Trail readiness calculator

BMI is one line of the story. This tool turns your numbers into the ones that actually matter on a trail: how much pack you should carry, how much water and food to bring per hour, how fast you’ll move, and what a sensible first hike looks like.

Units
Your measurements

Measured around your belly button, relaxed. This gives a better read than BMI alone, especially if you carry muscle.

How active are you right now?

Answer for the last month or two, not for the version of you that used to run track. This is what sets your starting distance and pace.

The hike you’re planning

A note on these numbers. BMI was built from population data, mostly on white European men, and it can’t tell muscle from fat or see bone density, hip width, or how much hiking you’ve already done. Two women at the same BMI can have completely different trail days. Treat the number as one data point and the pack, water, fuel and pace figures as the practical ones. This calculator is educational and isn’t medical advice — if you have a heart, lung, joint or blood pressure condition, are pregnant, or are coming back from an injury, talk to your own clinician before you add mileage.

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