Are You Ready?
Ever hesitate to sign up for a "medium" or maybe a "hard" rated hike, not knowing if you're physically able to keep up with the group?....or if you're sure you're in condition enough but if you would even want to hike as fast as the group may go? The club has found a four mile (exactly) walk within 10 minutes of downtown Salem where you can rate your comfortable hiking pace on your own.
Just walk the four miles (exactly) on your own at your personal comfort level. Calculate your MPH (to the tenth) and you're ready to communicate meaningfully to a hike leader to see if you're "up for it". The pleasant Cole Road rural walk should only take 1 ½ to 2 hours but there's enough up and down to adequately test your cardiac capability.
As we get more familiar with the Cole Road test route, leaders may start putting the minimum Cole Road MPH needed in their write up for their proposed hike.
Cole Road is a fair indicator for backpacking too, but check the Backpacking page for a better backpacking conditioning assessment on Henline Mountain.
Cole Road Criteria
| Time to complete the 4 miles |
Speed in MPH |
Hike You're Ready for: |
| 4 hrs - 2 hrs 36 min |
1.0-1.5
|
Walks
|
| 2 hrs 36 min - 2 hrs 24 min |
1.5-1.8
|
Easy (short)
|
| 2 hrs 24 min - 2 hrs |
1.8-2.0
|
Easy
|
| 2 hrs - 1 hr 48 min |
2.0-2.2
|
Easy (long)
|
| 1 hr 48 min - 1 hr 36 min |
2.2-2.5
|
Medium (short)
|
| 1 hr 36 min - 1 hr 24 min |
2.5-2.8
|
Medium
|
| 1 hr 24 min - 1 hr 18 min |
2.8-3.0
|
Medium (long)
|
| 1 hr 18 min - 1 hr 15 min |
3.0-3.2
|
Hard (short)
|
| 1 hr 15 min - 1 hr 8 min |
3.2-3.5
|
Hard
|
| 1 hr 8 min or less |
3.5 or faster
|
Very Hard (long)
|
These Cole Road and Henline guidelines are just one indication of preparedness and don't take into consideration terrain, technical skills, hazards, weather, elevation gain etc., all of which contribute to the difficulty rating of an activity. If you have any questions or doubts about your preparation for a Chemeketan activity, it's always a good idea to contact the leader and ask questions as well as let him or her know about your previous experience. Leaders make the final decision about who can participate in the activity.
Download the Cole Road Criteria Map here.To get to Cole Rd drive south 2 miles on Liberty Rd. from Kuebler, turn right onto Cole Rd. Drive west on Cole Rd, crossing Bates Rd and continuing on Cole to Moore Rd. Park at the intersection.