Plan travel time from realistic daily distances: a horse cart covers 25-35 km on a good road, 15-25 km on a fair track and 8-15 km on a poor trail, so a 150 km trip takes 4.3-6 days on a good road and 10-19 days on a poor trail, and the wet season adds 30-50%. An ox cart covers 15-20 km a day on a good road, so the same 150 km takes 7.5-10 days. Divide the distance by the daily range, round up, and add the seasonal allowance.
Part of Logistics & Load Planning
The daily distance of carts, pack animals and porters on different surfaces, the shape of a travelling day, and how seasons change both.
Daily Distance Depends On The Surface More Than The Animal
The parent article gives a table of realistic daily distances.
| Mode | Good road | Fair track | Poor trail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horse cart | 25-35 km | 15-25 km | 8-15 km |
| Ox cart | 15-20 km | 10-15 km | 5-10 km |
| Pack mule | 20-30 km | 15-25 km | 10-20 km |
| Human porter | 20-25 km | 12-18 km | 8-12 km |
Its example day for a horse convoy runs 05:00 wake, feed and water; 06:00 hitch up and depart; short rests at 07:30, 09:00, 10:30; a long rest of one hour at 12:00; resume at 13:00; short rests at 14:30 and 16:00; arrive at camp by 17:00 to unhitch, water, feed, inspect animals and make repairs. For wet-season roads the parent allows 30-50% more travel time, and notes that shorter winter days cut travel hours.
What You Need
- The route and its surfaces — the length of each section.
- The mode of transport.
- The season.
- The camps along the way. See Rest Stops & Staging Areas.
Method: Build A Timetable
Step 1: Split the route by surface Measure each stretch of good road, fair track and poor trail.
Step 2: Divide by the daily range Distance / daily distance gives days for each stretch; use both ends of the range.
Step 3: Add the season Multiply by 1.3 to 1.5 for the wet season.
Step 4: Fit camps to the days Choose camps with water near the end of each day’s travel.
Step 5: Add a margin A day or two of slack for breakdowns, weather and rest days.
Worked Example: A 150 km Trip
Inputs: the table above; 150 km all on one surface.
- Horse cart, good road: 150 / 35 = 4.3 days to 150 / 25 = 6.0 days.
- Horse cart, fair track: 150 / 25 = 6 days to 150 / 15 = 10 days.
- Horse cart, poor trail: 150 / 15 = 10 days to 150 / 8 = 18.75, so about 19 days.
- Ox cart, good road: 150 / 20 = 7.5 days to 150 / 15 = 10 days.
- Wet season, horse cart on a good road: 4.3 × 1.3 = 5.6 days to 6.0 × 1.5 = 9.0 days.
A mixed route of 40 km of good road and 30 km of poor trail for a horse cart: good 40 / 35 = 1.1 to 40 / 25 = 1.6 days; poor 30 / 15 = 2.0 to 30 / 8 = 3.75 days; total 3.1 to 5.4 days. The 30 km of trail takes about twice as long as the 40 km of road.
Checking the parent’s day. The listed day runs from 06:00 to 17:00, which is 11 hours. Five 10-minute rests and a 1-hour midday stop take 110 minutes, so there are 11 − 1.83 = 9.17 hours of moving time. The parent says this gives “about 9 hours of travel” and a good-road distance of 30-33 km. Divide: 30 / 9.17 = 3.3 km/h to 33 / 9.17 = 3.6 km/h while moving. Draft Animal Training gives 5-6 km/h as a horse’s walking speed. The cart table implies a slower average, which is plausible for a loaded cart over a full day, although neither source states it.
Common Mistakes
- Using the best-case range for planning — plan with the lower end and treat the upper as luck.
- Mixing surfaces in one average — add them up section by section.
- Forgetting the wet season — it adds 30-50%.
- No slack — a day’s delay compounds.
- Starting animals cold and late — the day shrinks.
Safety
Pushing the pace
Driving animals past their daily range lames them and kills them. Do not extend the day to make up lost time on a poor trail; stop early and camp near water instead.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Seasonal Route Selection — choosing the route by season
- Combine with: Route Optimization — comparing routes by time