Pack food shopping effectively

It seems everyone figures out their own little science for this.

Published 3 Jan 2013

A weekly sketch by email

Learn something new in a sketch each Sunday

Sketchplanations in a book! I think you'll love Big Ideas Little Pictures

Prefer to listen?
Try the podcast

Like Sketchplanations?
Support me on Patreon

Keep exploring

What is Naismith's Rule for calculating walking time in the mountains example explained with a mountain ridge with hikers and lines for the horizontal distance and time and ascent and time

Naismith's Rule for mountain hiking time

Hotel Drying Technique

Human risk

The magic of open-air kitchens for Asian street food shown calling out each aspect that makes it such an ingenious set up

The open-air kitchen

The Generalised Peter Principle

Kitchen table survival skills

Naismith's Rule provides a quick estimate for hiking time in the mountains, intended for "easy expeditions." It suggests: 1 hour for every 3 miles (5km) walked +1 hour for every 2,000 ft (600m) of ascent For example, suppose your hike covers 6 miles with 2,000 ft of ascent. In that case, Naismith's Rule suggests allowing 3 hours total—2 hours for distance and 1 hour for elevation. Origins of Naismith's Rule William Naismith was a Scottish Mountaineer born in 1856. He spent years trekking in the Highlands and was, to be fair, probably made of nails. In the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in 1893, he wrote: "...a simple formula, that may be found useful in estimating what time men in fair condition should allow for easy expeditions, namely, an hour for every three miles on the map, with an additional hour for every 2,000 feet of ascent." The Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal, Vol. II, September 1892, No.3, p.136 (pdf) Does Naismith's Rule Work? A figure I learned that's stuck with me is that a brisk walk is around 4 mph. But that's actually pretty fast and wouldn't apply on a mountain trail and certainly not hiking up a mountain. So I've run into the challenge myself when planning a trip in the mountains of how to guess how long a hike will likely take. From a recent hike—where I made sure to run through the full kitchen table survival skills and 10 essentials before leaving—limited daylight was a safety consideration. So knowing how long the hike might take was really important. Incidentally, there's a rule of thumb, literally, for estimating remaining daylight. Lots of people have put Naismith's Rule to the test, including me, and though it's a slightly optimistic metric, it's a starting point. On my recent hike, we were slightly over, but not by much. Adjusting Naismith's Rule To adjust for your circumstances, add time for: Tricky or technical terrain Steep descents High altitude Lunches and snack stops Not being "in fair [physical] condition" in the view of a rugged mountaineer from Scotland in the 1890s Heavy packs, poor weather Getting lost Walking with children Photography, bird watching, animal spotting Time to stop and enjoy the views Sitting and sketching Presumably, if the hike was really long, you'd slow down The Unexpected So, there are many reasons why Naismith's Rule may be on the light side. But it's a decent place to start from. Killian Jornet Laughs in the Face of Naismith's Rule Someone for whom Naismith's Rule definitely doesn't apply is the incredible Killian Jornet, whom I watched in the beautiful documentary Déjame Vivir on Netflix. Footage of him running along knife-edge ridges at the top of the Alps is breathtaking. In 2024, he hiked all 82 peaks above 4,000m in the Alps in 19 days without using motorized vehicles between them 🤯. Let me know if you give Naismith's Rule a try! Related ideas Also see: The Fun Scale The 10 essentials Kitchen table survival skills Take photos of maps before a hike Use a compass Rule of thumb for remaining daylight Kaffikok — the time you can travel before needing another cup of coffee Time hierarchy Isochrones Human pace I made some prints and products with and without the text in case, like me, you like a peaceful mountain ridge without any rules…Naismith's Rule provides a quick estimate for hiking time in the mountains, intended for "easy expeditions." It suggests: 1 hour for every 3 miles (5km) walked +1 hour for every 2,000 ft (600m) of ascent For example, suppose your hike covers 6 miles with 2,000 ft of ascent. In that case, Naismith's Rule suggests allowing 3 hours total—2 hours for distance and 1 hour for elevation. Origins of Naismith's Rule William Naismith was a Scottish Mountaineer born in 1856. He spent years trekking in the Highlands and was, to be fair, probably made of nails. In the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in 1893, he wrote: "...a simple formula, that may be found useful in estimating what time men in fair condition should allow for easy expeditions, namely, an hour for every three miles on the map, with an additional hour for every 2,000 feet of ascent." The Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal, Vol. II, September 1892, No.3, p.136 (pdf) Does Naismith's Rule Work? A figure I learned that's stuck with me is that a brisk walk is around 4 mph. But that's actually pretty fast and wouldn't apply on a mountain trail and certainly not hiking up a mountain. So I've run into the challenge myself when planning a trip in the mountains of how to guess how long a hike will likely take. From a recent hike—where I made sure to run through the full kitchen table survival skills and 10 essentials before leaving—limited daylight was a safety consideration. So knowing how long the hike might take was really important. Incidentally, there's a rule of thumb, literally, for estimating remaining daylight. Lots of people have put Naismith's Rule to the test, including me, and though it's a slightly optimistic metric, it's a starting point. On my recent hike, we were slightly over, but not by much. Adjusting Naismith's Rule To adjust for your circumstances, add time for: Tricky or technical terrain Steep descents High altitude Lunches and snack stops Not being "in fair [physical] condition" in the view of a rugged mountaineer from Scotland in the 1890s Heavy packs, poor weather Getting lost Walking with children Photography, bird watching, animal spotting Time to stop and enjoy the views Sitting and sketching Presumably, if the hike was really long, you'd slow down The Unexpected So, there are many reasons why Naismith's Rule may be on the light side. But it's a decent place to start from. Killian Jornet Laughs in the Face of Naismith's Rule Someone for whom Naismith's Rule definitely doesn't apply is the incredible Killian Jornet, whom I watched in the beautiful documentary Déjame Vivir on Netflix. Footage of him running along knife-edge ridges at the top of the Alps is breathtaking. In 2024, he hiked all 82 peaks above 4,000m in the Alps in 19 days without using motorized vehicles between them 🤯. Let me know if you give Naismith's Rule a try! Related ideas Also see: The Fun Scale The 10 essentials Kitchen table survival skills Take photos of maps before a hike Use a compass Rule of thumb for remaining daylight Kaffikok — the time you can travel before needing another cup of coffee Time hierarchy Isochrones Human pace I made some prints and products with and without the text in case, like me, you like a peaceful mountain ridge without any rules

Newer

RRandom

Older