Comparing Two Hikes: Rating, Energy Miles and Time
Choosing between two routes for a day out is one of the most common planning questions, and one of the easiest to get wrong. "Which is harder?" sounds like it has one answer. Run two contrasting routes through the site's calculators and you find it has several, depending on what you mean by harder. This guide compares a long, gentle hypothetical route with a short, steep one, and shows what each number is telling you.
The two routes
- Route A: 18 km out and back with 400 m of total climb. A long valley walk to a lake, gently rising all the way.
- Route B: 10 km out and back with 1,100 m of total climb. A steep path straight up to a summit and back down.
Number 1: the difficulty rating
The Trail Difficulty Rating uses the Shenandoah formula, the square root of twice the feet of gain times the miles:
| Route | Miles | Feet of gain | Rating | Band | Energy miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: 18 km, 400 m | 11.18 | 1,312 | 171.3 | Strenuous | 12.5 |
| B: 10 km, 1,100 m | 6.21 | 3,609 | 211.8 | Very strenuous | 9.8 |
By the rating, Route B is harder: 211.8 against 171.3, a band higher. The formula weights climb and distance equally, and Route B has nearly three times the climb.
Number 2: energy miles
Petzoldt's energy miles, distance in miles plus one mile per 1,000 feet of gain, say the opposite. Route A comes to 12.5 energy miles, Route B to 9.8. By this measure, Route A is the bigger day.
The two formulas disagree because they combine distance and climb differently. Energy miles add them, so a long route stays long however gentle it is. The Shenandoah rating multiplies them under a square root, so it rewards balance: a route with a lot of one and little of the other scores lower than a route with a moderate amount of both. Neither is wrong. They are measuring slightly different things.
Number 3: time
The Hiking Time Calculator at average pace:
- Route A: 4h 16m by Naismith's rule (Tobler cross-check 3h 52m).
- Route B: 3h 50m by Naismith (Tobler 2h 55m).
Route A takes longer, by about 25 minutes of moving time by Naismith. The gap between the two estimates for Route B, almost an hour, is a warning sign in itself: it means the route is steep, and steep routes are where the cross-check runs short. Expect Route B's real time to sit near or beyond the Naismith figure, especially on the descent, which Naismith's rule does not charge for at all. A steep, rough descent can take as long as the climb. See why Naismith and Tobler differ.
Number 4: energy
The Hiking Calorie Burn Calculator works leg by leg. For a 72 kg hiker with a 6 kg day pack:
- Route A: 9 km up at 4.4% at 3.5 km per hour on firm trail, about 795 kcal at 359 W; then 9 km back down at 4 km per hour, about 235 kcal. Roughly 1,030 kcal.
- Route B: 5 km up at 22% at 2.5 km per hour on rocky trail, about 1,166 kcal at 677 W; then 5 km down at 3 km per hour, about 155 kcal at the calculator's standing-metabolism floor. Roughly 1,321 kcal, with the descent figure a known underestimate.
Route B costs more energy in total and, more strikingly, demands it at nearly twice the rate on the climb: 677 watts against 359. That working rate is what you feel as hard breathing, a pounding heart and the need to stop. Route A is a long, steady effort; Route B is a short, intense one.
So which is harder?
It depends on what you are asking:
- Which needs more hours of daylight? Route A on the estimates, though Route B's steep descent could close the gap.
- Which is harder on the heart and lungs? Route B, clearly.
- Which is harder on the knees? Route B: 1,100 m of steep descent with every step taking your weight.
- Which suits a hiker who walks a lot but rarely climbs? Route A.
- Which is more exposed to weather? Probably Route B, going to a summit; the numbers cannot tell you, but the map can.
The useful habit is not to pick one number as the answer, but to notice when the numbers disagree and ask why. Disagreement means the routes are different kinds of hard.
A third route in between
Suppose there is also a middle option, Route C: 14 km with 750 m of climb. It rates 206.9, very strenuous, with 11.2 energy miles, and takes 4h 03m by Naismith (3h 21m by Tobler).
Route C shows the Shenandoah formula's preference for balance clearly. It has less climb than Route B and less distance than Route A, yet it rates almost as high as B and well above A, because it has a fair amount of both. By energy miles it sits between the other two, and by time it sits between them too. If you want a single route that tests both stamina and climbing, C is it; if you want to train one of those specifically, A or B does it more directly.
The pace setting changes the answer too
The comparison above used the average pace setting. A hiker carrying an overnight pack, or a group with slower walkers, should use "leisurely / heavy pack", which adds 25%. Route B at that setting becomes 4h 47m by Naismith, nearly an hour longer than at average pace. A route that looks like a short morning to a fit solo walker can be most of a day for a mixed group, and the steepest route usually stretches the most in practice because steep descents slow tired and heavily loaded walkers the most.
What none of the numbers can see
All of these figures are estimates from distance, climb and a few settings. None of them knows about footing, exposure, scrambling, river crossings, altitude, heat, snow, or the state of the trail this week. Before choosing, read the full trail description, check the land manager's current conditions and any closures or warnings, and look at the forecast for both routes: a summit route in a thunderstorm forecast is a different proposition from a valley walk on the same day.
Turning the choice into a plan
Whichever route you pick, put its realistic time, including breaks and a slower descent, into the Daylight Turnaround Calculator for the time you must turn back, and into the Water Needs Calculator. For Route B, plan water around the strenuous effort level; for Route A, around the longer hours. Carry the essentials, tell someone your route and your expected return, and know the local emergency number.
If one route is clearly beyond your recent hikes on every measure, it is worth working up to it. Our guide to stepping up to a strenuous hike uses the rating to plan the build-up.