How fast do most people walk when hiking?

Most planning guidelines suggest between 4-5 km/h (2.5-3 mph) on decent terrain, but your actual speed depends on fitness, pack weight, and ground conditions. The best approach is to time yourself over a known distance on your next walk to find your personal comfortable pace.

Do I need to count every step to estimate distance while walking?

No, step counting is tedious and unnecessary for most people. Instead, use your watch to track time, estimate your walking speed, and count major features like streams or gates—this combination gives you enough accuracy without the mental exhaustion.

How much does going uphill slow you down?

Traditional guidance suggests adding one minute for every 10 metres of ascent to your normal walking time. So if you're climbing 300 metres, you'd add about 30 minutes to whatever the horizontal distance would normally take you.

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How to Estimate Distance on the Ground Without Counting Every Step

Learning to roughly estimate how far you've walked using nothing more than your watch, your normal pace, and a bit of terrain awareness turns out to be surprisingly useful when the fog rolls in and every tussock looks identical to the last one.

2 November 202612 min read