Distance

[subtletylost]

i can walk 2 miles up a mountain over creek sticks root and up a little rock wall and then back down again in an hour and 10 minutes. (on an average friday because i have to for school.)

 

[Arkose]

What should also be brought up is the mental strength/fatigue.

Ever hear of "Hitting the Wall?" It is an endurance term that describes a sudden loss of energy that one will have to push through. It hiking/walking long distances the same problem will likely occur. The individual or individuals will have to decide to either keep going or stop. A group is more likely to push on becuase no one wants to be the "weak link." A smaller group can have the same dynamics, but an individual will not.

You can reinforce or introduce a personality trait for your characters. A character can be pushy, eager to please, superiority issues, competitive, lazy, mentally weak, strong willed. A long hike gives you a window into the characters soul.

 

[allmywires]

Thank you all - it's been so helpful. To clarify, my characters are all fit and used to walking long distances (they're either from a military background or are used to endurance) and most of the terrain they have to cross is flat plains or desert - at the beginning at least.

 

[Sapheron]

From my moderate (at best) experience, I'd guess that a group of fit, motivated people as you suggest could keep up three miles an hour for a whole day so long as they had food, water, enough sleep last night, etc. Especially as you suggest flat ground as well. I do wonder if they're using a road? A firm, even surface might not seem much different to dirt and grass for a quick walk in the park, but for long distance, multiple day stuff it makes a lot of difference. There's a reason those Romans loved building them.

Still, I think it would be reasonable to assume that they could walk for ten hours a day, perhaps a little more, depending on the need for haste, how soon it got dark, and so on. As such, somewhere in the region of thirty to forty miles a day doesn't seem impossible. I think that if tough people really wanted to they could perhaps get as much as fifty miles a day, but I can't imagine that being a rate you could keep up for more than one or two days in a row unless you had a particular talent for endurance.

 

[Montero]

Group of fit people, ex military.

Hhm.

Thinking group of super-fit people - the Para's famous yomp across the Falkland Islands. No idea how long it took, but that would give you a serious upper limit for short grassed hill country. (So not much use for desert, but hey.... )

Desert - are you talking sandy that your feet sink into and drag you back every step, or rocky sort of desert?

 

[allmywires]

Rocky desert, yeah. And they are following a road across the plains for most of the time.

 

[Abernovo]

Heat and sun degrade your ability to walk, so crossing deserts can take longer. Get up early, walk in the cool. Stop in the worst of the heat, finding shelter if there is any, making it with clothes if not. Walk again in the evening cool.

I was told not to drink too much during the day on hot treks, as you sweat it straight out. Drink in the evening, so that you hydrate overnight. Not sure how true that is.

I used to basically walk for a living (gamekeeping and wildlife protection) and we used to budget for 15-20 miles (24-32km) a day. That gave us leeway for good and bad days and for different terrains and weather. It was also sustainable for several days, if we needed to.

 

[Gumboot]

Rocky desert, yeah. And they are following a road across the plains for most of the time.

Hard surfaces allow you to move faster, but really hard surfaces (such as rock and roads) are harder on joints and after a few days you'll suffer serious fatigue. Those dead flat surfaces are also really nasty at reflecting the sun's heat which saps energy like you wouldn't believe. I'd recommend when crossing the plains that they walk beside the road, not on it.

If it's a small group and the terrain is relatively flat, however, they could cover 100 miles pretty quickly, I'd say four days (another presumption is they're trying to do it as quickly as they can; if they're taking their time it could take twice that long). One question though; how well equipped are they? Flat terrain suggests a lack of provisions from the environment, and desert guarantees it. The weight in water alone for a 100 mile journey would significantly slow them down. My hiking pack typically weighs about 25kg and that's with 2L of water on board, refilling from local streams etc. A well equipped group covering 100 miles and having to carry their own water would be humping up towards 35kg each which would dramatically slow them down and increase their rate of fatigue.

 

[Sapheron]

Though depending on the circumstances of the story they might not be carrying very much. Although you might be sensible and well prepared, Gumboot, the characters of our stories are rarely so well off in sense or luck. Of course, water at least is needed though, unless they have some other means to cope.

As to comments about hard roads sapping strength. Yes, as you say, day after day on a hard road can take its toll. However, until the toll is taken firm footing is a bonus, and in the time needed to cross 100 miles (or was it km?), especially if they are in a hurry, I think they would be alright. Then again, depending on its exact nature, the ground of a rocky desert might be about as solid as a road.

 

[Vertigo]

Walking on a smooth road (doesn't have to be metalled, just smooth) is particularly hard on not just the joints but also the muscles. The reason for this is, on a smooth surface your muslces act almost exactly the same on every step. This repetition is extremely tiring for them. Walking over slightly rougher ground is paradoxically easier. Because the ground is uneven each time you put a foot down and push off again the angle will be a little different, so your muscles are used slightly differently. You might not expect that to make much difference but believe me, on a long day, it makes an astonishingly big difference.

The normal calculation for walking times is 5kph plus 1 minute per ten metres of ascent (obviously very rough ground can slow things some). I do quite a lot of walking and I find I generally go a little faster than this, however when backpacking (carrying tent, bedding, cooker, fuel, food) I tend to go almost smack on this rate (even including breaks).

At this rate and carrying all that stuff on a long multi-day walk I generally plan on about 28 kilometres (17.4 miles) a day. I can keep that up for about 10-14 days. After that, unless I have really been working on my fitness, the biggest problem is not muscles (by then they have gone past hurting and have stared building up more stamina), but rather joints, my hips in particular, and that is caused, not by the walking itself, but rather by supporting the extra weight of the sack (around 15 kg typically) and not being accustomed to carrying that weight for so long. Again if you do this kind of waking all the time then that too would improve.

Another thing is don't necessarily figure that older people not be able to do as much. In my experience older people (up to maybe 70-75 years) if reasonably fit, can often go further though possibly a little (not much) slower. I have often been out in a mixed age group and in the morning the younger folk are itching to go faster. The older folk plod along at the same speed all day and, come the end of the day, they are still going strong, no faster, no slower, whilst the yougsters are lagging and looking distinctly ragged.

Just to give a specific example some years back I did the Coast to Coast walk. This is some 190 miles which I did in 10 days (might have been 11 with one rest day in the middle), carrying full backpack, and spending every night in the tent. The route goes over the Lake District, the Penines and the North York Moors so it does have a lot of up and down but is mostly on good paths. 3 days from the end you have to do about 25 miles across the Vale of Mowbray and, though flat, most of this is on tarmac. Both my two dogs and I had been fine up to this point but that day destroyed us (yes the dogs as well - very fit collie mongrels). Next day as we set off into the North York Moors we were definitely hobbling.

 

[stephen.samuels]

You also have to ask the question of physiology, are your characters healthy? Are they fit? Does their capacity exceed ours? Then it is a question of environment, is there world different from ours? If so, how so? Then consider how this may affect their physical performance.

For example it may be that your character grew up above sea level, if this is the case then ability to run long distances will be enhanced. Similarly if the atmosphere is denser then it may be harder to breathe, if this the case then that will mean they can travel a shorter distance.

As per terrain, if your character is physically active then it is highly likely that they will be able to cover various terrains with relative ease. I believe it is very much specific to the character.

In terms of covering distance, a marathon is 26.2 miles and a good marathon time for an all out effort for most would be three and half hours. But that would a singular effort and would require rest afterward.

Also consider the differing capacities of your party some differ greatly from others. Also you need to be as consistent as possible.

hope this helps

 

[Sapheron]

Stuff about walking...

I bow to your superior experience, as it seems you have far more than I. However, from what I have done I have always found that for a day or two days journey the flatter and firmer the surface the better I cope. Perhaps that's been for other reasons I have yet to realise.

 

[goldhawk]

I bow to your superior experience, as it seems you have far more than I. However, from what I have done I have always found that for a day or two days journey the flatter and firmer the surface the better I cope. Perhaps that's been for other reasons I have yet to realise.

Yes, that's because you are constantly walking uphill. On softer ground you sink deeper and need to lift yourself out of the deeper depressions. It doesn't bother you much for short distances but does take more energy for longer ones. Firm ground means less sinking and less walking "uphill".

 

[James Coote]

It's really just walking on tarmac that is a problem

 

[Vertigo]

Actually it's not just tarmac that is the problem, though it certainly does create discomfort from the un-cushioned impact of your heel on the ground. However the problem is actually much more sublte due to the highly repetitive nature of the walking. On normal rough/uneven ground your foot is always going down at slightly different angles this requires slightly different muscles to come into play to compensate for that angle and this in turn spreads the load. On completely flat ground you will initially feel more comfortable (and will certainly be faster) but your leg muscles, those that you have actually been using, will suffer more and you are more likely to suffer cramps after you have stopped.

This a fairly well known problem with long distance walking but it is not the sort of thing you would notice over a couple of days walking.

 

[Sapheron]

So it's kind of a repetitive strain injury, essentially? That's interesting. Having said that, on the roads I'm familiar with there's not a flat surface in sight. In fact, often the fields are the flatter part. Damn Fens.

 

[Vertigo]

Ah yes I know roads like that!!! Yes it is a sort of repetitive strain thing but not on the same scale. RSI usually involves damage to tendons/ligaments whereas this is just tiring the muscles through repetitive identical movements (or nearly identical).

So for example I can sustain 17-20 miles a day walking across country for 10 days, but if I do 20 miles day all on road or good track I think I'd need a break after a couple of days.

 

[MstrTal]

Ah yes I know roads like that!!! Yes it is a sort of repetitive strain thing but not on the same scale. RSI usually involves damage to tendons/ligaments whereas this is just tiring the muscles through repetitive identical movements (or nearly identical).

So for example I can sustain 17-20 miles a day walking across country for 10 days, but if I do 20 miles day all on road or good track I think I'd need a break after a couple of days.

I read a fantasy novel that involved just this! I can not remember for the life of me the name, author or even major plot points (happens when one has read a few dozen thousand books ) but the point is the characters after weeks or months of trekking were quite fine until they come to this odd cave. Upon entering this odd cave via a secret entrance they travel upon what is essentially a modern day highway under a couple of mountains for a few days or weeks and it just exhausts them. Of course the existence of a modern tar covered asphalt highway under a couple of mountains in a pure fantasy setting is explained away as lost technology.

The point is the characters hiked over hill and dale in all sorts of weather just fine yet they suffered after a couple of days hiking on asphalt.

 

[Vertigo]

Ah! An author who has done their research