Hike Time Calculator
I have worked out a good formula for calculating how long a planned hike will take Molly and I. We have tested it and revised it over the years until it has become very accurate. I decided to give Javascript a try and creating a "Hike Time Calculator" looked like a good project to start with. So, I will post it here and up date it as the project progresses. Enjoy!
Molly and I hike at a speed of about 3.2 miles per hour on a level hike. This can be a little quick for some and a little slow for others. So, I decided to make "Hiking speed" a variable for the calculation because most hikers/walkers will have a general idea how fast they are. How fast people are with an elevation gain, of a thousand feet or more, is another thing. This I have learned, for us, over time. At this point, this part of the calculation will be 1 hour for every 1000 elevation gain (30 minutes going and 30 minutes comming back). If you are calculating a hike that will be a one-way hike, check the box and a value of 30 minutes will be added for every 1000 feet of gain . I should add that the hike time given as an answer includes time for Molly to sniff things along the trail, time for photographs, and time for food and rest.
When planning a recent hike I used Molly's Hiking Time Calculator. I input my speed as 3.2 mph. Estimated elevation gain at 1400 ft. The estimated distance at 8.5 miles. The calculator gave an answer of 4 hours and 3 minutes. After completing the hike I used the actual elevation gain of 1900 ft and a total distance of 8 miles to get the answer of 4 hours and 24 minutes. The actual time of the total hike was 4 hours 16 minutes. As you can see, the estimated time is very close to the actual. I hope this calculator works as well for you as it works for Molly and I.