Practical Hiking Slope/Vertical Gain Limitations While Hunting

[tomengineer]

I attempted to use the search function for this as I'm sure it's been asked and answered. I'm hunting Idaho for the first time this fall. The relief is something I've never had the chance to hike before. My question for those more experienced than myself is 1) What is a practical distance to cover in a day? Clearly this is a really wide open question as it doesn't factor in slope and ground cover but looking for general guidelines if possible. 2) What is a comfortable slope to try to stick to when route planning in onXmaps? It seems very easy to draw straight lines in onXmaps and then realize they are 28% ground slopes. Using switchbacks this can be reduced so I'm just wondering what people try to stick to when gaining elevation.

 

[520 Road Sow]

Its all relevant to the person and situation. What kind of mental and physical shape are you in and what can you handle? What's the terrain and weather like? Don't worry about a number. I can share examples of going 15 plus miles a day and examples of going 2 miles that take 12 hours. There's not a answer to your questions. My advice do what you can handle and enjoy it...... grow from it and learn. As time progresses so will you.

 

[TakeABreakAndTouchGrass]

Last year on Idaho I learned that my "steep" limit was a 200 foot elevation gain over 500 feet in distance. YMMV

 

[tomengineer]

Its all relevant to the person and situation. What kind of mental and physical shape are you in and what can you handle? What's the terrain and weather like? Don't worry about a number. I can share examples of going 15 plus miles a day and examples of going 2 miles that take 12 hours. There's not a answer to your questions. My advice do what you can handle and enjoy it...... grow from it and learn. As time progresses so will you.

Thank you. Yes I'm sure once I'm on the ground I'll find a natural balance on what I can handle under a pack load. Just trying to figure how far into the woods I can get in what time frame.

 

[520 Road Sow]

Thank you. Yes I'm sure once I'm on the ground I'll find a natural balance on what I can handle under a pack load. Just trying to figure how far into the woods I can get in what time frame.

Again all relevant buddy. Do you workout at a gym or what sort of physical activity do you do? I guess if you gotta measure it sometimes I'll do a ruck sack road March or the same thing on a treadmill I use a 50lb weight vest. I use a Pick an incline set a MPH and see what kind of distance you can cover in 1 hr and see how you feel. It's a great way to where your hot spots are with your pack and boots and what not. If you can maintain a 15 minute mile on a decent incline your doing pretty good.

 

[tomengineer]

Again all relevant buddy. Do you workout at a gym or what sort of physical activity do you do? I guess if you gotta measure it sometimes I'll do a ruck sack road March or the same thing on a treadmill I use a 50lb weight vest. I use a Pick an incline set a MPH and see what kind of distance you can cover in 1 hr and see how you feel. It's a great way to where your hot spots are with your pack and boots and what not. If you can maintain a 15 minute mile on a decent incline your doing pretty good.

Ok thanks that’s a good approach and benchmark on the 15 minute mile. Yeah I realize it’s a pretty general question just looking for quality input like yours. Thanks.

 

[hogcarpy]

Preseason training is extremely important. Having said that....From my experience you just got to go hunt and learn your body, its abilities, and limitations. A few years of experience will provide significant education. You will learn how much preseason training, food, and hydration management it takes to be successful. Packs, clothing, weapon, weather, snow pack, muddy/rocky terrain, sleep all play a part in distance/incline/days/speed as well.

 

[tomengineer]

Preseason training is extremely important. Having said that....From my experience you just got to go hunt and learn your body, its abilities, and limitations. A few years of experience will provide significant education. You will learn how much preseason training, food, and hydration management it takes to be successful. Packs, clothing, weapon, weather, snow pack, muddy/rocky terrain, sleep all play a part in distance/incline/days/speed as well.

Yes that’s what I’m starting to realize. At least the learning curve will be an adventure!

 

[b_ilse]

Practical distance will all depends on your fitness level and desire to go further. For some, thats 6 miles; while others, it’s 25. To throw a dart at the wall, I’d say 12-15 is on the upper end. Sure there’s days where I’ve had longer and have had shorter but I’d say that’s around the average day. As for slope...never really kept track. That’s purely a situational item. I’ve had climbs where I’ve used my hands to help grab things and climb and have had others where they might have been less of a degree but conditions weren’t safe. Level of energy is also another consideration. That’ll have to be purely a judgement call on ground. As for pre-route map scouting, I try my best to avoid closely laid topo lines.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

1) 20 miles on a logging road, 15 miles on a trail, 10 miles in PJ or aspens, 5 in oak brush, 2 in SE AK alders...

I can usually do 3-4mph on a flat road or trail and then drop .5 mph for every 250 ft per mile of incline I add.

 

[406LIFE]

Above answers are good.

I'd add that once I have elevation, I am very loathe to give it up.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Some other things to consider / sometimes you can sidehill or zigzag if there is no trail, trading less elevation for more miles. You’ll discover in a hurry if your flat terrain footwear are up to par for this kind of travel. Some places it’s impractical to travel off trail; the trails are where they are for a reason! You can get cliffed out and this isn’t always apparent on google earth pro when escouting. Conditions can change within a trip: snow, mud, ice can all turn a manageable trek into a dangerous one after you’re already up a mountain. I’d take a steep incline over a steep decline any day, even if I have to do a little bouldering. I have good balance and take a spill about once every 1000 miles backpacked, but even so did have one scary one on a decline and sliced my palm on the rocks. Trekking poles are handy - highly recommend trying them out

 

[El Jason]

Impossible question to answer definitively. 20% slope is getting steep and I can do about 1.5 miles an hour climbing something like that. As far as total distance, I’d you do 8-10 miles of that you’ll definitely feel it the next day.

 

[antlerradar]

Hiking is about the distance you can cover. Hunting is about how well you cover the distance.
I have never gave much thought into how far I could hike in a certain amount of time other then the hike in in the dark.

 

[tomengineer]

1) 20 miles on a logging road, 15 miles on a trail, 10 miles in PJ or aspens, 5 in oak brush, 2 in SE AK alders...

I can usually do 3-4mph on a flat road or trail and then drop .5 mph for every 250 ft per mile of incline I add.

Thanks for this. This seems pretty reasonable and I think I'll try to use this for planning purposes.

 

[tomengineer]

Hiking is about the distance you can cover. Hunting is about how well you cover the distance.
I have never gave much thought into how far I could hike in a certain amount of time other then the hike in in the dark.

Yes good comment. This line of questioning is based on walks in the dark from the truck to a spike camp location. I'm not trying to cover very much distance during daylight.

 

[tomengineer]

Impossible question to answer definitively. 20% slope is getting steep and I can do about 1.5 miles an hour climbing something like that. As far as total distance, I’d you do 8-10 miles of that you’ll definitely feel it the next day.

Ok thanks. I'm trying to stay under 20%. Another user posted a link to hill mapper which has been excellent in quickly seeing slopes.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Expect to go slower than you think and be pleased if its its only by a little.

 

[tomengineer]

Expect to go slower than you think and be pleased if its its only by a little.

Yes I'm in agreement with this. It's easy to draw lines on a topo map. I'd imagine harder to walk that route with a pack on.

 

[520 Road Sow]

Hiking is about the distance you can cover. Hunting is about how well you cover the distance.
I have never gave much thought into how far I could hike in a certain amount of time other then the hike in in the dark.

That's a trademark quote if I've ever seen one. Good one radar!