Planning a Walk

Walk Timing

"Naismith's Rule - for an average walker with a medium pack, allow

• 1 hour for every 4km of easy going; 3km of easy scrambling; and 1½km of very rough country, deep sand, soft snow or thick bush. Then
• add 1 hour for every 500m up, and 1 hour for every 1000m down.

For very fit and experienced walkers reduce the total time by one third, and for larger, less fit or less experienced groups, this rule may be optimistic." (Bushwalking and Ski Touring Leadership, Handbook of the Bushwalking and Mountaincraft Training Advisory Board Inc, 3rd edn, 2000)

Rough guide for planning:

Track	12 min/km	5km/hr
Open scrub	20 min/km	3km/hr
Medium scrub	30 min/km	2km/hr
Thick scrub	40 min/km	1.5km/hr
Rock hopping	30 min/km	2km/hr
Steep slope	add 5-10 min/100m climbed

(Finding Your Way in the Bush by George Carter, Walk Secretary, Canberra Bushwalking Club, rev Apr 1993)

Temperature Variation with Altitude

The ambient air temperature decreases by about 1°C (perhaps 3/4°C) for every 100m climbed.

Wind Chill

The increase in wind chill approximates the square root of the wind speed. Try the calculator here .

Daylight Hours

Use the calculator here to calculate daylight hours. For example, useful walking limits would be from beginning of morning civil twilight to end of evening civil twilight. Don't forget to specify daylight savings, as appropriate (see below), by selecting Australian Eastern Summer Time (EDT) as the Time Zone.

Daylight Savings in the ACT

From the beginning of daylight savings in October 2008, the ACT will align its daylight savings with NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. It begins on the first Sunday in October at 2am - put clocks forward 1 hr; ends on the first Sunday in April at 3am - put clocks back 1 hr.

Corin Dam Holdings

Graph here to see current Corin Dam holdings.

Useful additional maps

1. Bimberi Nature Reserve Draft Fire Operations Map http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/FMS_bimberi_draft_operations.pdf
2. Lower Cotter Catchment Fire Trails http://www.tams.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/127455/LCC_Public_Use_Map_1108.pdf

NSW Park and Fire Management Plans

See http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/parkmanagement/ParkAndFireManagementPlansByCategory.htm . This is a useful reference for maps, tracks, background to various areas.

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This page last updated 22Jan10

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