Heard a guy at the gear shop say switchbacks save more energy than you think

I was browsing a clearance rack in Seattle last weekend and overheard this older backpacker telling his friend that taking switchbacks instead of going straight up a steep hill can cut your heart rate by like 20 percent over a mile. He said most people waste energy fighting gravity on the direct line and then burn out before the summit. Has anyone actually tested that on a long route like the Olympic Coast or something similar?}

2 comments

2 Comments

perry.evan13h agoTop Commenter

My knees started screaming just READING that title, man. I tried the straight up approach on Mount Si once and my heart rate hit the redline so fast I thought I was gonna need a tow truck. Took me twice as long to recover at the top as it did to actually hike up. Switched to switchbacks on a 12 mile loop in the Olympics last fall and I swear I had enough gas left to jog the last mile back to the car, which is basically a miracle for a guy built like a fridge. So yeah, the old guy was onto something - my body clearly runs on bad ideas and desperation.

fox.derek11h ago

You ever notice how that applies to pretty much everything in life, not just hiking? I've been thinking about that a lot lately... people always want the straight line from A to B, but the path with a few gentle curves almost always treats you better. My neighbor rebuilt his whole deck in a weekend going full speed and ended up with boards warping all over the place six months later. Same with learning anything new, trying to cram it all in at once just makes your brain lock up. The switchback approach lets you actually catch your breath and see where you're going. Most of us just need permission to take the longer route.