The Route

 

According to Google, this is a trek of some 333km, east to west. 

(Please click on the map to see it in full-page view)

It would be quite normal for the detailed plan not to survive past the first hour on the trail. There will be road closures, diversions, distractions, all number of interruptions that will require me to take unforeseen trails. I anticipate that. (Previous walkers have reported deep, water-filled potholes, newly constructed, locked gates and enthusiastic guard dogs that had required them to rethink their trail).

I have also made provision in my planning to specifically NOT walk through heavily populated city suburbs, but rather to take public transport through those last-mile sections. I would rather start and end my hiking in pleasant hiking country, then hop on a convenient tram to get to (or from) my hotel.

However, I have plotted my route to stay close to the Petit-Rhône river, the Philippe Lamour Canal and several other inland waterways that proliferate this region. I do hope that some generous passing canal-boat driver will offer me a sojourn on their craft for a small part of their voyage, as that would, in my opinion, add colour and variety into the pattern of my journey.

I have also invested in a GNSS antenna. Most people would think of this as a GPS system. 

Geek Sidebar

Technically, GPS is a community of satellites that is mainly focused on the USA. Similar communities of satellites operate over Russia (Glonass), China (Beidou), Japan (QZSS) and India (NavIc). Europe's massive and quite new satellite system is called Galileo.  The system I have bought is intelligent enough to collect positioning data from all of them - allowing the triangulation of some 78 signals. It USB-plugs into my little Huawei tablet, works with Google Earth (or France's Géoportail) and provides pinpoint accurate live positioning. It took weeks to track down a product with this particular set of capabilities. In the end, I'm bringing it from China at a total cost, including freight, of €23.  It weighs just 60g. The receiver will sit on my pack lid (velcro), with a cable running through the strap loops intended for the pack's hydration bladder hose, at the end of which is the USB connector.  That will allow me to access all the offline maps I've stored on my tablet as well as providing accurate positioning data without relying on either an internet connection or a mobile phone signal. 

Of course I also plan to carry a portable wifi dongle, with an Orange SIM,  that will give me wifi whenever there's a phone signal. Together, these three technologies (4G phone, wifi and GNSS) will speed up the identification and connection to satellites. My old Huawei Mediapad T5 has a 10" (140mm x 160mm) screen from which I can see my maps. Compare that outcome to a tiny watch face, with one tenth of the screen size, one quarter of the satellite connectivity and costing 20x the price. I won't be buying a so-called 'smartwatch' anytime soon.