If there was one word for this track, it would be “tough”, t, o, u g, h. It’s not just the two alpine passes that have to be conquered, nor the mud, nor even finding the track. It must be one of the toughest walks I’ve ever done. It’s pretty slow going at best, as the table shows, and the climbs and downclimbs reach an average grade of D+, which is between 7.5° and 15° on average for the distance of the climb. On average.
| Section | Distance | Track Time | Break | Mean speed | Median time|distance | Ascent | Descent |
| Lake Hauroko – Halfway Hut | 11.9 km | 4:35 h | 0:08 h | 2.60 km/h | 2.47|3.05 km/h | 444 m (M-) | 279 m (E+) |
| Halfway Hut – Lake Roe | 7.8 km | 3:58 h | 0:07 h | 1.95 km/h | 1.77|2.42 km/h | 643 m (M+) | 106 m (E) |
| Lake Roe – Loch Maree | 8.6 km | 4:19 h | 0:44 h | 1.98 km/h | 1.92|2.39 km/h | 419 m (D-) | 1245 m (D+) |
| Loch Maree – Supper Cove | 15.0 km | 6:39 h | 1:04 h | 2.25 km/h | 2.06|2.78 km/h | 505 m (M-) | 552 m (M-) |
| Supper Cove – Loch Maree | 14.1 km | 5:59 h | 0:55 h | 2.36 km/h | 2.21|2.90 km/h | 506 m (E+) | 452 m (M-) |
| Loch Maree – Kintail | 11.3 km | 5:22 h | 1:02 h | 2.11 km/h | 2.01|2.60 km/h | 563 m (M) | 341 m (M-) |
| Kintail – Upper Spey | 7.1 km | 4:26 h | 1:47 h | 1.60 km/h | 1.48|1.86 km/h | 833 m (D+) | 652 m (D) |
| Upper Spey – West Arm | 13.5 km | 4:39 h | 0:12 h | 2.90 km/h | 2.71|3.81 km/h | 275 m (E) | 547 m (M-) |
| Totals | 89.3 km | 39:58 h | 6:20 h | 2.23 km/h | 2.04|2.68 km/h | 4145 m (M) | 4134 m (M) |
| Summary of the Dusky Track. Climb categories are: Flat (< 1.9°/3.3%), Easy (> 1.9°/3.3%), Moderate (> 3.8°/6.6%), Demanding (> 7.5°/13%), Strenuous (> 15°/27%) | |||||||
