Author Topic: How do people plan their walks?  (Read 3930 times)

WhitstableDave

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #15 on: 16:19:12, 02/10/19 »
I love planning routes.  I am like an old miser in that I plan them then hoard them away on my computer.  From time to time a get them out and cackle evilly over them.  Sometimes I may even do one but that usually generates one or two more.
Walking with Mrs N makes planning routes even more fun for she has rules about going uphill, the chance of meeting anything bigger than a sheep, the possibility of mud, duration, distance etc.  It hones my planning skills no end - not to mention my ability to sell a route to her.
I'm exactly the same - and when I walk with my wife there's the need for a coffee stop to accommodate!  :)
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GnP

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #16 on: 16:56:00, 02/10/19 »
I use Ordnance survey mapping on my PC with a 22 inch screen. I love the old school look of it. It s always at 1/25 k scale. I know open source is getting better and better but it just looks so bland to my eyes when plotting on it.
Although I do use Open source from Talky Toaster on my etrex, in combination with OS mapping on my phone at times when following the route..
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Other times, I just print off a tile from OS and use it in conjunction with a GPX on my etrex 20...stuff the paper tile in any pocket and my etrex on my belt...job done. I love the look of OS mapping on the phone but my phone is a tough phone and  feels a tad heavy.
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At times I will look for routes on OS mapping that others have created or are from one of the walking magazines...then download the GPX and follow it. Or I may modify it and extend, shorten or move sections that are on a road to cross country wherever possible.
« Last Edit: 03:27:30, 03/10/19 by GinAndPlatonic »
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ninthace

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #17 on: 17:05:20, 02/10/19 »
I'm exactly the same - and when I walk with my wife there's the need for a coffee stop to accommodate!  :)
  I get bonus points for a loo.
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Dovegirl

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #18 on: 20:01:56, 02/10/19 »
I get ideas for walks from books, leaflets and the internet and I love looking at my OS maps and seeing how I can link paths up into a good route.  I also use maps supplied on Viewranger, eg the satellite map and Bing Aerial Imagery and Open Street Map.  I find Streetview useful for seeing the location of footpath signs and bus stops.  The less familiar I am with an area the more likely I am to plot the route on Viewranger and to follow it pretty closely.  But in areas I'm very familiar with I sometimes improvise as I go along and it may not be till I'm well into the walk that I decide where to finish.

scottk

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #19 on: 20:16:27, 02/10/19 »
I have used OS mapping for the last couple of years but have now swapped to memory map. One big advantage of the online mapping is some have a fly through of the route and you can also look at the route from an aerial perspective. This helps give you ideas of likely camp spots and how good (or non existent) the paths are.
The other good thing is printing off just the areas you need. I print onto weather proof paper which works out very well-don’t need a map case and very light for lng distance routes.

ninthace

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #20 on: 20:47:46, 02/10/19 »
I used to print on weatherproof paper too but I found that my printer ink wasn’t.  It costs quite a bit too so I switched to standard paper and a plastic wallet. More cost effective and more weatherproof.
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BuzyG

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #21 on: 23:33:25, 02/10/19 »
Very much depends on the walk. Some I plan for weeks, usually because it is a first walk in a particular area.  For those I use Bing maps Google Earth, Walking Highlands.  Then for walks on Dartmoor there are firing times to check and from start to finish of any plan there is the weather.  For that there is only one really good site for the UK, the met office. O0


I have A4 laminated sheets covering Dartmoor and Bodmin moor that I carry with me.  To be honest I seldom look at them.  If the weather comes down my phone and OSmaps app are far less fuss.  Though not infallible. Even in new areas I have the good fortune to normally be able to memorize a decent map a week or so ahead of a walk.  If it is something you enjoy and I suspect many here are the same, then pouring over maps for hours memorising details is a real pleasure.


For a day in the Brecon Beacons, a 4 hour drive each way, there is the car to check over fuel, tyres, washer, oil, snow chains for winter.  Food to prep the night before and the usual kit list to chuck in the day sack.


One thing I have never yet tried is following a GPS plot.  Don't quite get why so many people do.
« Last Edit: 23:41:30, 02/10/19 by BuzyG »

happyhiker

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #22 on: 23:58:44, 02/10/19 »
I decide where I want to walk using 1:25000 OS maps, the sheets. Once I have decided, I have plotted the route for years on Memory Map though am now going to give the OS on line a go.


I usually do not rely on the screen version of maps for the initial planning as it is too small an area and I might miss something just outside the area displayed.

sussamb

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #23 on: 07:07:15, 03/10/19 »
One thing I have never yet tried is following a GPS plot.  Don't quite get why so many people do.

I do it for various reasons.  Less need to focus on a map etc so more time to simply enjoy the walk.  Also statistics immediately available like how far I've come, time and distance to finish etc.  The added bonus that if the clag does come down less chance of going off track due to a nav error, or even an error due to tiredness/stupidity  O0
Where there's a will ...

ninthace

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #24 on: 09:01:31, 03/10/19 »
One thing I have never yet tried is following a GPS plot.  Don't quite get why so many people do.
When you think about it, it is really no different from following a line, real or imaginary, drawn on a map.  Many people, who do not use gps, imagine people walking along, gps in hand, slavishly following the screen.  That’s not how it happens, in fact rather the reverse.  I only look at the screen occasionally, to check progress or to confirm my line.
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pleb

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #25 on: 10:03:43, 03/10/19 »
I browse my paper maps. Got a ton of walk ideas on paper in a drawer too, cut out of a newspaper.
Plenty more ideas on walking englishman website.
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Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #26 on: 11:45:20, 03/10/19 »
I simply pick up one of my many books on Snowdonia, and choose the area or mountains i want to walk in.
I never plan my route, i just like the experience of visiting an area, that possibly i have not visited before, and the adventure is not quite knowing what to expect.

I obviously read up on the kind of terrain to be expected, such as technicality of the mountain,and then just go and do it.

This is the way ive always done it, and will continue to do so,


GnP

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #27 on: 11:47:32, 03/10/19 »
Also statistics immediately available like how far I've come, time and distance to finish etc.
Thats what I like about my gps....
Plus as someone else said..a quick glance and it confirms you`re on course. I do not have a great memory & so only have a rough idea in my mind. I check every so often for the next mile or so...it`s been known for me to go off route by a mile or more though, because I was enjoying the scenery...then have to back track. I look upon that as a bonus and ensures I stay fit  :o
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

sussamb

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #28 on: 11:52:11, 03/10/19 »
You can set 'off course' alarms in ViewRanger and on Garmin GPS, maybe others ...  ;)
Where there's a will ...

Dovegirl

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Re: How do people plan their walks?
« Reply #29 on: 12:30:28, 03/10/19 »
One thing I have never yet tried is following a GPS plot.  Don't quite get why so many people do.

In addition to what the others have said, using a device is easier than struggling with a paper map in a strong wind    :)

 

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