naismiths rule and a new online route planning app

Mon, Jul 13, 2009

Grough have an interesting article about Naismith’s Rule and associated gubbins by various baggers who have modified it over the years. I’ve never been a great fan of it myself as it’s a bit too cumbersome when you’re on the hill but for nights spent poring over the maps with a single malt in hand, it gives a rough idea of how long a walk will take. 4kph and 1min per 10m ascent seems to cover it for most people. An average group will average around 3kph over the entire day, taking into account slow ascents and faster descents.

However, on my ML assessment, my assessor advised us to use the “gut feeling” rule instead and I wholeheartedly agree with him. This is where, over the years, you get to know how fast you’re walking. 2kph in deep snow, maybe even 1kph. 3-4kph on the hill and 6kph on the walk-in along easy paths and landrover tracks. You just know how fast you’re walking and you can tell from the map what the ground will be like on the way down so you get a fair idea of when you’ll reach where you’re going.

GPS can be used as a rough guide as it tells you your speed but it can be wildly inaccurate. If I move mine quickly from one hand to the other, it often registers several metres of distance moved! The best way to try it though, is to cycle 1kph using your bike computer then walk the same route at different speeds and time how long it took you each time. You’ll get a feel for how fast you’re walking by your gait. Just like you can guage wind speed by imagining leaning out of the car window and how that would compare to the wind on the hill that day. 20mph, 30mph etc.

Anyway, pop on over to Grough to find out about Naismith’s Rule and its historical revisions and a peek at their new online route planner.