Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >
Topic Options
#165983 - 02/01/09 11:52 PM How many miles an hour hiking?
scafool Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1534
Loc: Muskoka
To expand a bit on the question.

If you had to resort to walking out of an area.

How many miles an hour do you think your group can make and over what kind of ground?
How about in a day or a week?
Are you counting time for feeding and sleeping?
Are you counting the weight of the packs slowing you down?

How about for a person you are looking for after they became lost?

I am like a snail.
_________________________
May set off to explore without any sense of direction or how to return.

Top
#165986 - 02/01/09 11:57 PM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: scafool]
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
Not being a bug out kinda guy, I would have to say zero...
_________________________
OBG

Top
#165988 - 02/02/09 12:01 AM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: scafool]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Bug out on foot? Not going to happen. It's too far to any kind of better shelter than what I have right here and both directions necessarily cross the major earthquake faults so the damage would increase.

If a bad earthquake hit while I was at work I'd figure 2-3 mph depending on the amount of damage/obstacles en route on the trip home, assuming I had to walk. I have a light pack that's just perfect for such a trek. The walk will take 8-12 hours, but before I did that I'd hunker down for a few days and camp out with the supplies in my truck. Fix a few roads and I wouldn't need to walk home after all.
_________________________
Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.
Okay, what’s your point??

Top
#165989 - 02/02/09 12:03 AM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: OldBaldGuy]
Eugene Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
This is where practice comes in to play. Get yourself a handheld GPS, doesn't have to do mapping or be color or anything like that, just needs to be able to log. Go find a park with a trail, turn on your GPS, walk until tired then turn off the gos and go home. Now download/export the log file and use any of the dozens of programs or web sites that can plot and analyze your log to see how how far you went, how fast you did it, your average speed, the elevation, etc. Now compare with the route you may need to work someday to get some benchmark to compare to.

Top
#165990 - 02/02/09 12:08 AM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: scafool]
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
Projecting 3ish map miles per hour. I say map miles because of the upping and downing- driving my primary route, the map says 96 miles, but my odometer thinks more like 110. I'm not going to push it- if you push it, you are more likely to hurt yourself. If I'm on foot, odds are 3mph vs 5 mph isn't going to mean diddly squat.

Unless they are 4 mph zombies. In which case... ah, man....
_________________________
-IronRaven

When a man dare not speak without malice for fear of giving insult, that is when truth starts to die. Truth is the truest freedom.

Top
#165995 - 02/02/09 12:27 AM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: ironraven]
Lono Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 1013
Loc: Pacific NW, USA
All of the above - you'll only move as fast and as far as the slowest person in your group. For me that probably means my teen age daughter and wife, my teenage son I know could handle at least 7 miles a day with a full pack based on Scout hikes, my daughter not so much, my wife least of all. If we were hiking out of the area together with full packs we might expect to make as little as 5-7 miles a day, which would call into question why we hit the road in the first place. Like alot of folks I'm probably biased towards sheltering in place, and evacuating from an area as early as possible, and always via a car.

Top
#165997 - 02/02/09 12:59 AM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: scafool]
Am_Fear_Liath_Mor Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 08/03/07
Posts: 3078
Quote:
How many miles an hour do you think your group can make and over what kind of ground?
How about in a day or a week?
Are you counting time for feeding and sleeping?
Are you counting the weight of the packs slowing you down?


This all depends on the terrain, the weather, the pack weight and the level of fitness.

You may find the following interview entertaining, the experiences of the Maggie Hems about the enjoyment of the TGO challange crossing (A walk across Scotland in Spring), getting her pack weight down to 15kg and walking as a solo lady.

http://backpackinglight.audioblog.com/deluge/167d028d-85f3-c98d-73b5-ef1ca08588a0.mp3





Edited by Am_Fear_Liath_Mor (02/02/09 01:01 AM)

Top
#165998 - 02/02/09 01:30 AM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: Am_Fear_Liath_Mor]
Dagny Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 11/25/08
Posts: 1918
Loc: Washington, DC
Think we would be capable of 20-25 miles the first couple of days leaving DC. It's pretty level for 90 miles west. We routinely walk 10 miles on the C&O Canal, in 3 hours, carrying daypacks.

3 miles an hour on flat ground.

1 mile an hour on a steep climb (such as a mountain pass).

That's with a backpack and a gallon of water.

Have done day hikes up to 13-miles gaining and losing 2500-feet of elevation. Carrying a gallon of water-Gatorade (it's humid here) but not as much gear as I would in an evacuation scenario (for one thing I'd have to carry dog food in an evacuation scenario).

There are many variables, of course: motivation (radiation or bioterror behind me would provide adrenaline), pack weight, weather, terrain.

I have three mountain bikes and two bike trailers. Those would certainly be preferable to walking.

Top
#165999 - 02/02/09 01:42 AM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: Dagny]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Originally Posted By: Dagny
(for one thing I'd have to carry dog food in an evacuation scenario).

Your dog needs a pack so he/she/it can carry his/her/its own food.
_________________________
Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.
Okay, what’s your point??

Top
#166002 - 02/02/09 02:27 AM Re: How many miles an hour hiking? [Re: scafool]
Sherpadog
Unregistered


The type of terrain, genetics, fitness and mental level of indidviduals, footwear, the weather and many more variables need to be factored in.

For me personally, I know that I can walk 7.7 kms (4.6 miles) in 1 hour 5 minutes on concrete with carrying a pack that weighs anywhere from 6 to 20 lbs. I do this at least twice a week walking to and from work which makes a single day total of 9 miles.

Even one way at 4.6 miles, I know that I could not keep this pace for hours on end. At best, perhaps 3-4 hours broken up over a day while the rest of time at a slower pace of perhaps 3 to 4 miles per hour. At this rate, figure on about a 28-30 mile day. Keep in mind that this would be the extreme and that I am better shape then 99% of my contemporaries and I also cycle over 2000 miles per year. How many days could I do walk at this rate? Maybe 3-4 days in a row before the feet and legs start to have problems as walking on concrete with a heavy pack is extremely hard on the bones and muscles.

To take into consideration other people who may be with me. My partner (ex marathoner / tri-athlete / adventure racer), she can keep up with me for a few hours but certainly not for many hours or days. If it was just her and I carrying 20 lb packs, 20-25 mile days are doable on concrete. If the weight of the packs were not a factor then this distance could be exceeded....believe me, I would be on the lookout for the first available baby stroller etc to carry the packs in.

As for other people in the group, my son and daughters who are in their mid teens are no slouches, both are good athletes and I know from previous experience, they are very capable of walking long distances and could probably outwalk us both in the long run (no pun intended).

For others who may be in a group, this includes other fmaily members or most friends, the distance would not be measured in miles, rather in hours. I would suspect that most would be done in by hour 3...even at a slow pace.

Walking offroad on mountain trails, foresty roads etc, this is a totally different matter. Depending on the terrain and weather, the days walking distance can be measured in single digits.

For example, a hike we regularly do in summer takes 2 hours each way over an 6 km (3.6 miles) distance and over some steep terrain. This same hike yesterday took almost double the amount of the time due to the warmer then expected afternoon sun heating up and melted the previously walkable on snow crust that had us falling through up to our knees into slush below. By time we got down off the mountain, my partner and I were tired, wet, sore and hungry. There is no way that this type of walking can be sustained for hours...let alone days on end.

In summer, the most I have covered in a single day in rough mountainous terrain over an elevation gain of 6200 feet is 17 miles...and it just about did me in. On less steep ground, 2 miles an hour is about our average and over a very long day, 20 miles has been done on good trails with pack weights between 25-35 lbs. Over a number of days, these distances would be much shorter with each passing day as this pace cannot be substained carrying any amount of weight.

Lastly, the above is based on our experiences and our physical conditioning. YMMV (Your mileage may vary)....really.

Top
Page 1 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
2 registered (Ratch, Jeanette_Isabelle), 322 Guests and 4 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
03/27/24 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
03/27/24 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.