Hiking Rating System. Is that trail right for me?

Part 1: How difficult is this hike, really?

“Beginner”, “moderate”, “strenuous”, “moderately-strenuous”, “easy”, “hard”:  OMG!!  How do I know if this hike is for me?  Luckily there is a way you can can figure it out using a hiking rating system.

It happens to all of us…you were scrolling through your Instagram or Facebook feed and see a hike that you MUST do, you just HAVE to do it. Your life WILL NOT BE COMPLETE until you have crossed this hike off of your bucket list and posted a photo to prove it.   But yikes…it looks challenging; it looks awfully steep getting up to that amazing viewpoint.  Then you think, I’ve been a couch potato lately; I’ve never really hiked before. Can I make it?  Doubt is setting in. 

So, then you do what any normal person would do- you start Googling.  It’s no help- you find THE hike, YOUR hike, described dozens of different ways.  Can you make it?  You still don’t know. Time to do the next logical thing- you launch your AllTrails app.  You frantically read every review posted in the last three years.  You begin to scroll like a crazy person, analyzing the time of the year the review was posted, the age of the reviewer, whether or not the reviewer is “Pro”.  Based on all the reviews, you conclude that the hike is either the easiest or most difficult hike in the world.

Time to Assess

You may not realize it, but you are actually asking yourself two different questions:

1) How difficult (or not) is the hike?

2) Is the hike appropriate for me?

The best way to answer both questions is really through experience.  Like all analysis, you need some type of comparative benchmark, a control, a trail against which to measure other trails.  And, you need to learn your physical and mental abilities.  How can you do this?  By hitting the trail- in a safe and responsible fashion, or course.  Being responsible means researching a trail beforehand and making well-informed decisions.  For emphasis, I will repeat using caps:  BEING RESPONSIBLE MEANS RESEARCHING A TRAIL BEFOREHAND. 

Below are some insights into how I gauge the difficulty of a trail and aim to make responsible decisions…

How difficult is the hike, really?

This question is a lot tougher to answer than it sounds- there is no steadfast system for classifying hikes.  Different groups throughout the United States use different rating and classification systems.  Sometimes, smaller chapters of a national group may even adopt their own method- what works in New Hampshire may not work in Arizona.  Organized groups like AMC and the Sierra Club do a good job of providing descriptions for their classifications on their websites and in their newsletters.  They account for distance, elevation gain, and typically add some type of descriptor for terrain.  

It gets a bit muddier when it comes to Meetup and Facebook groups.  Those ratings are often based on the fitness level of the leader or organizer and may not be published anywhere, not to mention that these groups may have dozens of leaders and organizers, all with their own idea of “moderate”.  You may even encounter some that describe bouldering as rocky.  And yes, while boulders are technically rocks, it is a bit deceiving. 

So, if we can’t come up with a neat and tidy classification system, what do we need to think about in order to be responsible and make reasoned decisions? 

Distance

Distance:  How long is the hike?  This one seems pretty self-explanatory.  The longer the hike is, the more taxing it will be on your endurance.  There are several apps and tools that you can use to find out how long a route is.  My go-tos are AllTrails, Gaia, and FarOut.  They can also be used to help you determine the three items below.

Elevation Gain and Elevation Loss

Elevation Gain:  The total distance you will ascend over the course of the hike, aka the climb.  More elevation gain = harder hike.  This is where you will really firm up those legs and booty!

Elevation Loss:  The total distance you will descend over the course of the hike.  When I was young and lean with springy joints, I didn’t pay attention to elevation loss as much, or at all, really.  Now that I am older with a little meat on my bones (and weight on my joints), it is a BIG consideration.  For me, elevation loss is the determining factor in whether or not I’ll be able to get out of my car post hike without doing the dirty diaper wobble.

Grade (aka Slope)

Grade (aka Slope):  Technically defined as “the inclination between two points,” and calculated as rise/run (finally, a use for that 7^th grade math class they made me sit through).  In common language- how steep the trail is (up or down). 

Seems basic, right?  Here’s where it gets tricky- how do all the pieces fit together?  Consider that all three elevation profiles below depict an eleven-mile hike with 2,300’ of elevation gain and 2,300’ of elevation loss. 

These are three totally different hikes! And…I would have totally different thoughts about each hike based upon my abilities and preferences:

Hike #1:  Gee, this looks pretty steep going up and down.  My knees and ankles are really going to hurt after that downhill.  At least it is at the end and I will pretty much be at my car already.

Hike #2.  All those ups and downs will give my muscles, lungs, and knees a chance to recover.  I can really get my cardio going!  This is going to be a great workout.

Hike #3.  Ugh- I hate going uphill at the end…at least the slope is gentle. 

This is what makes classifying hikes so subjective and difficult.

Classifying Hikes

If I didn’t provide a difficulty level when advertising a hike, only two types of people would sign up:  mega-hikers who can slay any trail, and first-time hikers who skipped the beginning of this post and didn’t think to ask.  So, I do my best to somewhat objectively relay what the trail will be like.  It’s kinda tricky and even though I aim to avoid it, there is always an element of subjectivity. 

Shenandoah National Park Scale

Shenandoah National Park Scale:  I gravitate towards the scale used by Shenandoah National Park to classify the difficulty.  I prefer it for a few reasons: 

1. Shenandoah National Park (SNP) is one of my favorite places EVER
2. The classifications are on par with how beat-up I feel at the end of a hike
3. Many of my hikes are in that general area
4. I am a nerd and it involves a square root calculation (another throwback to middle school math). 

Finally and most importantly, using the same criteria for every hike allows me to be somewhat consistent and to somewhat reliably convey what to expect to those hiking with me.  This system also provides me with a baseline for my log and journal, and allows me to gauge my own progress over time. 

What is the Hiking Rating System?

What is the system?  SNP uses a numerical rating that accounts for distance and elevation gain, two of the four items discussed above.  The formula is:

√(elevation gain x 2 x distance)

The numerical rating fits into one of five ranges:

Easiest:  0-50

Moderate: 50-100

Moderately Strenuous: 100-150

Strenuous: 150-200

Very Strenuous:  200+ 

You can read more about it here:  How to Determine Hiking Difficulty – Shenandoah National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) 

I then consider elevation loss and grade, and assess other features like rock scrambles and deep stream crossings, increasing the rating if I deem necessary.  See how it went from objective to subjective there?  It’s unavoidable. 

Applying to your hike

Let’s apply it:  The first true hike I ever did was Giant Ledge in the Catskills.  It was 3.4 miles out and back and about 970’ of elevation gain.  At the time it felt impossible- I was miserable and wanted to die- and towards the end, I had to stop every ten feet.    Despite always being athletic, it was the most physically demanding thing I had ever done, and I was IN LOVE (with hiking, of course, not with the guy who took me on the hike, John…sorry John).  Lets do the math:

√ (970 x 2 x 3.4)

√ (6,596)

=81.2

=Moderate

That moderate death march became the hike against which I measured the next dozen or so.  I now have 20+ years and thousands of miles of trail to compare.  I have come a long way and probably wouldn’t be phased by Giant Ledge today. However, I still have limitations that I must consider each and every trip in order to be safe and responsible.  Before you attempt that viral hike that you saw, do some independent research and make sure that you are up to the challenge.  Remember, one hiker’s moderate is another hiker’s strenuous, so find a classification system that works well for you, and use it consistently.  

While you may find that you are not quite ready to tackle every hike, it is good to set goals or join us on one of our scheduled hikes.

If you are choosing to head out solo you may be interested in: The Beautiful Benefits of Hiking Alone and Valuable Solo Hiking Tips, heading out alone.