhaps consider this a chance to learn what you can both handle and set a moderate goal. If you end up going faster than 10-15 mpd then great. And are you having fun doing it?


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[tflaris]

If you average 1.5 mph for 8 hours you would have achieved 12 miles.

This was a good starting point for us when we first started LD Hiking.

TF



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[tdoczi]

youre going to be hiking on largely very easy trails.

this perhaps presents two factors to keep in mind-

1- you may be able to do more than you think, and with seemingly little effort

2- if this happens you should not think of this as indicative of how future hiking trips might go.

i think if youre in reasonable shape and arent easily made tired by simply walking all day youll find it not a problem at all to make 15 MPD

[lonehiker]

It will be a bit tougher than what you are expecting. The weight of the packs will be the unknown variable especially if you aren't going particularly lightweight. I would plan on 12-15 miles for food planning purposes. If you do manage to pull off more mileage it isn't a big deal.

[Slo-go'en]

The other factor is the spacing of shelters. The area you are planning to hike in is "designated sites only", which means you can't just camp anywhere. This might mean some designated sites may seem too close but if you skip one the next might be too far. (if you don't have a guide book to help plan with distances, you best get one ASAP)

The trail north of HF isn't very difficult by AT standards, but it's not flat either. There are a few modest climbs and a lot of small ups and downs. Put on a 25-30 pound pack and hike in 90 degree humid weather and that really slows you down. Hiking is a lot different then running.

I would keep your goals modest for this first trip and see how it goes.

[illabelle]

Another factor that often gets left out of these discussions is whether you and your son's feet are conditioned for a full day of hiking. It's quite possible to have enough energy to keep on going, but have feet that are too sore. Best to be conservative with your ambitions until you know what your limitations are.

[Dennis Schaub]

This is why I posted the question, I am trying to figure out where we are going to stay overnight, I should have stated that in the original post. Sounds like 12-15 MPD is the consensus, so I will plan for that! Thanks everyone.

[Venchka]

More than 3!
Wayne

[Captain Panda]

I'm sure you are in great shape; but being in hiking shape carrying a pack is a whole other matter. Most thru hikers start out with modest mileage, and at some point are able to put in big days. Trying to do that kind of distance from the get go, even in relatively easy terrain may result in anything from blisters to an assortment of injuries, which could make the trip very unpleasant. Most hiking injuries are caused by: too heavy, too fast, too long. You and your son will enjoy the trip a lot more if you aren't pushing hard all day to do somewhat unrealistic mileage.

[Venchka]

More than 3!
Wayne

Miles that is!
Wayne

[HooKooDooKu]

This is why I posted the question, I am trying to figure out where we are going to stay overnight, I should have stated that in the original post. Sounds like 12-15 MPD is the consensus, so I will plan for that! Thanks everyone.

Depending upon the steepness of the terrain, my experienced 12yo does 12-14 MPD.

[peakbagger]

Depends on many things. Many folks can crank out the miles one day and then have to back way off the next two or three as they pushed to hard on the first day. Far better off setting a 6 to 7 hour first day without pushing it and then adding a bit more on subsequent days. For week long section hikes I usually had a planned mileage for each day and then a "stretch" goal for each day. If conditions were good and we hit the planned goal we usually would go for the stretch goal,. If the weather was crappy or other reasons we may just do the plan.

I would start out with 7 hours of hiking plus 1.5 hour of breaks (20 minutes for lunch and 10 minutes every hour. That a 14 mile day for average conditions less if there is a lot of elevation more if flat. As the week goes on the pack get lighter add an hour. I find adding 2 hours a day is too much over the long run.

[Mugthumper]

If you do not have backpacking experience, I would not recommend planning any days longer than 16 miles, even if you are physically fit. That section is not particularly challenging, but like others mentioned, the weight of a pack and your feet could slow you down. Besides, there is a lot of history along this section of the trail, and it'd be a shame to pass it all by because you wanted to make miles.

If I were planning a 3 day / 2 night section here, I would start at Harper's Ferry and finish at Pen Mar Park. I would walk a quarter a mile further to reach the Mason-Dixon Line and you will have officially completed Maryland. Then head back the quarter mile to Pen Mar. This is approximately 41 miles and very reasonable for the first time backpacking on the AT and will also allow time to enjoy yourselves.

An itinerary to consider;

Day 1 Harper's Ferry - Crampton Gap Shelter = 10.4 miles
Day 2 Crampton Gap - Pogo Memorial Campsite = 15.9 miles
Day 3 Pogo Memorial Campsite - Mason Dixon Line = 14.6 miles

[Dennis Schaub]

Thanks! That's super helpful!

[Rain Man]

Heat can really sap strength and endurance. IMHO better to plan short miles and exceed rather than long days and "fail."

I also agree that MD has lots of historic sites to spend good time at.

[Last Call]

Slow and easy, especially if novice backpackers....pack makes a difference.

[Kerosene]

Until you have a couple of hikes under your belts, I would suggest you start with shorter, slower 10-mile days. There's no reason why you couldn't extend any one day if you're feeling good and aren't ready to stop. The worst that would happen is that you'll be carrying a bit more food than you need, you'll get home a day early, and maybe you have to dry camp if you can't make it to the next official campsite or shelter.

Use your first hike or two to figure out what you are both capable of, then adjust your mileage for future hikes based on the terrain and anticipated weather. For example, before my knees gave out I was quite confident that I could get out and complete successive 15-mile days on the southern AT. In some sections (WV/MD, SNP, southern VA) I readily extended to 18-20+ days as the trail was smooth (not necessarily flat, but few rocks and roots) and my weather was ideal. By the time I sectioned NH, I realized that I would be lucky to cover 15 miles across all those rocks and roots (climbs don't really slow me down very much), and cut back my anticipated daily mileage to 10-12 (which was still tough on some days!). That mileage popped back up to 14-16 when I eventually covered northern ME. Note that for these hikes (2000-2014) I was a physically fit male soccer player with very strong legs and great cardio, aged 43-57, carrying a pack that was less than 15% of my bodyweight (24-26 lbs with 3 days of supplies and 2L of water for shoulder season hikes). Most of these hikes were solo, and I typically walked fewer miles in a day when I had a partner.

[Just Bill]

If you don't know....
5-10 miles per day is a good number.

Seriously.

Most people forget it's easy enough to put in a decent day, but two and three days in a row is where the proof shows up in the pudding.

If you are fit, hike often with a 10 lb daypack in similar terrain... I wouldn't plan more than 80% of your average day hike per day.
Most don't do 20 mile day hikes... so most shouldn't plan 15 mile a day outings.

Best case- you do great, it's easy as hell, you're happy, and you come back.
And since we are talking the AT... well it just keeps going if you find yourself at camp with nothing to do at 2 pm you can just walk to the next campsite down the line.

Worst case- All too frequently folks overestimate the miles they will cover. It then sucks, you feel defeated, you're unhappy, rushed, sore and worst of all- you don't come back.