Hiking Calorie Estimator

How the estimate works

A MET (metabolic equivalent of task) compares an activity's energy cost with sitting quietly. By convention, 1 MET is about 3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. The Compendium of Physical Activities, a widely used research reference, lists MET values for hundreds of activities, including several kinds of hiking and backpacking.

The estimator uses this standard formula:

kcal = MET × 3.5 × weight (kg) ÷ 200 × minutes

For weight, it uses your body weight plus your pack weight. The MET value comes from the terrain you choose:

These are rounded values in the range the Compendium gives for each activity. They're approximations, not personal measurements.

Worked example

Sam weighs 70 kg and carries a 10 kg pack. She plans six hours of moving time on rolling hills.

• Combined weight: 80 kg
• MET: 6.0
• kcal = 6.0 × 3.5 × 80 ÷ 200 × 360 = 3,024 kcal
• That's about 504 kcal per hour

If the same route were steep for most of the day (MET 7.8), the estimate rises to about 3,931 kcal. That's a big gap, and it shows why terrain matters as much as distance.

Turning the estimate into a food plan

Use the hiking figure as one part of your daily target:

1. Estimate your hiking burn here.
2. Add resting energy for the non-hiking hours. Many adults burn somewhere around 1 to 1.3 kcal per kg of body weight per hour at rest. A personal figure is better if you have one.
3. Decide how much of a deficit you'll accept. On short trips many people under-eat a little and refuel at home. On long trips that deficit adds up.
4. Enter the result into the backpacking food weight calculator.

Don't treat the number as something you must hit exactly. It gives you a sensible starting point. Then adjust based on how hungry you were and what came home uneaten.

What the estimate misses

• Fitness and efficiency. Experienced hikers often move more economically than beginners.
• Grade and surface. Snow, sand, scree and steep descents all change the cost. Hard downhill walking costs more than flat walking, though less than climbing.
• Altitude and cold. Both can raise energy needs, and appetite often drops at altitude.
• Breaks. Enter moving time, not total time. A ten-hour day with two hours of breaks is eight hours of hiking.

Fitness trackers vs MET estimates

Watches estimate energy from heart rate and motion. They also make assumptions and can be off by a wide margin, especially with heavy packs. If your watch and this calculator agree within a few hundred calories, that's reasonable. If they're far apart, plan near the middle and see how your body responds.

How to use the estimator, step by step

1. Enter your body weight in kilograms. Weigh yourself in your hiking clothes if you want to be precise.
2. Enter your loaded pack weight, including food and water at the start of the day. Water weight falls during the day, so the start weight slightly overstates the load.
3. Choose the terrain level that best matches the section you're estimating (see the guide below).
4. Enter moving hours, not total hours. Leave out lunch and long breaks.
5. Read the result: total kcal for the section and kcal per hour.

For a day with mixed terrain, run the estimator once per section and add the results.

Choosing the right terrain level

If you're unsure between two levels, run both. The gap shows how much the choice matters for your trip.

Calories per hour at moderate and backpacking effort

These tables use the same formula as the estimator, with pack weights common for day hikes (8 kg), weekend trips (12 kg) and longer trips (18 kg). Values are rounded kcal per hour.

Moderate (MET 6.0)

Backpacking (MET 7.0)

For steep-climbing tables and a full day example with a pack, see calories burned hiking with a pack.

Three example hikers

These are made-up profiles to show how much the estimate varies.

The alpine climber's estimate is nearly three times the day hiker's, even though the day is only an hour longer. Body weight, pack weight and terrain all multiply together.

Worked example: splitting a day into sections

Lina (a made-up example) weighs 60 kg and carries a 9 kg pack, so the estimator uses 69 kg.

Running the whole six hours at "backpacking" instead would give 3,043 kcal, close in this case. But on a day with a long steep climb, using one level for everything can be off by several hundred calories. Splitting the day takes a minute and gives a better estimate.

Snacks per hour

An hourly figure is useful for snack planning. Lina's day averages about 488 kcal per moving hour. You don't need to eat that much while walking. Many hikers eat a few hundred calories per hour and make up the rest at meals. A practical approach is a snack of roughly 150 to 250 kcal every hour or so, such as 30 to 40 g of nuts or a bar. Our high-protein hiking snacks guide has ideas.

Descents, snow and other special cases

Long descents take less energy per hour than climbs, but steep downhill walking still takes real effort because your legs are braking. On long, steep descents, "moderate" is usually a better choice than "easy".

Snow, sand and scree can raise energy cost a lot, because each step sinks or slides. If you're walking in soft snow without snowshoes, treat even gentle ground as "steep" for planning.

Scrambling and via ferrata use your arms as well as your legs, and progress is slow. Hourly energy can be high, but distance covered is low. Estimate by time, not distance. A short scramble section can take as long as several kilometres of trail, so log it as its own section in the estimator.

Hiking with children or a slow group usually means a lower pace and more stops. Count moving time carefully, and consider dropping a terrain level, because a slower pace on the same ground often costs less per hour.

Trail running or fast hiking goes beyond these MET values. The estimator isn't designed for running paces.

Why calculators give different answers

You may get different numbers from other calculators, apps and watches. Common reasons:

The "active calories" shown by many watches leave out resting energy, so they read lower than this estimator, which gives gross energy for the hiking hours.

How accurate is it?

MET-based estimates describe averages. Research comparing predicted and measured energy use for load carriage has found that standard equations can noticeably over- or under-predict for individuals, with larger errors on soft, steep or rough terrain. Use the result as a planning range: for a 3,000 kcal estimate, it's reasonable to think "somewhere around 2,500 to 3,500".

Common mistakes

1. Counting break time as hiking time.
2. Choosing "easy" for a mountain day because the distance is short.
3. Forgetting the pack, or entering the base weight without food and water.
4. Treating the result as a target to eat back exactly.
5. Using the estimate for weight-loss decisions. It's built for trip food planning.

Planning a multi-day trip

For a multi-day trip, estimate each day separately. Days often differ a lot: a short walk-in, a big pass day, a rest day and a long walk out. Then:

1. Add resting energy for the hours you aren't hiking.
2. Choose a daily food target. You don't have to match the full estimate, especially on short trips.
3. Use the biggest day as a guide for the minimum food on that day, and pack extra snacks for it.
4. Convert to weight with the backpacking food weight calculator.

Effects of weather and altitude

The MET values don't include weather. In cold conditions, your body may use extra energy to keep warm, and appetite often rises. In heat, energy use for cooling increases a little, but appetite often falls. At altitude, energy needs can rise while appetite drops. In all three cases, the safe approach is to pack a little more food than the estimate suggests and to bring foods you'll actually want to eat.

Glossary

• MET: metabolic equivalent of task. 1 MET is roughly the energy used sitting at rest.
• Moving time: time spent walking, excluding breaks.
• Resting energy: energy used at rest; it continues all day and night.
• Load carriage: carrying weight, such as a backpack, while walking.

Related tools

• Trail meal planner: splits a daily target into meals.
• Water carry calculator: plans water between sources.
• Calorie density checker: checks how much energy each food carries per gram.

Safety note

This is a planning aid, not medical advice. If you have heart, metabolic or other health conditions, talk to a professional before strenuous hiking. For more context, our guide to how many calories you burn hiking goes deeper into each variable.