I got this from a book on llama packing written by a woman who'd been in the business for many years. Do you agree?

It said that when calculating distance to add 1 mile for every 500' in altitude gain. If you hike 5 miles but gain 1000', add 2 miles so in effect you're hiking the same as 7 miles on the level. Don't subtract any distance for downhill because you expend extra energy holding yourself back going down. I can agree with that, at least on the steeper stuff. Downhill can be a killer sometimes. OTOH, if the downhill is fairly mild, I get into a long sweeping stride and can go a LONG way at higher speed.

I think the downhill part might apply to the llamas more than to the person. A llama carries most of the weight on it's front legs. Coming down, that throws even more weight forward and puts more strain on the legs. A person carries the same weight on 2 legs no matter what the terrain.

I think when you're climbing it also depends on the steepness, footing (loose rock vs packed trail), and also how much you're carrying. On a steep grade with loose rock and a heavy pack you may have to rest a lot and 500 feet may take an hour so IMHO the best way to go is by time, not miles.

Hmm, not sure but maybe as far as effort. When I was at my best hiking speed, i could do about 2 miles and 3K gain in an hour on a local trail. That would equal 8 miles according to her, which would be about 7.5 minute miles if running , which I was probably able to do 7.5 minute miles on an hour pace or close.

Now I'm fat and out of shape ...

Well, I guess it would depend on whether you're trail running, llama packing or backpacking.......

Agree. Made one trip when you could see the start from the top. Straight line from the GPS was 0.8 miles. It took 7 hours. Young Guide said he could probably do it in 4.5 by himself.

Are you asking about time or effort involved ? Time involved may have some relationship. I'm not really sure just based on my own experiences. But effort involved I'd say no. Particularly when it's steep and really steep most of the way. E

I've concluded that the figures I read will apply much more to 4 legged packers than 2 legged ones. I was just curious.