Route Cards

[Ollie]

Are route cards just something forced onto D of E groups, or should everyone do them? :)

Ollie

[timmygowalkies]

I personally think that people should do them; only simple putting in grid references and target points. There's no need to put in distances and times. There should be contact details on it etc. One should be left at home with a contact. That was if you don't arrive home by the time you said, they can contact the appropriate people.

[Ollie]

The thing that stops me being so sure about them is that if you go off route for some reason (say, you find a path blocked, or need to go via a town to find water) and get into trouble, your contact/emergency services might be so confident in your route planning abilities that they might stick to them solidly, and not look anywhere else, in which case you might be in a bit of bother.

I agree that they should know the start and end point, and any stop points, but I'm not so sure on laying down the whole route, just in case.

Anyone want to try and convince me otherwise? :D

[timmygowalkies]

OK then put it this way:If you don't leave any record of where you're going and don't tell anyone you're going out. You now get stuck on the top of a hill or out on the moors in storm, you get freezing cold and are miles from help. You get hypothermic and are struggling hopelessly, but you are well prepared and get in the sleeping bag and survival bag and wait it out. Hoping someone will come to your rescue.
Now let's rewind and change the beginning. You have left a route plan with a friend/family member, you have told them that if they don't hear from you by such and such a time. Now you go and get lost and get caught in a storm, get hypothermic and are struggling hopelessly, but you are well prepared and get in the sleeping bag and survival bag and wait it out. Hoping someone will come to your rescue.
In the second scenario the contact starts to get worried and phones the emergency services after you haven't contacted them several hours after you've said you would. They phone the emergency services, saying where you went and were you started from and your finishing point. They can now conduct a search and they will find you, the chances are it may be too late, but they have half a chance. If you walk off route by accident or on purpose the emergency services know that you can't have gone more than 10 or so miles.
In the first scenario, no-one starts to panic, the emergency services aren't called and it may be several days, weeks or even months before you are even noticed as being missing, let alone being found.
Does that help?
:PTim

[Ollie]

No, I agree you should let people know where you're going, and where you're planning to stay, etc. My argument is against leaving a route plan that says that at 13:07 you'll be at grid reference... I just think that by doing that you're being too specific - noone can be that confident in their route.

[Taff Craven]

noone can be that confident in their route.

Speak for yourself :)

I do feel route cards are a good thing, they can be a pain in the ass to write sometimes, but would help anyone looking for you.

I'm sure the emergency services would rather have a route card to give them and idea on where to look.

[timmygowalkies]

I don't usually put my timings for every point. I would usually pick a few significant places on the route, i.e summit cairn or where I want to stop for lunch and put down a timing. And as Taff says, the emergency services would rather have some clue rather than nothing at all.I am sometimes guilty of not leaving a route card at home, but my mum always knows where I am going, and what tie to expect me back.

[Shaggysheep]

The great debate that causes may arguments with hikers and walkers, Route Cards. I am a great believer in leaving someone information on my day out. The only down side to leaving route cards is if you leave you route for any reason, then no one knows what your new route is. I always leave a copy of possible escape routes that are on my route. I also think route cards are a great training aid for youngsters as it gives them a bit of responsibility in making sure that they inform someone when they are out on the hills and dales