Hike distance is in or in and out?

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A

trailthinker
Posts: 4
Joined: May 17th, 2016, 8:25 am

Hike distance is in or in and out?

Hi Folks–

Dumb question here. When a hike is "in and out" (not a loop) and the distance is posted, does that mean the distance is only going in? So to do the hike you double the distance?

For example:

Hike Type: In and out
Distance: 4.2 miles

The total hike distance would be 8.4 miles?

Aimless
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:02 pm
Location: Lake Oswego

Re: Hike distance is in or in and out?

Post by Aimless » May 17th, 2016, 9:18 am

Your question lacks some context.

If you see a trail sign at the trailhead and it lists the mileage to a destination as 5 miles, then it refers only to the one-way distance, not the round trip. If I have completed a hike to that destination 5 miles from the trailhead and then returned by the same 5 mile route, I say I have hiked 10 miles. My legs, feet, heart and lungs agree with my brain on this matter.

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sprengers4jc
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Joined: October 22nd, 2013, 11:35 am
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Hike distance is in or in and out?

Post by sprengers4jc » May 17th, 2016, 9:22 am

It's the total distance listed (so the total of all miles going in and then coming back out). That tends to be the case for most guidebooks, too, though I have noticed that sometimes the USFS lists only the one-way distance. If that's the case, it's usually labeled as such.

'We travel not to escape life but for life to not escape us.'
-Unknown

trailthinker
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Joined: May 17th, 2016, 8:25 am

Re: Hike distance is in or in and out?

Post by trailthinker » May 17th, 2016, 9:24 am

sprengers4jc wrote:It's the total distance listed (so the total of all miles going in and then coming back out). That tends to be the case for most guidebooks, too, though I have noticed that sometimes the USFS lists only the one-way distance. If that's the case, it's usually labeled as such.

Thank you. So you're saying the Grassy Knoll hike that I posted above is only 4.2 miles?

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sprengers4jc
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Joined: October 22nd, 2013, 11:35 am
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Hike distance is in or in and out?

Post by sprengers4jc » May 17th, 2016, 9:39 am

Yes, from that specific trailhead. If you have the energy, it would be worthwhile to continue up to Big Huckleberry as well. Here's another source that shows the same thing.

'We travel not to escape life but for life to not escape us.'
-Unknown

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texasbb
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Location: Tri-Cities, WA

Re: Hike distance is in or in and out?

Post by texasbb » May 17th, 2016, 11:06 am

Caution is advised, though, because you absolutely cannot depend on all sources using the same convention or even the same source using a convention consistently. Read carefully and if possible, look at a map while you read. It irritates me that so few sources will be clear about such things. Why not just add "one way" or "round trip" or "total" or "end to end" after the distance? Last I checked, those words are not in short supply. It's almost as irritating as when you look up event schedules on the internet--the number of sites that will prominently tell you what time zone their times are referenced to is almost zero. </rant>