Got humbled by a 9-mile loop near Boone when I planned it like a runner and not a hiker

Patricia Williams · 2026-10-22T08:30:05.968633+00:00

Last Saturday I set out to do a 9 mile loop in the Linville Gorge area thinking I'd knock it out in 4 hours flat. I'd been running 5Ks all summer so my legs felt great, but I made the rookie move of packing like I was going for a jog and not climbing 2,000 feet of rock steps. Around mile 3 my water was already half gone and I was breathing like a busted accordion, passing a guy in his 60s who looked at my little running vest and just said "you going all the way around with that?" I pushed on but the last 2 miles were pure misery, and I got back to the trailhead at 6 hours and 15 minutes instead of 4. It hit me that I'd been training my lungs but ignoring the part where a pack adds 15 pounds and the terrain doesn't care about your mile splits. Been rethinking every route I've mapped out since, going back to actual hiking miles and not run time. What's your rule of thumb for adding time per 1,000 feet of gain when you plan a loop?

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Got humbled by a 9-mile loop near Boone when I planned it like a runner and not a hiker | Backpacking Routes - Babble Community