Hiking speed

[BuckSnort]

I was wondering what you guys average as far as hiking speed going in with a loaded pack?

I seem to average 1 mph for hikes 5+ miles in... This is on a actual trail, bushwacking takes longer obviously...

The last hike I did was 6 miles in with a gain of 2200' the last mile was off trail and very steep... Pack weight was 52 lbs total..Took me 6 hrs in and only 3 hours out...

I usually average 2 mph coming out... I am severely out of shape compared to most of you guys on here and was just wondering how much slower I am lol..

Crappy part about where the areas close to home is it takes at least a 6 mile hike to reach timberline...

 

[luke moffat]

Terrain from place to place is so different its almost not even worth comparing hiking speeds. Sometimes with a loaded pack I average .25 miles per hour and sometimes I'm closing in on 4 miles per hour if I am getting with it and fresh. Just really hard to compare hiking speeds IMO. Its one of those things it takes as long as it takes.

 

[Nick Muche]

I walk fast...

 

[Jager]

When I was a frontline soldier, the rule of thumb, with a heavy pack on your back, setting an average pace, in moderate terrain, was around 5km per hour, approx. 2.6 miles? per hour. I used this to successfully navigate with map and compass, obviously very steep terrain will change this. With what we called a TAB (tactical advance to battle) and generally an extremely fast pace, this rule of thumb was doubled, obviously, the further the distance, the slower each 5 km's was done, to the point where 12 hrs was expected for 40 km's. I still work off these times today for navigation purposes, it is a bit of trial and error to see how far you can get between 2 known points on a map to ascertain how far you can push yourself. The issue you need to take into consideration, is, if you are pushing yourself hard, will your body and mind be able to cope with a monster trophy jumping out in front of you at any given time. If you can stomp 40 k's in under 6 hrs, chances are you won't be much good for putting a good stalk in straight after it. lol

 

[dotman]

I don't have a clue what my speed is, I start hunting as soon as I get out of the truck and all the way to my point B location. I'm always looking for sign and checking things out. So I guess I'm not a get from a to b as fast as I can guy.

 

[mtnkid85]

Like the other guys said, soo many variables. On a good trail with a moderate packweight I feel 3mph should be fairly attainable for most, 4 is really hauling butt and 2 is probally pretty common.
Of course things like elevation, pack weight, actually hunting or just traveling, day/night, weather, terrain, ect ect all play into this. Like Luke, when im "fresh and getting with it" I can usually hold something just a pinch over 3mph.

 

[fillthefreezer]

when i run with my gps on it gives me moving speed and overall avg. on good hiking trail my overall avg is around 1.5mph
in steep country off trail its usually .8/.9 all the way down to .7 when its real nasty or were near the end of the day and running low on gas.
this is pretty accurate and i was able to gauge a 3 day trip covering about 30miles within 15minutes for our pickup