Trip Planning & Preparation · 8 min
Building a timetable that holds
Why this matters
197.6(c)(4) puts 'timetable construction' on the hiking exam by name. It is also the skill that keeps parties out of the dark, and darkness is the multiplier behind most backcountry incidents in New York.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- Calculate book time and adjust it for a real client party
- Set a turnaround time and explain why it is fixed in advance
- Build contingency and bail-out options into the plan
Book time
The standard estimate used across the northeast, and taught by the Adirondack Mountain Club among others, is two miles per hour on the flat, plus thirty minutes for every 1,000 feet of ascent. It descends from Naismith's rule and it is deliberately simple.
Worked example. Six miles in, 2,200 feet of gain:
- Distance: 6 ÷ 2 = 3.0 hours = 180 minutes
- Ascent: 2,200 ÷ 1,000 × 30 = 66 minutes
- Book time up: 246 minutes, about 4 hours 6 minutes
That number describes a fit, lightly loaded, experienced person in good conditions. It is a floor, not a forecast.
Adjusting for the party you actually have
| Condition | Multiply book time by |
|---|---|
| Fit, experienced, light packs | 1.0 |
| Mixed client party, day packs | 1.3 |
| Beginners, or full overnight packs | 1.5 |
| Snow, deep mud, heavy rain, darkness | 1.5 to 2.0 on top |
Then add the things book time ignores entirely: breaks, lunch, photographs, water treatment, a boot repair, and the fact that a party travels at the speed of its slowest member, not its average.
Turnaround time
Set it before you leave, from the back of the day forwards:
Turnaround = sunset − safety buffer − descent time.
If sunset is 19:47, you want an hour of daylight in hand, and the descent takes 2 h 30 min, your turnaround is 16:17. At 16:17 the party turns around whether or not the summit is in sight. Tell the clients the time at the trailhead and tell them why. The decision is far easier to make when it was made hours earlier by a version of you who was not tired and not being watched by a disappointed customer.
Summit fever
The pull to continue grows exactly as the margin for error shrinks: the party is invested, the summit looks close, and turning around feels like failure in front of paying clients. That is the reason for a pre-committed time, not a judgment call in the moment.
Contingency
- Bail-out points. Where can this route be abandoned, and how long does that take from each point? Mark them on the map
- Plan B. A shorter or lower objective for bad weather, decided in advance so it does not feel like a defeat on the day
- Weather trigger. What forecast or observation cancels the trip. Thunderstorm probability over exposed terrain is the usual one in New York
- Late plan. Headlamps for everyone, always, on every day trip, no exceptions
From the field
Eight miles, 2,600 feet, beginner clients. Book time is 240 + 78 = 318 minutes. At 1.5 for beginners that is 477 minutes, close to eight hours of movement, plus an hour of stops. Sunset at 18:30 makes your latest start about 09:00, and you have not yet allowed for the drive.
This lesson is part of the NYS Licensed Guide Exam course. Open it in the course to answer the retrieval checks that go with it, track what you have read, and quiz the whole unit. Lessons, quizzes and the glossary are free.