Choose the route that gets the cargo there fastest and safest, not the shortest on the map: compare routes by the days each takes, the grades and bridges on each, and the water and grazing along each. A 40 km good road takes a horse cart 1.1-1.6 days, while a 30 km poor trail takes 2.0-3.75 days. Check grade, surface, bridges, width and water before committing a loaded convoy.
Part of Logistics & Load Planning
Picking among possible routes for a loaded cart, wagon or pack train by travel time, terrain, bridges, water and season.
A Route Is Judged By Days And By Risk, Not By Kilometres
A loaded convoy cannot take any path a walker could. It needs grades it can climb, a surface that carries wheels, bridges that hold, width to pass oncoming traffic, water for the animals and, for long trips, grazing. The parent article lists the checks under terrain assessment (Terrain Assessment) and the seasonal differences under Seasonal Route Selection. The time of each route comes from Timing & Daily Schedule.
For builders choosing where a new road should go, see Route Selection.
What You Need
- A sketch map of the candidate routes, with lengths of each type of surface.
- Local knowledge of grades, fords, bridges and water.
- The cargo and the animals.
- The season.
Method: Compare Two Routes
Step 1: Split each route by surface Good road, fair track, poor trail.
Step 2: Convert to days Distance divided by the daily range for your vehicle and surface.
Step 3: Add the checks Maximum grade, bridges, narrow places and water for each.
Step 4: Reject any route that fails a hard check A bridge that cannot take your wagon, a grade your team cannot climb, or a dry stretch longer than the water limit.
Step 5: Choose the fastest of those that remain, with a margin Prefer the route you can recover on if something breaks.
Worked Example: Short Trail Against Long Road
A horse cart has a choice. Route A is 40 km of good road. Route B is a shortcut of 30 km of poor trail.
- Route A: 40 / 35 = 1.14 days, about 1.1 days, to 40 / 25 = 1.6 days.
- Route B: 30 / 15 = 2.0 days to 30 / 8 = 3.75 days.
The shorter route takes 1.25 to 3.3 times as long: 2.0 / 1.6 = 1.25 at best and 3.75 / 1.14 = 3.3 at worst. It also wears the cart and the animals more. Unless Route A has a bridge your load cannot cross, Route A wins even though it is 10 km longer.
Common Mistakes
- Choosing by distance — compare days.
- Ignoring bridges — a bridge that holds a person may fail under a loaded wagon.
- Forgetting the return trip — a route that is fine downhill may be impossible uphill with the same load.
- Choosing one route with no fallback — keep an alternative in mind.
- Using last year’s information — floods and washouts change routes.
Safety
Routes that cannot be reversed
A convoy committed to a narrow trail or a bridge cannot easily turn around. Scout ahead on foot or horseback, and never send a loaded wagon across a bridge whose capacity you do not know.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Terrain Assessment — the hard checks
- Combine with: Water Sources & Planning — the water check