Ranking Hiking Speed

[KevinAce]

10 miles a day at 350 lbs, even 280 lbs. Holy **** Batman.
You're going to be walking on air when you get down to 220. Keep the faith hombre.

I hardly call it 10 miles at 350 lbs. It was from Massie Gap to Thomas Knob (little short) and I was miserable (close to death actually...hypothermic). But yeah...I'm 280 now and just did 22 (TN 91 to Damascus) and enjoyed the hell out of it. I am really looking forward to being at a lower weight...will just make it all that much easier.

[JAK]

Easy there. It's ok to love the forest, just don't love the forest if you know what I mean.
Second thought, as long as its working for ya you just keep on rocking. Hike on Dude.

[JAK]

Seriously though, 22 miles at 280 pounds plus gear is really truckin. Great stuff. Anyone that gets out for a 22 mile weekend is just living right, but you are really living well. Very inspirational. Did you lose a pound or two over the weekend, or did you bother to check? Just curious because I'm looking to get out for a weekend soon, and wondering what impact it might have besides making me really freakin happy like it always does and for the life of me can't figure out why I don't do it more often. Cheers.

[KevinAce]

Yeah I'm pretty proud of the 22 miles @ 280 lbs (or any weight really). It was hard work but very rewarding. Most guys my size don't attempt **** like this...so it's a nice accomplishment.

I figured I burned about ~12,000 calories from the hiking and ~5000 from my BMR. I expended about 17,000 calories and ate only 3000 for a deficit of 14,000 calories. At 3500 calories/pound, I should have probably lost about 4 or so lbs.

I stopped weighing myself actively quite a bit ago because with water weight and day routines, it fluctuates too much. I'd bust my ass some weeks and would lose 1 pound and go half assed another week and lose 2 or 3. I don't actively weigh myself anymore...so I can't really tell you how much I lost. But by the math of it...about 4 lbs or so.

[Mags]

I like beer.

[JAK]

Yeah I'm pretty proud of the 22 miles @ 280 lbs (or any weight really). It was hard work but very rewarding. Most guys my size don't attempt **** like this...so it's a nice accomplishment.

I figured I burned about ~12,000 calories from the hiking and ~5000 from my BMR. I expended about 17,000 calories and ate only 3000 for a deficit of 14,000 calories. At 3500 calories/pound, I should have probably lost about 4 or so lbs.

I stopped weighing myself actively quite a bit ago because with water weight and day routines, it fluctuates too much. I'd bust my ass some weeks and would lose 1 pound and go half assed another week and lose 2 or 3. I don't actively weigh myself anymore...so I can't really tell you how much I lost. But by the math of it...about 4 lbs or so.

Those are some crazy numbers, but not totally out of wack considering your weight and age. Body fat contains some water though, so 3000 calories/pound is a better number to figure out weight loss for calorie deficit. Well done. Keep hiking.

[Engine]

I have seen young kids like 13 do 20+ a day but I like doing between 7 and 11, although I have a week coming up I think I want to push for 20+.

Caboose and I just got back from a great 4 days in GSMNP in which we did 68 miles, including 22 and 20 the last 2 days. Now, I must be honest and tell you that my feet are wrecked from hiking the 22 mile day which was mostly in the rain and wet feet are not happy feet. Those distances were not planned but forced by the vastly overfull creeks which were uncrossable in 2 locations causing long days to stay on schedule to get home in time. Thankfully we hike light enough that it was doable but I would advise against the low areas of GSMNP for the next week or so to let the water recede. The terrain was very up and down with some really long climbs so if us grandparents can do it, anyone can.

[JAK]

Well done gramps. Gramps at 43 eh. Cool. I think the secret is to plan for 15 mile or so days, but leave some flexibilty so if it ends up being 10 miles/day it still works out, and pack light enough so if it has to be a 20 miles/day grind that is do-able also.

[RockStar]

I can tell you that I have tried 3 times to make a go at at least a huge chunk of the trail, if not the whole thing. Each time I thought going as fast as possible would save me money because it wouldn't take longer and i could keep up with my new friends. My personal best at nearly 40% body fat was 10 miles in 4 hours. I did 2 face plants and didn't stop to eat. Another day in the woods was more food I wouldn't have. That was my last attempt. I didn't make it past Fontana Dam that time because my knees were screaming with tendonitis and I had a pinched nerve in my foot. Every time I try to go faster than I SHOULD my body pays a huge price and my dreams are crushed by having to come home injured. So I decided I wasn't going back until I had enough money to take as many zeros and buy as much food and medcal attention as I needed...until I have my body fat in healthy range(which I do), strengthen my muscles, tendons, and ligaments...and can SLOW THE HELL DOWN. I compete against myself. I hope there aren't many people as stupid as I am in beating yourself up to beat yourself, which is ultimately losing. lol I can do 10 miles in 4 hours at 40% body fat...what did it prove or provide? The all you can eat pancake breakfast wasn't until the next morning and takes place daily...lol Town wasn't going anywhere. Silly me.

[Alaskanhkr23]

how long do you guys think it would take to hike from Kent to vermont to go to hikers fest?

[Alaskanhkr23]

10 to 15 miles a day

[ShelterLeopard]

Would i be considered a slow hiker if i only do 10 miles a day?

Yeah, but who cares? Most hikers average 16-18 miles a day (with zero days averaged in) Most likely, you'll start doing 7-10 miles a day like everyone else, and you'll start hiking farther without realizing it as you get more fit. But if you want to do 10 miles a day and enjoy the scenery even more, go for it. I like doing 20 miles in a day because I'm slightly masochistic and I like pushing. (That is a lot for me, because I've never done more than three weeks at a time, and doing 20 in the first couple days is painful- I don't recommend it)

[alalskaman]

I have decided, with my 65 summers and diabetic metabolism, that I need to start out slow and then slow down. I just did a 13 mile day on a trail near here...took me 7 hours including a rest about every 3 miles, plus a 45 minute lunch break. There was a bit of elevation gain - on the uphill part, I averaged 1.7 mph..on the downhill leg, more like 2 1/2 mph. Slow by anyone's standards, I think. Main point to me is, I never felt pooped, pulse rate never exceeded 124, and I could have done a few more miles. I feel great today, could do another day just like it.

As I side note, I did the exact same hike when I was 25...It took a little over 3 hours. BUT I had tremendous leg pain...on the drive home, I had to use my hands to help lift my left leg up to the clutch...and was wretchedly sore for a couple of days.

I would LIKE to think I can work up to 18 or 20 mile days...to cut down on the amount of food I have to carry, but don't know if it is realistic based on my physique. I would also like to handle the uphill parts better. So far, doing squats or leg machine exercises doesn't seem to do anything. Maybe "I yam what I yam." Still I am so glad to be able to get out there and dig nature.

[unclehud]

Mileage depends on several factors, the major ones being ...

1) Your backpacking shape: cardio, muscle tone, ability to shoulder the packweight
2) Terrain: steeper is slower -- up is slowest, but down is slow, too
3) Weather: mud, wet rocks, air temp
4) Pack weight: heavy makes it hard to go fast
5) Food and water already in your belly: calories ready to burn
6) Attitude: "Jeez, this is way too hard!"
7) Hiking companions

[unclehud]

8) Hours of sunlight

I've had enough experience to know I hike, fully burdened, about 2 mph on steep terrain and 3 mph on moderate terrain. I always budget 2 hours in the morning for cooking and breaking camp, and stop with about 1 hour of sunlight remaining to set up the tent and cook dinner.

Miles per day can be figured from all those parameters, and varies widely.

[fredmugs]

A few of the hot shots on here will make you feel like you're doing nothing if you do 10 miles a day, but they're UBER HIKERS.

99% of the population would never do 10 miles in a day with a full pack on.

When I thru hiked SNP, last year I averaged ten miles and I generally hiked about six hours. I was dead tired every day when I was done (except for the last day in which I magically did 18 miles). I was humbled when I got to a shelter and heard the thru hikers clicking off their mileages (26 and 31 stick in mind), but I hiked at around 1.75 miles per hour and passed most people on the trail and I was going farther than everyone except thru-hikers.

This year I did Georgia with my 9 and 11 year old kids and we did about 7 miles a day (my pack was heavier as I was carry extra food for them) so that slowed me down (the kids could have probably hiked a little more), but even then we were right on pace with many people out there.

I am proud of every mile I did and figure if I ever get to do my thru-hike I'll knock it up when I have to.

So hiking the 75 miles from Atkins - Damascus in 3 days and doing the 50 miles from there to Dennis Cove this Friday and Saturday makes me a hot shot uber hiker? Cool!

Seriously - the best advice you can get from this site is HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE. I normally get up when or before it's light outside and hit the trail early. Sitting around on my @$$ is not for me and I would rather shoot myself than pull into a shelter at 2:00 so I tend to hike until an hour so before it gets dark. I probably go 2.5 mph and end up averaging 2.2 mph when you factor in the breaks. I've found that hiking at a slower pace means I can go longer between breaks.

[fredmugs]

Mileage depends on several factors, the major ones being ...

1) Your backpacking shape: cardio, muscle tone, ability to shoulder the packweight
2) Terrain: steeper is slower -- up is slowest, but down is slow, too
3) Weather: mud, wet rocks, air temp
4) Pack weight: heavy makes it hard to go fast
5) Food and water already in your belly: calories ready to burn
6) Attitude: "Jeez, this is way too hard!"
7) Hiking companions

This is exactly what I mean by hike your own hike.

2. I hike faster uphill than I do downhill. Mostly because I'm an awesome hotshot uber hiker with tremendous leg strength and I intentionally go slower downhill to protect my 46 y/o knees.

4. True in general...maybe. I have a 15 ounce GoLite pack and with 20 pounds in it the lack of a hip belt causes the pack to irritate the middle of my back and I had to stop more often just to get the pack off. I also have 4.5 lb military back and can knock out 20+ mile days with 35 - 40 pounds (uber) no problem.

5.

6. Concur! Nothing gets me more pumped up than seeing a 1,000 foot or higher elevation gain.

7. Hiking companions will definitely slow you down.

[Plodderman]

Two miles per hour is comfortable and ten miles might be okay starting out but 12 to 15 is better with an occasional twenty miler.

I hike with a group sometimes but we hike at our own pace and we usually go 15 to 18 miles a day.

Seems like after a few days of hiking you hit a nice pace and build up some endurance. It is always different when hiking in a new place and we do not like to set up camp to early so we hike farther to eat up some time.

[CowHead]

not me at 51 and 218 I like doing 10 - 15 per day, 20+ I did once and boy did that hurt...

[bessiebreeze]

This sure has been a long discussion on hiking speed. It seems to be a very major consideration when doing the AT. With all this much emphasis on speed, don't you think the trail should be renamed to "The Appalachian Foot Race"?