Smart Hiking (4) ~ Example Heart Rate data on Mt. Whitney Trail

Heart Rate trend in 2015

(Whitney Portal ~ Trail Camp)

Here is one of examples for heart rate and elevation.
The chart above shows heart rate trend from Trail Head (Whitney Portal) to Trail Camp.  Since I took some rests on the way to Trail Camp, there are some drips.  However the overall trend is increasing the heart rate significantly.

Walking Speed trend in 2015

(Whitney Portal ~ Trail Camp)

This is a trend for walking speed.  Since resting, there are drops as well.  However, the overall trend is decreasing the speed.

Slope (Elevation / Distance)

Slope of the trail is close to linear.  It is probably okay to assume the slope is almost constant in the section.  The weight in the backpack is also almost the same from trail head to Trail Camp.
Those three chart shows that the heart rate is increasing even if the walking pace is slowing down.  The rest of factor might impact, which are slope of trail and weight of the backpack would be very similar.   The only factor would be elevation.

Elevation of trail head is around 2,500m and Trail Camp is about 3,657m.   The biggest depth on the heart rate and the speed is Outpost Camp where is about 3,170m.  Roughly, below Outpost Camp, the peaks are reached a similar speed.  However after Outpost Camp, the peak speed is clearly much slower than the lower parts.  Also, I did not feel any clear symptom I can recognize below Outpost Camp.  Based on the data above, here is what I found:

• Blew Outpost Camp, I did not feel any clear symptoms for high altitude sickness
• Blew Outpost Camp, I was able to maintain a similar speed as I hike lower elevation.
• Blew Outpost Camp, heart rate is getting higher even if the speed is a similar.
• Above Outpost Camp, I cannot maintain the same speed as lower portion
• Above Outpost Camp, the speed is getting lower

This experience shows even I was not aware of any impact of high altitude sickness, the heart rate stats getting higher somewhere near 3,000 m (or 9,000 feet).  Also, above 3,000m (or 9,000 feet), the heart rate gets higher even if the speed is dropped.  Clearly, heart rate could be a good factor to see an impact of elevation.

Heart rate in running

When I am running, the heart rate I can run for longer distance / time would be below somewhere around 150~160 [bpm].  If the heart rate beyond the point, it is hard to continue or maintain the pace for longer.   That is typical maximum marathon pace I am usually targeting.   The chart clearly shows, the heart rate after Outpost Camp (or 3,000m / 9,000 feet) is higher than this.  Therefore it is considered as "over pace" in running world.

Apply to hiking for pace management

From the running experience, I think we can apply a similar concept to hiking.  That is where the idea is coming from.

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