Not much. Better planning up front as far as tools and route planning is concerned is perhaps one
area we could have optimised.
Maps and GPS's - We had maps and we had GPS's. The maps we had were copies of map
sections that presented a one day at a time view of our proposed routes. One of the things we did
not ensure was that each map section had clear indications of latitude and longitude to enable us
to pinpoint our position from GPS coordinates. This meant that we were still left to guess or
attempt to triangulate our position as best we could. In fact, some sections had latitude and
longitude indications but on testing against GPS references at known points these were found to
be incorrect. As we had fair weather and good visibility this was not a major challenge. It could
have been otherwise.
GPS Familiarisation - Some of us had new GPS's that we had not as yet fully familiarised
ourselves with. While we were fully at ease with routes, waypoints and followed sample tracks
from previous traverses, we had not setup the GPS correctly to prevent overwriting of new tracks
we were taking. A bit more time spent on GPS familiarisation and we could have brought back a
full record of the actual track we followed daily which could in turn have been passed on to future
traversers.
Route Planning - Although we had a proposed route schedule, we did not rigidlyadhere to it. We
walked beyond our proposed daily end point almost every day. Doing it again I would take into
account the enhanced energy levels that we enjoy in the morning. What we did worked out well,
the only challenge was that we were building the route on the fly. The early starts were great, hill
climbing in the morning is easier than in the heat of the afternoon after having walked 20km. Plan
the route so that the challenging hills are first thing in the morning or immediately after a scheduled
break like breakfast or lunch and the team members have had ample recovery time before taking
on the next challenge. Most mornings we knocked off at least 15 km, leaving only 5 to 10km for
the afternoons. This allowed us to setup camp early enough to enjoy the late afternoon before the
cold set in.