Your hiking companion

Plan your hike. Pack smart. Go further.

HikeLoad brings your route planning, food tracking and gear management together — so all you have to think about is the trail.

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How it works

Plan your hike in 5 steps.

Gear and food are lists you build once. Your hike is where it all comes together — day by day.

  1. Build your gear list

    Add everything you own once, with its weight. HikeLoad adds it up for every hike.

  2. Create your hike

    Name it, or start from one of our trails with the days and GPX already filled in.

  3. Add your gear to the hike

    Pick what you take on this trip and see your base weight straight away.

  4. Plan your food

    Build a day menu with weight and calories, then give each day of your hike a list.

  5. Plan every day

    Distances, walking times, GPX and where you sleep — your start weight follows.

From our own boots

Real trails. Real photos.

Every photo below was taken on our own multi-day hikes — through the Scottish Highlands, the forests of Sweden and the Hoge Veluwe in the Netherlands. The very trips HikeLoad was built to plan.

Wild glen in the Scottish Highlands
Wild glen in the Scottish Highlands
The path to Glenfinnan Viaduct, Scotland
The path to Glenfinnan Viaduct, Scotland
Wild camping with a trekking-pole tent
Wild camping with a trekking-pole tent
A trail dog on a mist-covered summit
A trail dog on a mist-covered summit
Sunset from a lakeside jetty
Sunset from a lakeside jetty
Pitched up beside a Highland stream
Pitched up beside a Highland stream
Dutch heathland trail toward a watchtower
Dutch heathland trail toward a watchtower
Following a green river valley
Following a green river valley
Trail diaries

Hikes we actually walked.

First-hand trip reports by HikeLoad founder Ray Kootstra: the route, what went wrong, what was in the pack, and photos from the trail. Who's behind HikeLoad

All trail diaries
The river Geul running past a wooden bench under a large tree in South Limburg.
Geul · South Limburg, Netherlands

Walking the Geul: 47 km from Aachen to Maastricht in Three Days

Three days along the Geul, from the hills south of Aachen to Maastricht. Rolling South Limburg, quiet campsites, and a h...
A narrow sandy trail cutting straight across open heather and grass on the Veluwe Zoom, under a moody grey-blue sky.
Veluwe Zoom · Veluwe, Netherlands

Three Days on the Veluwe Zoom: The Quietest Forest in the Netherlands

A first-hand account of three quiet days on the Veluwe Zoom, Apeldoorn to Arnhem: full spring forest, a crowded festival...
A wet, puddled sandy path winding through open heathland on a grey morning on the Pieterpad.
Pieterpad · Netherlands

The Pieterpad: my first-ever multi-day hike — a solo trip report

A first-hand account of my very first multi-day hike: the Pieterpad solo, six days and nearly 140 km from Swolgen to the...
Rolling sand and heath plain on the Veluwe under a wide sky, scattered trees along a sandy path.
Veluwe · Veluwe, Netherlands

Hoge Veluwe: six days solo across the most beautiful forest in the Netherlands

A solo six-day walk from Zwolle to Ede across the Veluwe: opening heath, a watchful deer, and still my favourite multi-d...
The iconic orange Sörmlandsleden trail sign with double arrows, deep in a Swedish birch and spruce forest.
Sörmlandsleden · Södermanland, Sweden

Sörmlandsleden: six days alone in the Swedish forest — a solo trip report

Six days solo on the Sörmlandsleden in September 2025: complete solitude, screaming foxes, bellowing elk, and the log-hu...
Looking down a deep Highland valley with mountains rising on both sides, on the Cape Wrath Trail above Corryhully.
Cape Wrath Trail · Scotland

Cape Wrath Trail: the hardest thing I have done — a solo trip report

A brutally honest, first-hand account of walking Britain's toughest trail solo: the solitude, breaking down at Kinloch H...
Gear reviews

Gear we actually carried.

Hands-on reviews by HikeLoad founder Ray Kootstra: used on real hikes, weighed on his own scale and photographed on the trail. Free samples are always disclosed.

All gear reviews
Black WATERFLY Hiking Backpack 20L with a Nalgene bottle in its side pocket, on a tree stump in a forest on the Veluwe
WATERFLY · Daypack · 9/10

WATERFLY Hiking Backpack 20L review: light, comfortable and full of pockets

I weighed, packed and hiked the WATERFLY 20L on the Veluwe: 620 g on my scale, soft straps, a hip belt that sits really well, and one stiff buckle.
Trail library

Featured trails.

Long-distance hiking routes from around the world — with GPX downloads and full route guides.

All trails
Community

Shared hikes

Hikes shared by the community — browse routes and get inspired for your next adventure.

Explore all hikes
From the blog

Latest articles.

All articles
Trail Planning

Long-Distance Trail Data: Distance & Elevation of 976 Multi-Day Hikes (2026)

We mapped 976 multi-day trails — 72,574 km in total. Here are the longest and steepest routes, average distance and elevation, and...

2 min read 29 Jun 2026

Gear

The Lightest Backpacking Gear of 2026: Weight Data from 1278 Products

We analysed 1278 pieces of backpacking gear across 18 categories. Here is the lightest option, the average weight and the spread i...

2 min read 03 Jun 2026

Nutrition

Backpacking Food Weight Per Day: 500 g for 3,000 Calories

500 g of food per day gives you 3,000 calories and keeps 3 days under 1.5 kg. Calorie-density table, a full meal plan and freeze-d...

8 min read 08 May 2026

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