Pace Mountain Trails,
Summit Before Sunset.
Free hiking calculators: trail time by distance and elevation, Naismith's rule with corrections, turnaround times, and daylight windows.
Naismith's Mountain Rule
Allow 1 hour for every 3 miles forward plus 1 hour for every 2,000 feet of vertical gain.
Backpack Weight Burden
Packs exceeding 20% of body weight slow ascent pacing by 10–15% on steep switchbacks.
Trail Water Carries
1 liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs; calculate minimum trail consumption before the dry ridge.
TrailTime Tools
Hiking Time Calculator (Naismith)
Hike duration from distance and elevation gain — Naismith's rule with grade and terrain corrections.
Turnaround Time Calculator
The time to turn around, computed before you start — the discipline that ends most search-and-rescue stories.
Daylight Window Calculator
Usable trail-light hours from start time and season — with the alpenglow and headlamp corrections.
Elevation Gain Time Calculator
The hours your climbing adds — per 1,000 feet, by grade steepness, with the descent-time reality check.
Practical Guides & Best Practices
Naismith's rule: 130 years old and still the best trail estimate
The Scottish origins, the validation history, and how to calibrate the rule to your own legs.
The turnaround time: mountaineering's cheapest safety device
Why pre-committed times work, how to set them, and the psychology of honoring them.
12 mistakes people make with hiking time
The recurring errors we see in hiking time — what causes each one, and the habit that prevents it.