Okay, with the help of BZH, squark, and others I don't know, I made and posted a simple app that attempts to answer the question of "How far, including the terrain, did I really hike?"

You can find it with some sparse instructions on how to use it here:

http://navigraphic.com/cgi-bin/navigraphic/CalcMilesHiked.pl

I used a data file created by my Garmin Oregon 200 that was imported into Garmin's BaseCamp software and then exported using the "Tabbed Text" option. I tried to make it as easy as I can, but you still have to open the file and delete some non-track related text that Garmin puts in there before you upload it to the app, and there can't be any blank lines in the file.

For some reason it bombs out on larger data files. The error points to code I didn't write, and I haven't figured out what's causing it yet. I might look for some other code to replace those routines to see if that helps.

I've went over the math and logic this app uses as best I can. I'd be glad to provide the code to anyone that wants it. There is a demo file linked that you can download, review, and then upload to test the app with.

What's most striking to me right out of the box is not the difference in how far I hiked in the mountains as compared to flat ground, though that is notable, but how many feet up and down I hiked.

When I compare my numbers to what Garmin's "BaseCamp" gives for the "Ascent" and "Decent" numbers, there is a big difference.

I simply check to see if you went up or down on a given leg of a track and keep a running total of both. I don't know how they calculate it.

Now, I want to offer this...

I think for our purposes, and for the purpose to best describe what kind of hike a trail will be, the numbers that matter are how far you walked horizontally, and how far you climbed vertically, both up and down.

The reason I think these are the important numbers is because you have to physically move your body that far in those directions.

I think that measuring the angle between the two (distance and elevation) does not truly represent how your body moved, or the exertion required to move it.

The app attempts to provide those numbers too.