the same example, divide the number of kilometers to be hiked by 1.6. Calculate the total meters of ascent, divide it by 305, and multiply that number by 1 hour. Add up all the hours to find the total hiking hours for the day. Using the same example from above, the estimated time to hike this route would be:
12.8 kilometers ÷ 1.6 kilometers per hour = 4 hours + (610 ÷ 305) × 1 hour [ascent]
4 hours + 2 hours = 6 hours + (6 × 5 minutes for rest breaks) = 6 hours 30 minutes
These calculations will give you basic transit time. This doesn’t include longer stops for meals, stops for scenic views and photos, etc. You will need to add time in for these things each day based on information from maps and guidebooks or personal experience with the area. Once you are hiking, check your actual time against the time you calculated for your route. By keeping a daily Trip Log (page) with information on hiking times, trail conditions, rest breaks, etc., you can refine your estimates. Use your actual travel time to revise your estimates for the next day of your trip. If there is a significant discrepancy, you may need to revise your route plan.
A Time Control Plan is just that: a plan for controlling your time on the trail each day. Creating a daily Time Control Plan will help you get to your planned destination on time and reduce the potential for accidents. (See “Safety and Emergency Procedures.”)
Here’s an imaginary example. You are planning a summer day hike to the top of an 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) peak in the Pyrenees or Alps in late July. There won’t be any snow on the trails at that time. The hike starts at 2,700 feet (820 meters). It’s 6.25 miles to the summit (10 kilometers). You know that afternoon thunderstorms may occur, and you need to be off the exposed ridgelines of the peak by early afternoon. You calculate that it will take you 5 hours to reach the summit including rest breaks. It will then take you 2 hours to get back to the treeline at 6,000 feet (1,800 meters). You decide to start hiking at 5:00 A.M. Your plan has you arriving at the summit at 10:30 A.M. You plan for 30 minutes for lunch on the summit, with a departure time of 11:30 A.M. to start heading back (an extra 30 minutes of buffer time). This gets you back to treeline at 1:30 P.M. – within your window of safety for afternoon storms. As you can see, this is just a one-day hike and there were lots of time-control parameters.
The following table will help you plan each day. Start with what time you will get up, and then fill in times for each day’s activities. Remember all of the factors discussed earlier to help determine your route, such as participant age, experience, and physical condition, as well as trail conditions, pack weight, and weather. Add up all the times and then subtract that from the hours of daylight.
If your result is a negative number, you’re likely to end up arriving after dark. Look at the route and see if hiking in the dark would put you on a difficult section of the trail. If that presents a problem, go back to the drawing board and make some changes—cut down the mileage, decide if you can hike faster, or get up earlier.
TIME REQUIRED
| +____minutes | How long will it take you to break camp? |
| +____minutes | Are there any special places you want to explore? |
| +____minutes | Based on your estimated travel time, how long will your group take to hike the distance? |
| +____minutes | Are there any hindrances to travel, such as river crossings or bushwhacks, that will add additional time? |
| +____minutes | How much time is needed for rest breaks and meals? |
| +____minutes | How long it will take to set up a proper Leave No Trace camp? |
| =____hours ____minutes | Add all of the above for your total time. |
| −____hours ____minutes | Subtract the number of hours of daylight. |
| ____hours ____minutes | Total Planned Travel Time—if this is a negative number, you don’t have enough hours of daylight, so think about replanning. |
Planning a long-distance trip is a whole different ballgame from a few days or a week. Once you get into multiweek or multimonth trips, you can’t carry all of your food on your back, so you have to start thinking about resupply. There are far too many things to cover about long-distance backpacking in the space provided here, but these general guidelines will get you started, and the Bibliography includes references for long-distance hiking.
Are there resupply locations within a reasonable hike from the trail at the intervals you need? Hike out, buy food, and hike back in.
Can someone meet you along the trail for resupply?
Can you mail items to yourself care of General Delivery? This works for nonperishable food items. Pack food for the period between post offices and mail it to yourself. You’ll need to know where the post offices are and plan how you’ll get to them from the trail. For trails like the Appalachian Trail, all of this information is well documented for through-hikers.
Do you develop some sort of meal rotation so you don’t have to eat the same mac & cheese dinner every night and also don’t have to plan a ridiculous number of meals? Don’t plan too much—many through-hikers find that their tastes change as they go through the trip.
What other items besides food will you need to replenish (fuel, batteries, etc.)? Many hikers handle some of these needs through a “bump box” or “drift box.” They mail things ahead of themselves to the next General Delivery site and can pick up items they need temporarily, like toenail clippers and a razor, then send them on again and not have to carry them.
How you answer these questions is going to have a big impact on both your route and food planning. It might be 5 days between your resupply one week and 8 days the next.
Many of us go to the wilderness for a sense of freedom. We leave civilization behind and feel this great connection with the outdoors. It’s funny how we also tend to bring everything but the kitchen sink with us in order to feel “comfortable” in the outdoors. All that weight has an impact on hiking speed, your joints, how much mileage you can cover, what you can see, and just the pure pleasure of hiking. Think about those great day hikes you’ve been on with lightweight boots and a small daypack on your back; you just eat up the miles. Then you come back to the same place for a multiday trip and you’ve got 50+ pounds (22+ kilograms) on your back. Where you were flying before, you’re now just trudging along. But there is an alternative. Ultralight backpacking is as close to flying on the trail as you can get, and throughout the book I’ll give you tips on how to incorporate ultralight practices in your backpacking trips. Watch for the feather logo and the GOING ULTRALIGHT heading to help you plan your
