I assume that on the time control plan the allowance for elevation gain is for the total elevation experienced throughout the day. Not just the difference in the start and end, or the low and high.
Allen Jones
----- Original Message -----
From: CoopWright@aol.com
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 5:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Philmont]: Daily Itinerary Mileage
Here is the writeup from the Philmont Advisor's Guide, an 85 page unofficial guide to Philmont written by Cooper Wright and Wally Feurtadop, two experienced Philmont trekkers. It is available as an email MS Word attachment for a $10 donation to Venturing Crew 1519.
Terrain Awareness
In 1991, Wally's crew took Trek 24 (now Trek 33), which at that time, was the hardest trek. For the first six days, the crewmembers made the decisions on which trail to take. As a result, wrong trails were selected making an already difficult trek even harder. Finally after two advisors developed severe foot problems, the advisors began to take a more active role in making trail selection decisions. The fact remains that for most Scouts and in some cases for their advisors, basic map and compass skills are lacking.
We define terrain awareness as the ability to use these basic map and compass skills along with the natural features of the wilderness environment to help determine your location. For example, if the map indicates that Bonita Peak will be on your left as you walk along the trail and all you see is a beautiful mountain meadow, chances are that you are on the wrong trail. This actually happened to Wally's crew. When it was pointed out to the crew by an advisor that the peak wasn't to their left, it was their first indication that they were not on the right trail. The crewmembers simply did not know what terrain features to look for as they walked along the trail.
We both feel that it is important for each crewmember to have the opportunity to be the navigator (or in some cases better named as the "naviguesser" or "Magellan") for the day. The navigator is responsible for carrying the map and compass and leading the crew while on the trail. We have found that the best way to teach terrain awareness skills is by hands-on practice. It also gives the navigator a chance to assume a leadership role within the crew for the day. Finally, the use of a navigator satisfies one of the requirements for Backpacking Merit Badge. After supper, the advisor should sit down with the navigator and help him go over the route to be covered the next day and prepare a Time Control Plan.
A Time Control Plan predicts how long it will take you to complete your hike (or any portion of it). It includes important trail features such as water locations (very important), stream crossings, trail intersections, and staffed and trail camps. It also includes time spent for program, meals on the trail and just time spent "smelling the roses". To prepare a Time Control Plan, the navigator will need to estimate the total distance to be covered as well as the approximate changes in elevation. You can determine the horizontal distance by simply reducing the trail into a series of sequential straight-line segments and estimating the mileage to be traveled using the scale at the bottom of the map. Coop now uses a map wheel made by Silva that records the distance for several different map scales. Next the navigator will need to determine the approximate changes in elevation over the length of the hike. This is a little more difficult and requires the navigator to be able to read and understand the contours shown on the map. Again it is easiest to break the total hike up into sections of climbs and descents (you are never going to be flat for very long).
Once you have both the horizontal distance and the elevation changes, your navigator should estimate the total time on the trail. A good rule of thumb is one hour for every two miles traveled plus an hour for every 1,000-foot change in elevation. For example, if your hike is eight miles long, with an elevation change of 2,500 feet, it should take your crew 6.5 hours to walk (8 miles divided by 2 miles per hour plus 2,500 feet change in elevation divided by 1,000 feet per hour). You will probably have to modify this rule based on your crew's capability.
Each evening, the navigator should review the route using his Time Control Plan and map with the entire crew. Taking this time each day is extremely important. It provides the crew with an understanding of how difficult or easy the day will be. Instead of blindly following each other down the trail, they become more of a participant in the trek. It also provides the crew with the information they need to plan out the day. Using the Time Control Plan, the crew (not the advisor) takes ownership for the hike and decides what time to get up, when and where (and what) meals should be eaten, when they should arrive at scheduled programs, and when they will arrive at the next day's camp. Finally, it provides an opportunity to reinforce map and compass skills that are little used anywhere else.
At each trail intersection, the entire crew should stop and examine the map. The selection of the new trail should be a consensus of all crewmembers and reviewed with the advisor. The crew's navigator should always ask, "Does anyone not agree" before proceeding down the selected trail. If the crewmembers make a wrong selection, let them live with their mistake until your feet tell you it's time to stop and have them explain where they are. After the first few times that you let them make a mistake, the crew will begin to get serious about terrain awareness.
Philmont sells two different types of maps. The first is a single map sheet (1" = 4000' or 1:48,000), which covers the entire ranch. This map is great for planning your trek and to get a good idea of surrounding terrain features. The second is a set of four map sheets (1:24,000), which covers the northern, central, southern sections and the Valle Vidal area. We use the 1:24,000 scale map on trail because it provides much more detail than the 1:48,000 scale map. The map should be folded and so that the route is clearly visible and held in the hand for frequent checking. The crew leader, his navigator for the day, and the advisor all should carry a map during the hike.
One of the skills that your crew will have to learn is how to compensate for the difference between true north displayed by the grid lines on your map and magnetic north. This difference is known as declination. True north and magnetic north are the same only in a line that runs off the East Coast of Florida, through Lake Michigan, and on up to the Magnetic North Pole located north of Hudson Bay. At Philmont, magnetic north as of 1992 is 10 1/2 degrees east of true north (the map indicates a 1983 declination of 11 1/2 degrees). There are several ways to account for this difference. We strongly recommend that your crew have an orienteering compass, with a built-in declination device, so that your compass and map speak a common language. If you have a regular compass, you can set it to 350 degrees and line it up with the north-south gridlines to orient your map. Another more difficult way is to subtract 10 1/2 degrees from a bearing taken from a map to that set on a compass. "Declination EAST - Compass LEAST".
If you don't have an orienteering compass with its built-in declination device, the simplest method to have your map talk to your compass is to put magnetic-north lines on your map and use them instead of the true-north grid lines. We suggest that you order your Philmont maps ahead of time and do this at home where you will have the right materials that include your Philmont maps, a compass, a yardstick, and a pen. You can use your compass as an accurate protractor. First, turn the compass housing until 10 1/2 degrees (the declination) lines up with the direction of travel arrow on the compass base plate. Set your compass on the map, aligning the north-south lines in the compass housing with the map's north-south grid lines. The long plastic edge of the compass base plate should now point exactly 10 1/2 degrees east. Using a pen, carefully draw the first magnetic north-south line along the length of the compass' plastic base plate. Place your yardstick along this line and continue the line across the length of the map. Continue moving the yardstick and drawing lines until they are parallel magnetic north-south lines spaced evenly across the map. Do not use the magnetic north-south arrow of the declination diagram to draw your magnetic north-south lines as discussed in the Boy Scout Handbook and the Fieldbook. We have found that the angle between the arrows in the declination diagram seldom matches the given declination angle. The U.S. Geological Survey uses a series of standardized diagrams that come closest to the actual declination when adding a diagram to a particular map.
If all of this sounds like Greek to you, you need to take some time to get yourself and your crew more familiar with using a map and compass. There are many fine books on this subject; a good reference is Bjorn Kjellstrom's Be Expert with Map & Compass. At Philmont, you will need to have these skills mastered. One of the very first things that your Ranger will ask your crew to do is to orient a Philmont map using a compass, so be prepared.
Cooper Wright
Co-author of the Philmont Advisor's Guide
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Received on Wed May 19 18:36:43 2004
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