What would you consider a moderate length day walk or hike?

[thedogmademessagain]

I'm curious what people in general would think is a moderate/medium length day hike or walk? I'm just asking because when I told the physiotherapist what I thought a medium length day hike was, I got a funny look. Not sure if that means I was under or over estimating moderate.

Agree. Terrain is everything. Your hikes sound HARD op! I did 16 miles yesterday, over 6 peaks, 5000ft elevation. Today I am a broken woman, mainly because of the peaty, boggy, uneven terrain. I did two of the Yorkshire peaks the other week, about 14 miles, and it didn’t make a dent in me, mainly because of the established paths, but yesterday!?? Oh Jesus wept. Very humbled!

It's hard to say
Short - Under 3
Medium 3 - 7
Long 8 +

What, the SW coast path?! 😆

Yes, I'd say 10 miles.

I would say around 10 to 12 miles, but I live in Norfolk and although not as flat as people think, it isnt mountainous!

I have walked 27 miles in a day and it was a SLOG especially the last 3 miles. That is what I would consider an epic walk!

Id class 15plus as long. That said, before I started walking, 4 miles was long

I've done 19 miles a couple of times, both in very similar circumstances involving the S.France/ N.Italy, getting lost, miscalculating distances and accidentally having to climb one more mountain than I thought 😳 You'd think I'd learn, wouldn't you?

Take half of these replies with a pinch of salt and don’t let it make you feel like a failure.

Many people in the UK are getting in a car each morning, sitting down all day at work, back in the car again, and then sitting watching TV/ doom scrolling. Ask them what a “moderate” walk might be and it’s unlikely they would reply a 12 mile hike up four fells, yet half of Mumsnet would try and convince you they do it every morning before going to work in their high-earning jobs.

A hours walk most days is really good. We used to do one huge hike a week, then one smaller one every now and then. I feel like my body benefits more from a pattern or shorter, more frequent walks than less frequent harder and longer ones. You should feel good about it.

I do often see people heading into remote areas dressed completely inappropriately, carrying no water or any kind of bag, often there is no phone reception, and I just assume they are (hopefully) only doing a small part of the walk rather than the whole thing. Generally these are high rescue areas.

I agree, and there's probably some selection bias in who is attracted to the thread and will respond to it too.

Some of the replies are making me feel inadequate too. 😁

It's got me thinking though that I probably could do the 20 miles (terrain dependent) if I structured it into four groups of five miles, with a break at those points. Just start early. One of the main things to consider is that with the hikes we do, we'd have to carry all the water for the day. Water is heavy! There are no chances to stop to top up in between, or shops along the way. We're on our own with what we can carry in.

That is good though. I can walk 15- 20 miles, but most days I don't walk much more than 20 minutes. Wish it was different ☹️

Life is busy. It really depends on the day. If 20 minutes is what you can fit in a day, then that is good for that day. We don't have to be working physically hard every day.

Yeah, I'm totally walking the Via Francigena when the kids are grown and flown though!! 😆

I've got below-usual energy levels due to being in cancer recovery and wouldn't agree to a walking plan above 6 miles on easy terrain or 3 miles on tougher ground at the moment. I would normally consider 8 miles in a day moderate - short enough to allow for generous rest breaks and a gentle pace. Up to 12 miles to be perfectly fine if everyone is reasonably fit and used to an active day, but at that level it would stop being "moderate" simply because at that level it would become important to keep an eye on pace, progress and rest breaks to be sure the route is completed by a sensible time.