average incline % grade on the AT in North Carolina ????

[markellag]

What is the average incline % grade on the AT in North Carolina ????
I would like to know average incline % grade in North Carolina so when I go to the gym and use the treadmill, I can set the treadmill to the
average incline % grade on the AT in North Carolina. I will be hiking the AT in NC.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

May I suggest varying the incline as you train on the treadmill. The treadmills at the gym where I did my advanced PT has a program that automatically varied the incline and speed. I set the machine to run that and set a difficulty level. If your gym doesn't have this, you could vary it yourself as you workout.

[Froggy]

I have a spreadsheet with the elevation figures from the Companion, and from that deduced that the maximum percent incline is 82%, the maximum descent is 55%, and the average is 0.35%.

I think that 100% is a 45 degree angle.

Since the descent and ascent data are necessarily between specific points, you should expect that you'll actually encounter steeper portions here and there. In many cases, you might even need to move from a treadmill to a climbing wall or other means of cross-training.

Better yet, get out and find some hills.

[Sly]

I think it works as follows. a 528' rise in one mile is a 10% grade. Conversely, a 100% grade would be 5280' in one mile or a 90 degree angle aka straight up. So, a 45 degree angle would be a 50% grade and a 2640' rise in one mile.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Whoa -- the max on most treadmills is 10 - 12%. I used a stairmaster to build my climbing strength.

[Sly]

Whoa -- the max on most treadmills is 10 - 12%. I used a stairmaster to build my climbing strength.

For the most part the longest climbs are 10-12% grade. Three Ridges north or the Priest south come to mind. 15-20% grades, which are about the max, are typically shorter.

[bigcranky]

I think it works as follows. a 528' rise in one mile is a 10% grade. Conversely, a 100% grade would be 5280' in one mile or a 90 degree angle aka straight up. So, a 45 degree angle would be a 50% grade and a 2640' rise in one mile.

A 100% grade is a 45 degree angle. You go up one foot for every foot you travel forward.

A 90 degree angle would be a grade of infinity -- you would ONLY go up, never forward. Yes, there are places on the trail where it feels like that .

Technically, the average grade in NC is close to zero -- the downhills cancel out the uphills, generally speaking. But the average steep-ish climb is about 500 feet per mile, or about a 10 percent grade. In some places there are 1000-ft-per-mile climbs, but they are blessedly short.

I would agree that it would be better to vary the angle of a treadmill. Also, wear a pack -- get those other gym rats talking about you.

[Sly]

A 100% grade is a 45 degree angle. You go up one foot for every foot you travel forward.

You're not always traveling forward, but up! I know there are angles steeper than 45 degrees. NH, Katahdin come to mind.

[vipahman]

Sly is wrong. Froggy and BigCranky are correct. 45 degrees = 100% slope.

The grade (as commonly seen on roads signs) is the ratio of the altitude change to the distance traversed. So if you go up/down 1 mile in 1 mile, that a 100% grade averaging out to 45-degree angle.

So a 10% grade which is considered steep for heavy vehicles is a 0.1 mile altitide change in 1 mile.

Do not confuse 100% with maxing out because you can definitely be climbing a 90-degree cliff face (altitude change only) without any forward movement. The grade of a 90-degree slope is infinity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_%28slope%29

[vipahman]

You're not always traveling forward, but up! I know there are angles steeper than 45 degrees. NH, Katahdin come to mind.

While I haven't climbed Katahdin, most of the AT is nowhere near 45-degrees or 100%.

And just as looking down a 20-degree ski slope might seem to be 45-degrees, looking up a 20-degree hiking slope also seems gives the impression of 40-degrees. The most accurate method for trail use is to use your inclinometer in your compass. You will be very surprised with the reduced numbers.

[Sly]

Sly is wrong. Froggy and BigCranky are correct. 45 degrees = 100% slope.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grade_%28slope%29

LOL... It wouldn't be the 1st time!

[emerald]

What is the average incline % grade on the AT in North Carolina ?

It's steeper than steep, but not the steepest. Someone once said something similar to me to describe a particular green color.

Enjoy your hike in North Carolina.

[D'Artagnan]

For what it's worth, I've never been able to come close to replicating trail conditions on a treadmill. It beats nothing, of course. I would follow FD's suggestion and use a varying-elevation program.

Now, if you could go 4 or 5 days without showering, roll the treadmill into a sauna and release a few thousand flying insects, well.....

[Sly]

So what's the grade/angle is a 528' rise in one mile, and a 1056' rise in one mile?

[The Solemates]

While I haven't climbed Katahdin, most of the AT is nowhere near 45-degrees or 100%.

And just as looking down a 20-degree ski slope might seem to be 45-degrees, looking up a 20-degree hiking slope also seems gives the impression of 40-degrees. The most accurate method for trail use is to use your inclinometer in your compass. You will be very surprised with the reduced numbers.

Being a snow skier as well as a hiker, i think i have a pretty good eye out for such things. A 20-degree slope on skis is relatively moderate for most skiers. A 45-degree slope on skis is relatively moderate for an experienced skier. Hiking is obviously a little different.

With that said....excellent comment on the definition of incline given above....but....there are certainly places on the AT where there is a 45-degree slope along the trail, albeit these stretches are very short and few and far between. katahdin is obviously one of them. heading up kinsman nobo is another than comes to mind. i'm sure there are others as well.

[Sly]

I'm thinking of one of those half circle thingies where a straight line is 180 degrees. Raising my arm straight up is 90 degrees. In between is 45 degrees. I know(think) I've climbed between 45 and 90.

What about Mt Albert?

[Froggy]

I've found, at least for me, that 200 feet per mile (3.8% grade) is a noticeable grade, 400 feet per mile (7.6% grade) is a bit of work, call it moderate, and 600 feet per mile (11.3%) or more counts as steep.

It's still just walking, though. You'll know when it becomes climbing.

Incidentally, since I use a gps on the trails out here in Colorado, feet per mile makes a lot of sense.

And for you pilots out there, if your plane has a hot-day gross-weight angle of climb of less than 300 feet per mile at the conditions for which you are planning a departure, don't try it unless it's a) calm, and b) darn flat out there, and c) you feel lucky.

[weary]

What is the average incline % grade on the AT in North Carolina ????
I would like to know average incline % grade in North Carolina so when I go to the gym and use the treadmill, I can set the treadmill to the
average incline % grade on the AT in North Carolina. I will be hiking the AT in NC.

Techically zero. The ups and downs are about equal, varying only by the change in elevation from the beginning to the end of your walk.

Practically speaking a treadmill in no way equates with trail conditions. For training purposes, set it at the highest level possible. You'll still find many sections of the AT that are much steeper.

Better yet, if possible, find a woodland trail near you with a lot of ups and downs and few graded sections and walk it as often as possible -- and with a pack that is quite a bit heavier than any you expect to carry.

If you are an ultralighter double your expected weight. If you will be carrying 35-45 pounds on the trail, practice with a 50 pound pack.

Remember also that the best training for the trail is to walk the trail. Start your walk by going slow. And speed up as your strength increases, though this advice works better for very long distance hikers and thru hikers than it does for those who can spend only a week or two on the trail at a time.

WEary

[The Solemates]

What about Mt Albert?

I almost included that in my examples, but did not know if it would meet the requirements or not.

[Fannypack]

So what's the grade/angle is a 528' rise in one mile, and a 1056' rise in one mile?

The key to understanding this situation is "we must realize that angle of inclination and grade are 2 different terms".

1) grade is a percentage, i.e., a ratio, rise over run, vertical change over horizontal change....
2) An angle is in degrees

With this said, u asked to calculate the grade and angle (of inclination) for a rise of 528 ft over 5280 ft distance:

grade = 528 divided by 5280 = .1 ; then convert to a percentage, so it is 10%

angle = arctan (528/5280) = arctan(.1) equals approximately 5.7 degrees...(angle of inclination)

SLY, this discussion started with a question "average incline % grade on the AT in North Carolina ????"
and I would say that the bigcranky post is prolly a good answer....

Just remember angle and grade do not describe the same thing.