How to use route diagnostics

Route diagnostics are the fastest way to understand how hard the route is likely to feel as a whole and where that difficulty is concentrated.

This view is not just one number. It is a stack of route-level summaries, terrain charts, demand charts, and fatigue charts.

The main question this section answers is:

What parts of this route look broadly feasible, what parts look demanding, and where should I investigate next?

What route diagnostics are for

Use route diagnostics when you want to:

• get a whole-route snapshot before drilling into day-by-day details
• understand whether the route is being driven mostly by grade, altitude, load, time, energy, or accumulated fatigue
• spot where demand spikes along the route
• compare one route version against another

A good operating rule:

• use route diagnostics to decide where to look next
• then use day-level outputs to decide what to change

Step 1: Start with Route Snapshot

Always begin with the Route Snapshot card.

It is the fastest whole-route summary in the planner.

Start here before reading any of the charts below. This card tells you the route’s overall size, time demand, calorie balance, and the top-level TRIPSignals summary.

The card has three main parts:

• Basics
• Energy & Weight
• TRIPSignals

Basics

Use the Basics block to answer:

• how long is the route?
• how many days does this itinerary currently span?
• how much total hiking time is required?
• how much climbing and descending is involved?
• how high does the route go?

This is the quickest way to sanity-check whether the route is even in the right ballpark before reading anything more detailed.

Energy & Weight

Use Energy & Weight to see:

• pack start and end weight
• base required calories
• activity required calories
• total required calories
• planned calories
• surplus or deficit
• expected body fat loss

This block is especially helpful when a route feels hard in a way that may be driven by underfueling or heavy carry rather than only by terrain.

TRIPSignals

The TRIPSignals section summarizes route-level strain from several different angles.

Use it comparatively, not as a single final verdict.

The route-level signals help you compare:

• terrain difficulty
• overall load and pressure
• time and energy pressure
• whether the route gets harder later
• where fatigue and risk are likely to concentrate

Use the snapshot card first to decide what kind of problem you are looking at:

• a terrain problem
• a capacity problem
• a fuel/deficit problem
• or a fatigue concentration problem

Step 2: Read Grade Diagnostics next

After the Route Snapshot, move to Grade Diagnostics.

This section tells you how route distance is distributed across slope steepness.

This histogram helps you understand whether the route is dominated by mellow terrain, moderate slopes, or a meaningful amount of clearly steep ground.

Use the histogram to ask:

• is the route mostly mellow or mostly steep?
• is the grade mix balanced or does it have a strong uphill/downhill skew?
• how much of the route lives in the steeper tails?

If you open the DIAGNOSTICS section below the histogram, the planner shows deeper comparison details. Those are best treated as advanced comparison aids, not the first thing to trust.

Step 3: Use Elevation vs distance for terrain shape and altitude context

The Elevation (ft) vs distance (mi) chart shows how the route climbs and descends over distance.

Use this chart to understand the route’s broad terrain shape and where altitude may become part of the planning problem.

Use it to ask:

• where are the major climbs and descents?
• where are the highest sections of the route?
• are long high-elevation stretches likely to matter?

This chart is especially helpful when:

• the max elevation is high enough to raise acclimatization concerns
• the route has a few major climbs that likely dominate the feel of the trip

Step 4: Use Grade vs distance to find where the steepest terrain sits

The Grade (%) vs distance (mi) chart tells you where steep terrain appears along the route.

This chart helps you locate steep segments, not just count them. It is one of the best tools for seeing where uphill or downhill intensity clusters along the route.

Use it to ask:

• where do the steepest uphill segments occur?
• where do the steepest downhill segments occur?
• are those steep segments clustered early, mid-route, or late?

This chart is often more actionable than the histogram because it shows where the steepness lives, not just how much of it exists.

Step 5: Use MDR vs distance to find the hardest terrain

The MDR vs distance (mi) chart shows where terrain appears to require the hardest effort.

MDR is one of the clearest “where is the route hard right now?” charts. It often reflects route difficulty more usefully than grade alone.

Use it to ask:

• where does terrain demand rise the most?
• are the hardest parts short spikes or longer sustained stretches?
• do the peaks line up with the places you would expect from the elevation and grade charts?

If the route feels hard but the grade chart alone does not fully explain it, MDR is usually the next chart to trust.

Step 6: Use Energy cost vs distance to see where movement gets expensive

The Energy cost (kcal/mi) vs distance (mi) chart shows how expensive the route is per unit distance.

This chart helps translate terrain demand into energy-per-distance cost. It is especially useful when a route looks manageable by distance alone but still seems metabolically expensive.

Use it to ask:

• where is each mile unusually expensive?
• do the expensive segments align with MDR peaks?
• is the route carrying a lot of hidden energy cost even when speed is not obviously collapsing?

This is a good chart for understanding why one route can feel much harder than another even at similar distance.

Step 7: Use Speed vs distance to see where pace naturally drops

The Speed (mph) vs distance (mi) chart shows predicted hiking speed along the route.

This chart helps you see where the route naturally slows you down. It is often the clearest translation from terrain difficulty into pacing consequences.

Use it to ask:

• where do the slowest sections occur?
• are the slowdowns brief or sustained?
• do those slow sections line up with steepness, MDR, or energy-cost spikes?

This is one of the most intuitive route diagnostics because users can usually understand “where pace collapses” faster than abstract load metrics.

Step 8: Use cumFI vs distance to understand accumulated burden

The Cumulative fatigue index (cumFI) vs distance (mi) chart shows how accumulated workload builds through the route.

cumFI is about accumulated burden, not just current terrain. It helps explain why a later segment may feel harder than an identical early segment.

Use it to ask:

• how much burden has accumulated by each point in the route?
• where do camp boundaries reduce carryover burden?
• is a hard late segment landing on top of already-high accumulated fatigue?

This chart becomes especially important on multi-day routes because late difficulty is often driven by accumulation, not just by the terrain of that one segment.

Step 9: Use Fatigue impact vs distance to find where the route may feel hardest

The Fatigue impact vs distance (mi) chart is the best final “where might this route feel hardest?” chart.

This chart combines current demand with accumulated dose, so it is often the clearest way to spot where the route may feel most punishing in practice.

Use it to ask:

• where are the biggest impact spikes?
• are those spikes caused by hard terrain now, accumulated fatigue, or both?
• do those peaks line up with route sections you may want to split differently or protect with more margin?

When users ask “where is this route most likely to break me down?”, this is usually the chart that answers best.

A safe reading order

For most users, the safest route-diagnostics sequence is:

1. Read the Route Snapshot.
2. Review Grade Diagnostics.
3. Check Elevation vs distance.
4. Check Grade vs distance.
5. Review MDR vs distance.
6. Review Energy cost vs distance.
7. Review Speed vs distance.
8. Review cumFI vs distance.
9. Finish with Fatigue impact vs distance.

That order moves from whole-route summary to terrain shape to effort demand to accumulated burden.

What route diagnostics are best at

Route diagnostics are strongest when you use them to:

• compare route versions
• identify where difficulty is concentrated
• decide whether a route-wide problem is mostly terrain, capacity, or fatigue related
• decide which section or which day deserves closer attention

They are less useful when you expect them to tell you exactly what change to make without also looking at day-level outputs.

Common mistakes to avoid

Watch out for these:

• staring at one metric in isolation instead of cross-checking snapshot, terrain, and fatigue views
• treating route-level signals as exact predictions instead of comparative guidance
• using route diagnostics alone when the real fix requires campsite or day-structure changes
• assuming a route is easy because distance is modest even when MDR, energy cost, or fatigue impact says otherwise

What to do next

After reading route diagnostics, continue with:

• Understand route and day outputs
• Split a route into days
• Compare plan versions instead of chasing precision