Thursday 10 March 2016

Navigation

Waymarks
Generally speaking the trail is well way marked with a triple stripe (orange, blue and white) that one soon becomes good at picking up at a distance, just like the red and white GR flashes in France or the yellow Camino arrow in Spain.


The familiar waymark of the INT
Asking the way
I encountered relatively few people so asking the way would only rarely have been an option. However sometimes people did point me towards nice places to stay (e.g. the hut at Sansana).

Maps
While there are maps available to considerable levels of detail, these have several problems for the foreigner. They are expensive, heavy and in Hebrew. If that is insufficient to put you off, then I doubt that I would have used them for anything beyond a bit of long range planning, and even for that activity they were not at the right scale. In a word pretty useless except if you are staying a long time in one area, which in this context you’re not.

Technology

So that leaves me with technology and as ever I like to have two means of doing the same thing. And a reliable power source.

My tools consist of a Garmin eTrex 20 and an iPhone 5s. For a discussion of the power supply issue see the Technology section.

Garmin GPS
While I have long disliked the Garmin for its flakey software, appalling interface and limited functionality, I'm forced to admit to its two great strengths, which is why I still bear with it. 



The first being extremely long battery life under the usage pattern I adopt (roughly three weeks for a set of two AA batteries). 

The second being that is it cheap (well perhaps not all that cheap considering how little it does) reasonably rugged and adequately waterproof for outdoor use.

Data
I loaded one GPX file containing over 200 waypoints and 36 GPX track files containing the entire trail split so that no track was more than 500 points.

Like all the files I mention here these are contained in a single bundle. See the Download section.

iPhone 5s
I used the app MAPS.ME on my iPhone loaded with a KML file containing the same track and waypoints as the GPS. This can be contained in a single file which is more convenient. 

Moving, zooming and searching are far easier and faster than on the Garmin. The 5s screen is outstandingly clear and sufficiently large without being too bulky to carry.

I also used this app to record all the places where I camped or stayed. The data can be exported easily when the phone is connected to a computer, though it does need iTunes to do this. The Android version is a little easier I believe. This is a once-off task at the end so mot much of a burden. 

Copying and sharing "Bookmarks" (their term for Waypoints) is straightforward. Importantly it is possible to change the colour of the pin but not the symbol. I did this to denote water points (blue) to campsites (yellow), road access point (orange) and daily goals (pink). 

The default pin colour is red, but with a bit of judicious editing of the source KML file (it is just a text document) you can in fact choose the pin colour within the small range available. Indeed you can also choose a custom colour for each track as well.

For more complicated searches or where the spelling may be inexact Google Maps is far better, and was brilliant for public transport.

Source data
I downloaded the map of Israel from Open Street Map
I obtained the source file for the track from the INT Experience site.
I used a combination of GPSPrune, Basecamp and a text editor on a Mac to manipulate the files according to my needs.

In general (but not always) this was accurate and helpful. But sometimes the trail markings differed from the trail as shown on the GPS. I decided at the time what felt like the best path. Mostly I went with the physical markings. 

However some of the water waypoints were inaccurate - sometimes by a couple of hundred metres. This was not a problem in daylight, as I could see where the spring must be by virtue of the greenery surrounding it, but in the dark this would be more challenging. Please take note.


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