What hikers track in Baseline
Most fitness platforms treat hiking as an afterthought - if they support it at all. Strava classifies it as a walk. Garmin Connect shows elevation but lacks trip-level analysis. TrainingPeaks ignores it entirely. Baseline treats hiking as a first-class sport because hiking fitness is fundamentally different from running fitness: it's measured in vertical gain per hour, altitude exposure, pack weight, trail surface, and multi-day endurance rather than pace and speed. For hikers who also run or bike - and many do - Baseline shows how your hiking volume contributes to your total training load and how your mountain fitness carries over to trail running and endurance cycling.
Sport-specific KPIs we surface
Elevation gain (total and per hike). Baseline tracks total elevation gain per hike, per week, per month, and per year. For hikers, vertical gain is a more meaningful measure of effort than distance. A 5 km hike with 800 metres of gain is a harder workout than a 15 km flat walk, and Baseline reflects that in your training load calculation.
Altitude tracking (max, average, time above thresholds). Baseline records the highest point of every hike, your average altitude, and the time you spend above configurable elevation thresholds - for example, time above 3,000 metres for alpine hikers or above treeline. Altitude exposure is a physiological stressor independent of distance or gain, and Baseline accounts for it.
Distance per trip and per year. Total hiking distance aggregated by trip, month, and year. Baseline's trip detection automatically groups consecutive days of hiking into multi-day adventures - a week in the Dolomites becomes a single trip object with total distance, total gain, and a combined GPS track.
Vertical ascent rate (VAM). VAM measures how many metres of elevation you gain per hour of hiking. It's the best metric for comparing hiking intensity across different trails and conditions. A VAM of 400 m/h on a well-graded trail is a moderate effort; 700 m/h on steep terrain is strenuous. Baseline tracks VAM trends across all your hikes.
Country and trail coverage. Baseline's geographic analysis shows you how many countries you've hiked in, which trails you've covered, your most-hiked regions, and your total coverage area. For hikers who care about exploration as much as exercise, these stats turn your activity log into a travelogue.
Hiking TSS contribution to total load. When you hike, the training stress is different from running or cycling - lower peak intensity but longer duration and significant eccentric load from descents. Baseline calculates a hiking-specific TSS based on heart rate, elevation gain, duration, and pack weight estimate, and adds it to your combined CTL/ATL/TSB chart. This matters for multi-sport athletes who hike as cross-training or recovery.
Trail surface and gradient analysis. Baseline analyses the gradient profile of each hike - what percentage was steep ascent, moderate grade, flat, or steep descent. Combined with surface type data, this gives a detailed picture of hiking difficulty that goes beyond total gain and distance.
Recommended integrations for hikers
- Strava: Most hikers record with a GPS watch or phone and sync to Strava. Connect Strava to Baseline for automatic import of every hike - GPS tracks, elevation profiles, heart rate, and duration. Strava's hiking classification is basic, but Baseline reclassifies and analyses hikes properly.
- Garmin: Garmin Fenix and Instinct watches are popular among hikers for their battery life, GPS accuracy, and altimeter. The planned Garmin integration will bring in barometric elevation data, route navigation logs, and altimeter-accurate ascent/descent measurements.
- Apple Health: Apple Watch Ultra users get excellent hiking GPS tracks and elevation data. The Apple Health zip import brings these into Baseline alongside your daily health metrics.
- WHOOP: Multi-day hikes produce significant cumulative fatigue that isn't captured by GPS data alone. Connect WHOOP to see how a week of alpine hiking affects your recovery, HRV, and sleep quality - useful data for planning your post-hike training return.
Pricing tease
Baseline is free to start. The free tier includes your dashboard with one connected source, basic elevation tracking, and the geographic heatmap. Upgrade to Baseline Pro for $12/month (or $249 lifetime) to unlock unlimited integrations, AI-powered daily insights, multi-day trip detection, country and trail coverage stats, altitude zone analysis, full-resolution heatmap with bleed rendering, hiking TSS contribution to your total training load, and the achievement system including hiking-specific badges for elevation gain milestones and summit counts. No ads, no data sharing.