Miles per hour and such

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Pack_Mule
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Miles per hour and such

Post by Pack_Mule »

I am looking to see what realistic expectations are for overnight (multi-day) backpacking (dayhikers and trail runners need not apply).

Swiftcurrent trailhead-Ptarmigan tunnel-Elizabeth Lake
Glenns Lake to Kootenai Lakes
Bowman Lake Head to Brown Pass
Brown Pass to Boulder Pass

We are (or so I think we are) relatively slow. Are 10-12 hour days, up and over passes, expected norms?

Thanks!
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paul
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Re: Miles per hour and such

Post by paul »

Pack_Mule wrote:I am looking to see what realistic expectations are for overnight (multi-day) backpacking (dayhikers and trail runners need not apply).

Swiftcurrent trailhead-Ptarmigan tunnel-Elizabeth Lake
Glenns Lake to Kootenai Lakes
Bowman Lake Head to Brown Pass
Brown Pass to Boulder Pass

We are (or so I think we are) relatively slow. Are 10-12 hour days, up and over passes, expected norms?

Thanks!
The only one of those hikes that comes even close to 10-12 hour day is the Glenns lake to Kootnei lakes. The rest are pretty reasonable days.

Swiftcurrent trailhead-Ptarmigan tunnel-Elizabeth Lake. It's about 10 miles, even a slow hiker would be in the 5-7 hour range for that.
Glenns Lake to Kootenai Lakes Where you start at Glens lake makes a difference. If at the foot, it will be a longer day. The head is shorter but still roughly 12 miles. I can't see this be greater than 8-9hrs though.
Bowman Lake Head to Brown Pass Lots of up hill but it's a reasonable distance. It's in the 5-6 hour range.
Brown Pass to Boulder Pass Pretty easy hike really, the uphill won't bother you much because you'll be floored by the scenery. It's like 6 miles. I'd say 4 hours because you'll probably be stopping and taking pictures a lot.
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Fairbanks142
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Re: Miles per hour and such

Post by Fairbanks142 »

If you're thinking you're on the slow side, a good rule of thumb may be to plan for 1 hour per mile, especially if there is a lot of elevation change, and including time for all of your breaks and stops.

And as Paul said, you'll want extra time for stopping to enjoy the scenery -- plenty of it on all of those routes with the exception of Bowman - Brown Pass.

Also if you're thinking of BRO being one of the nights on your itinerary, go with HOL instead. They may give you BRO as a substitute, but HOL is the way to go if you can get it. (And if your trip is after Aug 1st.)
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Re: Miles per hour and such

Post by Pack_Mule »

Thanks! You think 1mph includes snack/water breaks?

We will be applying for 3rd week in July, so I am hoping to score the Kintla route, up and over Boulder Pass as a walk-up; as opposed to the BOW-BRO route. But, I want to get something!

If you are familiar with the Tetons; we took the tram up to Rendezvous and hiked to Marion Lake. That ~6 miles took us about 6 hours :?
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Re: Miles per hour and such

Post by PeteE »

Pack_Mule wrote:Thanks! You think 1mph includes snack/water breaks?

We will be applying for 3rd week in July, so I am hoping to score the Kintla route, up and over Boulder Pass as a walk-up; as opposed to the BOW-BRO route. But, I want to get something!

If you are familiar with the Tetons; we took the tram up to Rendezvous and hiked to Marion Lake. That ~6 miles took us about 6 hours :?
I'm a "geezer" 71 next month....and pretty slow.
However, I'm pretty certain I could do the legs you mentioned at better than 1mph with the possible exception of GLF to KOO.

pete :wink:
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Re: Miles per hour and such

Post by Pack_Mule »

Haha. Ok thanks Pete
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Re: Miles per hour and such

Post by Jay w »

My max speed on pavement is about 16 min/mi (almost 4 mph). In order to go faster than that (4 mph or more), I have to run. For hiking, I've been able to hit 3 mph. With photography, my speed varies from 0 to 3 mph. E.g. it took me all day to hike to the end of Swiftcurrent Valley back. So what is that, a total of 6 miles. So ~0.7 mph. I think it's hard to predict if people are sled dogs or rubber-neckers.

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