TGO Routing - part 1 probably

I've pressed on with route planning using the OS Getamap online program. It seems simple to use and operates at 1:50000 or 1:25000 depending on the level of zoom.

Pages at either scale can be printed out on A4. Colour is by far better and clearer than black and white.

To view a wide area there's a 'zoom' mode which redraws the image with a simpler map - the familiar OS markings disappear - and there's a satalite view which on first glance does not rival Google.

Routes are created by mouseclicks and are saved online. Route cards can be downloaded in PDF format and coordinates can be transferred to a Garmin satnav, or saved locally as a GPX file.

It is easy to spend long and enjoyable hours planning each leg of the route. Checking in guide books. Reviewing references on the internet. Zooming in on Googlemaps to spot bridges and buildings. Getting comments from fellow walkers. Then flying through a digital image of the landscape. Unfortunately Christmas time is a busy season, and it has been too hard to find those hours.

After a long time on the first 2 pages of the map I found comments from those that had been there before carefully not recommending this way. It seems the best consideration and research is easily undermined. So lets get a route out, then gather up comments and in-depth research. This way at least the job will be done!

So here it is:- Morar to St Cyrus in 26 pages of 1:50000!

Next to get it in a format for the vetters. Construct the bad weather alternatives. Where are the overnight spots? And where to look for indoor accomodation?

Here we TGO again!

Last October I mis-read the Email from the organisers. I thought I was one of the chosen ones - when in fact I was one of the others - on the waiting list.

This time I'm in at the outset. And as a Newby facing first:- THE PLANNING CHALLENGE.

1. The route. To this end I bought myself an early Christmas Present a year's subscription to Ordinance Survey's 'getamap' system http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/. For a little under £20 I have access to all OS mapping on-line. I can input and store routes, and I can print out A4 pages at 1:25000 or 1:50000 scale.
It seems a reasonable system to me, and quite simple. Printing in colour produces pages with the same content as the OS sheet maps, and is much clearer than on my b&w laser printer. Will I use pages on the walk? I'm not sure yet.

I know others have their favourite route planning systems. Has someone done a head-to-head comparison? I'd like to know I'm not wasting my time!

2. The boots. This is the thorniest problem. I want to do a few tops, some rocky and maybe scrambly ground, and I can imagine some lingering snow as well as the usual universal wetness. Whatever I decide I will have to live with for the whole trip and a breakdown in the feet area will prematurely end the adventure.

I've almost decided against any sort of Gortex lining. But more work is needed here.

3. The Tent System. Less critical in terms of priority, but important for a happy trip. My Laser Competition is a good design but slightly too small inside. Too small for me - when I sit up my head sweeps the condensation of the roof; and too small for my kit - which even when packed away will stick out from under the tent side at night. And my Trailstar tarp is not perfect. It seems to need a large piece of flat ground for a good pitch, and it provokes the question of groundsheet or bivvy bag? The homemade groundsheet is not a 'bathtub' style design so not proof against any sort of flooding; and the Rab Storm bivvy bag adds some extra weight.


4. The whole pack. What to take. What's the weight. For later.


5. Logistics. Something about food replenishiment. A shower or two. Maybe a drying-out opportunity. Also for later.

Mind-boggling Blogger!

How secure are your bloggings? Do you know where they are stored? Can you recover information if it is accidentally deleted?

Is it working in the optimum way? Do your gadgets put readers off? Are the pictures shown off to their best? And actually which is the best tool for you and your readers?

I'm sorry I don't have the answers. This needs time and study. Possibly each person would reach a different conclusion.

I started with Wordpress and then moved to Blogger. I had already paid Google for storage space, moving the content over saved paying for Wordpress storage too.

Recently this blog started to scroll up to the top whenever the comment link was clicked - not the right place for entering comments with an entry field at the bottom of the blog. I can find no clue about how to investigate this. I've more than 30 pages of HTML code from the template section of the blogger dashboard, but I don't want to learn this.

So maybe adjusting or replacing the template using the Blogger menus will help?

I now have a new look. But previous comments have disappeared. I think. Or have they? I don't know where they are stored.