Finding the way

Long live the Internet! Planning a trip like this would take such a lot more time without it, if it was even possible.

First, it's getting the relevant maps. For close to home, the local bookstore is a good address. But they don't have more information on places further away that are not common tourist destinations. The survey agency site mentioned in the last post has links to its sister organizations in many places of the world, that helps. But the Italians only sell to resellers. Luckily, I found someone on the internet who runs a one-man business specialized in this...

With the maps at hand, I set out to plan tracks and places to rest and to sleep. Tourist topographical maps often show restaurants and hotels that are outside towns. The websites of towns generally have links to these places, especially in tourist areas (and if you go by the town sites, you get all the places, not just those that payed to be shown on a touristic site).

To judge distances, I generally go by the old-fashioned string method: Take some sewing thread and lay it as closely as possible over the chosen track, marking the end. When you're done, measure the length against the scale marked on the map. This underestimates the length by app. 10%, but is a good first approach.

I don't generally use google maps because they know only roads suitable for vehicle use and open to the general traffic. These I want to avoid... but I occasionally check the satellite images to see if a track that's not marked as a hiking/biking trail really exists. Also, I need terrain information (how steep is a trail?) that I don't get in good quality from there.

I own a GPS, but I use it only to confirm that I really am where I think I am. I haven't yet bought any maps for it. I'm not a digital native, that's probably one reason why. The other is that I love to spread out a square meter of paper map on my bed. Then I can, without time lapses or errors, see the whole picture or a tiny detail by just moving my head.