RE: [Philmont]: Daily Itinerary Mileage

Sorry, but the ups and downs don't add that much to the distance. Even the
steepest grades will only add a few percent, and most of your trek is not
the steepest grade. The map may not accurately show all the twists and
switchbacks, which could add to the distance. I'm a highway engineer and we
deal with profiles and grades and distances every day. (for those who are
not convinced, see the math below)

In the trek book, the left page shows a map (if I dare to call it that) and
a profile. The profile has vertical lines that show the distance for each
day. It is hard to make out, but it is provided. You can scale the distance
along the bottom, which has emileage marked every five or 6 or 8 miles. The
last number on the right is the distance in feet past the last complete
mile. At least you could narrow down to see which day(s) are different from
what you got with a planimeter.

Ok, here is the math. Pythagorus provides the theorem. The long side of a
triangle, the walking distance (Side C) squared is equal to the sum of the
map distance (side A) squared plus the elevation change (side B) squared.
A^2 + B^2 = C^2. The steepest manmade slope you will see is about 2:1. This
means that the bottom (map view) is 2 feet for every 1 foot of elevation
gain. If you encounter a slope this steep on the trail, it is guaranteed
that Philmont will have provided a switch back. In this wildly steep case,
A=2 and B=1 so the Side C that you would walk is the square root of (2
squared) plus (1 squared) = square root of (4) + (1) = sqrt of 5 = 2.236.
Now this would show on the map as 2 feet (A side) and you would walk 2.236.
So this would have the map length be off by 2.236/2 = 1.118. Increase of
less than 12%

A realistic maximum path grade might be 20% - for every 100 feet on the map,
you go up 20 feet. Running the same calculation, you get less than a 2%
increase in walking length versus map length.

Thanks,
Scott Sibley, PE (Professional Engineer)
1975 - 623-A-1
2004 - 621-D-5

>From: Stan Lloyd <lloyd@skw-inc.com>
>Reply-To: philmont@troop47.com
>To: Multiple recipients of list philmont <philmont@troop47.com>
>Subject: RE: [Philmont]: Daily Itinerary Mileage
>Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 07:41:27 -0500
>
>Your distance using the planimeter is a horizontal distance and does not
>measure the slope distance or in other words the ups and downs of the
>terrain.
>
>===== Original Message from philmont@troop47.com at 5/18/04 7:27 am
> >Hello Group,
> >
> >Can anyone tell me if there is a way to find out the daily mileage for an
> >Itinerary? Our crew will have Trek 21 this summer which list at 64
>miles.
> >I've plotted the trek using the 2004 Itinerary Guide and used a
>planimeter
> >to determine the distances. Even with the side hikes to Baldy and Hidden
> >Valley, I only get 52.9 miles. I'm not sure what I'm missing, I shouldn't
>be
> >17% off with my calculations.
> >
> >Thanks in advance
> >
> >Yours in Scouting
> >
> >Thomas W. Brooks, Jr.
> >Advisor Crew 90
> >twbrooks@brooks-brooks.com
> >www.bsatroop90.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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>Stan Lloyd, RLS
>Shafer, Kline & Warren, Inc.
>(913) 888-7800
>(913) 888-7868 Fax
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>As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
>Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
>loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
>cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
>-------------------------------------------------------
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>
>
>

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As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
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Received on Tue May 18 12:17:50 2004