A route card is a document that is used by

hillwalker Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiva ...

s as an aid to

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

and route planning. The military also use a similar technique for planning night marches and/or

patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology The word "patrol" is derived from the Frenc ...

Core information: The planned route

The planned route is broken down into discrete sections termed "legs" or "stages". Whenever possible, each leg will start and finish at a clearly defined topographical feature such as a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

knoll In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound. Knoll may also refer to: Places * Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom * Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, ...

, saddle,

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

junction and so on. In most cases the legs are defined as being the longest section that might be safely followed on a single

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

bearing. The object is to split the overall route into sections that can be readily undertaken in conditions of poor visibility such as in

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

or at night. In addition to the compass bearing, for each leg the total distance will be measured as well as the height gained or lost and the steepness of the ground. Using this information an estimated time to complete the leg will be calculated usually using Naismith's Rule or one of its variations. These times are then added to estimate the total time needed for the expedition. For each leg note may also be taken of potential sources of danger along the route such as

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

s or of handrail/collecting features to aid in confirming the route.

Additional information

For formal expeditions or excursions the leader may include the following information. *Composition of the party with the names of the members, car registration numbers. *Actual start time and date. *Estimated time and date of arrival at finish. *Mobile

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

number and/or

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

frequencies in use. *Notes regarding special equipment carried,

tent A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...

s, emergency shelters, food etc. A copy of the route card is then left with a responsible person so as to assist the emergency services in the event that the group should suffer a mishap. This also avoids groups being reported as missing prematurely or without due cause.

Use of route cards

In typical use, the route card will not be followed exactly by the party leader but is used as a backup if conditions deteriorate. When following legs on a compass bearing, the estimated time is not usually used as a precise indicator of when the leg is over but as a kind of fail-safe to stop the group from overshooting the actual objective and getting lost. If a precise estimate is needed, pace-counting may be used instead if terrain permits. Nowadays, it is typical to enter the co-ordinates from the route card into a handheld

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

unit and use this in conjunction with a compass if conditions deteriorate. In some cases, each member of the expedition may memorize a section of the route and have their own compass preset to the relevant bearing. This is a particular technique for military night patrols where the

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

s each lead a section of the route.

Use of Moon route cards

Military use these to assist a planned route for night navigation same as a route card. It is very simply a route card just showing the legs or stages of the route. Some commanders have a full detailed route card as well as the moon route card when doing night navigation. The two reasons for this is that you can pull the Moon card out on the march and hold it up to the moon light to check the bearing or grid reference of the next leg, and to stop you getting out your torch and giving your position away.

External links

Sample route card for the Maamturks ridge in IrelandExpedition-info - A free website to access a Moon route cardBasic Route CardLeg by Leg Route Card
Hiking Navigation Navigational aids