How do you track backpacking?

NorthCascades

I use a Garmin GPS (Fenix 3) to keep track of the exercise I do. It gives me a map, lots of statistics (some of which are useful), and a calendar showing what I've done. The calendar is great motivation, it makes me feel like I've accomplished a lot and it makes me want to keep it up.

This weekend my girlfriend and I have plans to head out to the desert, hike to a lake with our tent and sleeping bags in our backpacks, and spend the night, then hike out the next day. We do this a lot through the summer, getting away from the city and looking up at the night sky is an incredible thing.

The question is whether to record this as one hike spanning two days, and use laps to mark days, or to record the hike in to camp and the hike out the next day as separate activities. How calories are reflected isn't a concern. In the past I've always recorded backpacking trips as one activity (example) because that's what it is. On the other hand, the calendar only shows an activity on the day it starts so it looks like I get lazy in the summer when that isn't the case.

I know it's kind of inconsequential but I'm getting ready for the trip and wondering about this, so I'm asking the brain trust.

treehopper1987

If it were me... I would track by day...

Chiqui74

I've wondering about this too since I'm planning along distance hike for the summer. I don't have a Fenix 3, and my question was actually how stitch several days worth of hiking into one long activity. Is this something that can be done in Connect after the fact? For the purpose of MFP and calorie tracking, I would find a way to figure out the daily calorie burn. Like I said, I don't have a hiking-dedicated watch, only a Forerunner 235, so I have no idea how that would work.

xLyric

Why would you track it all at once? Unless you never stop to sleep, it seems like tracking by day would be the most logical. I don't have a Garmin, nor have I ever hiked for more than a day, so I'm just curious.

NorthCascades

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and advice! @treehopper1987, I've been leaning toward the one-hike-per-day idea because of the way the calendar displays it.

@xLyric, it makes sense (to me) to record a single hike because that's how I think of it. When I come in to work on Monday and everybody talks about their weekend, I'm not going to say "I went for a hike to Ancient Lakes on Saturday, then I went for another hike back to my car on Sunday."

You should all try multi-day hiking at least once in life, ideally above the tree line. Alpine sunsets are pretty, the dusk afterwards is gorgeous, and the night sky is amazing. Plus carrying literally everything you need to survive and making your home in the wilderness can feel daunting, and then when you do it, you get this sense that anything is possible for you.

@Chiqui74, I sent you a private message with detailed instructions on how to combine multiple activities into one. Figured most people here wouldn't benefit from seeing them. But I wanted to share the way I've found that works.

whmscll

I never bother to track calories when backpacking. You're usually working so hard it's almost guaranteed you're burning more calories than you're eating.

NorthCascades

crazyravr wrote: »

Why bother at all? Why not just unplug and enjoy the weekend?
When we go sea kayaking for a week long trip, do you think I track how many cals I burned paddling or do you think I would much rather not think about any of that and just enjoy being out in nature.

Believe it or not, hitting start when I park my car and begin hiking, then hitting stop when I get back to the car isn't much bother at all. And having my watch record my tracks doesn't get in the way of enjoying the scenery. It just means I have GPS data which allows me to make a personalized map of my outdoor fun:



Cyan = cycling
Yellow = hiking
White = skiing
Red = kayaking

As I said in the OP, calories have nothing to do with it.

Noelv1976

I hike a lot, and I don't use a highly dedicated hiking watch. Heck I just have a Garmin 110. I use my Endomondo app, which works better than the Garmin for some reason. Just log it daily as separate activities, since you are stopping for the night. No need to overthink this, just go out and enjoy the scenery. I don't track my calories when I hike.

ASKyle

Personally, I would split it into days, and record by miles.

But, why don't you just record them on your Garmin which gives you the maps and calendars you like? Why bother with MFP for something like that at all?

NorthCascades

I'm just recording it on my Garmin; my account there is synced with my MFP account. I'm asking about it here because this is a place where people who enjoy fitness and exercise hang out, so I came here for advice about the exercise (tracking) part of it.

My girlfriend got a flu that's been going around so we had to postpone our trip.