Walking, Rucking, and Running are controlled Foundation layers on the same flat route. Hiking asks the transfer question: what happens when the trained system meets the world—grade, descent, technical footing, altitude, weather, exposure, duration, equipment, and judgment?
HikeWorldModel™ v3.2 uses the scrubbed source workbook through Hike 40. Direct measurements remain separate from interpretation. Whole-route heart-rate drift, Garmin exercise load, breath acetone, and sleep metrics are descriptive field observations rather than validated diagnoses or single-mechanism proofs.
Running isolates cardiovascular demand. Rucking isolates progressive carried load. Hiking combines those capacities with real environmental complexity. The modalities are complementary experimental layers, not interchangeable workouts.
This matrix asks how surface and exposure change the meaning of similar-looking hiking output. It is descriptive and route-confounded; it does not claim that one condition independently caused the observed response.
| Context | N | Moving Pace | Exercise Load | Stopped Share | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry / mixed surface | 23 | 24.0 min/mi | 76.1 | 20.1% | 8.38 |
| Snow / ice | 13 | 24.7 min/mi | 107.8 | 27.9% | 7.35 |
| Wet / slippery | 3 | 22.0 min/mi | 125.0 | 15.0% | 7.17 |
| Wooden stairs | 1 | 21.0 min/mi | 58.0 | 50.6% | 8.97 |
Version 3.2 · as of September 15, 2026. Surface groups use the recorded Surface_Conditions field. Pace is moving minutes per mile. Stopped share is (elapsed minus moving time) divided by elapsed time. Stability is missing for Hikes 38–40, so group means use available values.
Compared with dry/mixed sessions, snow/ice sessions were only about 3% slower by moving pace but carried materially higher wearable load, more stopped time, and lower average Stability Index. Chronology, route, and altitude remain confounders; the useful conclusion is that pace alone understates environmental cost.
The recent block was completed in much warmer field conditions—average range midpoint 81.2°F versus 55.8°F—while average heart rate was 2.7 bpm lower and exercise load was approximately half. Elapsed pace improved because stopped time fell; moving pace was slightly slower. Route direction, dry versus winter surface, training progression, and season prevent a single-cause claim.
| # | Date | Route | Distance / Gain | Field Range | Avg HR | Load | Drift |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | Jul 4 | Wheeler Peak | 8.57 mi / 2,996 ft | 50–75°F | 123 | 53 | +1.2% |
| 32 | Jul 12 | Mount Baldy loop | 10.55 / 4,111 | 50–80°F | 123 | 56 | −1.3% |
| 33 | Jul 25 | Mount Baldy loop | 10.42 / 4,026 | 65–85°F | 124 | 60 | −1.1% |
| 34 | Aug 1 | Cucamonga Peak | 11.58 / 4,229 | 65–85°F | 126 | 58 | −0.99% |
| 35 | Aug 7 | Monserate heat training | 6.25 / 1,601 | 90–100°F | 128 | 45 | −0.4% |
| 36 | Aug 16 | Mount Baldy loop | 9.25 / 4,024 | 65–99°F | 126 | 57 | −1.2% |
| 37 | Aug 22 | Mount Baldy loop | 10.32 / 4,042 | 72–102°F | 121 | 48 | −1.4% |
| 38 | Aug 29 | Baldy reverse loop | 10.54 / 4,114 | 64–86°F | 124 | 60 | −1.3% |
| 39 | Sep 5 | Ontario Peak | 11.90 / 4,239 | 57–84°F | 123 | 56 | −1.3% |
| 40 | Sep 12 | Mount Baldy loop | 10.45 / 4,058 | 66–97°F | 124 | 54 | −1.2% |
Hike 39, Ontario Peak: 11.90 miles, 4,239 feet of gain, 324 elapsed minutes, 310 moving minutes, 123 bpm average HR, 142 max HR, load 56, −1.3% drift, and breath acetone 1.6 → 6.3 ppm. Only 14 minutes separated elapsed and moving time, making this one of the record’s cleanest long-route executions.
Hike 40, Mount Baldy: 10.45 miles, 4,058 feet of gain, 310 elapsed minutes, 250 moving minutes, 124 bpm average HR, 150 max HR, load 54, −1.2% drift, and breath acetone 1.8 → 6.7 ppm in a 66–97°F field range.
Together, the sessions extend the late-record pattern of controlled average heart rate and low wearable load. They do not identify one causal mechanism; terrain, pacing, route familiarity, temperature, recovery, and the larger training stack remain part of the explanation.