Camino de Lana ..Assistance/Info Request

[Former member 60103]

Fellow Pilgrim's.
I am planning to walk the Lana later this year. Forum links have led me to a great Spanish guide in pdf format which with the aid of Google Translate I have managed to convert into readable English.
I have a problem though. The maps on the PDF are just about usable in that format but reduce markedly in quality once cut and pasted to the point that they are unusable. Being a "tech dinosaur" I like to have my guides/maps on paper....makes me feel secure ! On the Levante I managed (just) to download a "Bikemap" file of the route but this was not suited to use with a compass etc and basically was a strip map which meant getting lost (three times) if the route was lost. The Lana is not covered. So;
1. Anyone know where I can get large scale ie 1;50,000 scale maps covering the route (Amazon only has touring road maps)
2. Can anyone comment on the frequency of yellow arrows/markers on the route is it comparable to the Levante in terms of route marking.
3 .I am unable to edit the pdf file so cannot print direct from it (something like 230 pages), anyone with ideas on how to edit the file (so I can print the maps) or separate the maps in a high definition useable format.
Many thank's in advance,
Buen Camino,
Don.

 

[Isca-camigo]

Hi
I don't know which guides you are using, have you tried this website for printing maps. http://douglasajohnson.com/rutadelalana1to8.htm#Stage

 

[VNwalking]

Hola @Don Camillo,
I am also old-fashioned and vastly prefer paper maps to anything on a gizmo.
If you are in the UK, check out Stanfords - they likely have what you are looking for here. This 1:50,000 series is not of course specific to the Camino, but they are the best quality cartography you could get.
(Or buy them in Spain in an old-fashioned shop...)

 

[MikeJS]

Why restrict yourself in such a way? Much better to use a gps track when it is almost impossible to get lost! Good info from here http://www.rayyrosa.com/rutadelalana/etapas and here https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/find.do?q=camino+de+lana&lfr=100&uom=mi

 

[Former member 60103]

Hola @Don Camillo,
I am also old-fashioned and vastly prefer paper maps to anything on a gizmo.
If you are in the UK, check out Stanfords - they likely have what you are looking for here. This 1:50,000 series is not of course specific to the Camino, but they are the best quality cartography you could get.
(Or buy them in Spain in an old-fashioned shop...)

*****Thanks for the reply. I did locate Stanfords but soon realised that if I bought all the maps at that scale I would also have to get a small cart for them not to mention an overdraft. Still working on a solution but at least have plenty of time to arrive at one. Thanks again.

 

[Former member 60103]

Why restrict yourself in such a way? Much better to use a gps track when it is almost impossible to get lost! Good info from here http://www.rayyrosa.com/rutadelalana/etapas and here https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/find.do?q=camino+de+lana&lfr=100&uom=mi

Mike, thanks for that. You know I have held out a long time against anything techy. I can though see the sense in GPS and for the Lana I just may have to break the habit of a lifetime and get a Garmen or something. Don.

 

[C clearly]

I just may have to break the habit of a lifetime and get a Garmen or something.

A smart phone is more versatile.

 

[Tess@rest]

I used a gps app Galileo Pro for back up on the Levante last year and plan to use it on the Lana when I start it in late April.

 

[Former member 60103]

Thank you. Much against my grain I am nudging towards a Garmin and GPS tracking. This will represent a sea change (and extra cost) to the way I have been doing thing's, but hey, even dinosaurs have to move with the changing climate.
Thanks again for the advice.
Don.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thank you. Much against my grain I am nudging towards a Garmin and GPS tracking. This will represent a sea change (and extra cost) to the way I have been doing thing's, but hey, even dinosaurs have to move with the changing climate.
Thanks again for the advice.
Don.

Don, I think you and I may share the bottom rung on the high tech ladder. But about five years ago when I walked the Olvidado I got a Garmin. Since then I have used it when I walk remote and/or solitary Caminos. It has really been a godsend on two or three occasions. I don’t know how I would have found my way without it. Everyone tells me that the phone is a much better way to use a GPS, and if I were to start over I would just use my phone. But I need a burst of confidence to make the transition from GPS to phone, so for this year I am sticking with my tried but true Garman. But since you are learning from zero, I would consider starting with the phone. If nothing else, it reduces pack weight!

 

[VNwalking]

Much against my grain I am nudging towards a Garmin and GPS tracking.

even dinosaurs have to move with the changing climate.

I'll go happily extinct, then, thanks.
Just a word of caution about using a phone: in 2015 I tried GPS on a phone, with disastrous results.
The screen is impossible to see in the sun, and the battery went flat when I most needed it. So on day one of my camino that year (on the Lana between Santo Domingo de Silos and Covarrubias) I went the wrong way and had to walk about 10 extra kms on top an already long and challenging day. I had loaded OSM maps and a GPS app on my phone but when I most needed to use the map, there was no signal, and then my phone batteries got drained...so it was all useless.
The experience simply re-enforced my preference for using hard-copy maps and my own mind as the primary wayfinding tool.
There are no batteries to go flat.
There are no technical challenges to simply viewing the map.
A paper map does not depend on a signal that may or may not be there.

A phone with the location turned on and Google maps (or something) can be the real-time back-up and confirmation, but I still wouldn't ever depend on a phone for navigation. A Garmin may be another story.

 

[KinkyOne]

You don't need the signal to see the maps. You can upload them not in a GPS mode so it can't talk to you where to go. It's the same as you would upload any .pdf or .docx file.
There are so-called power banks available for pennies on the internet. Low weight and very useful. Otherwise setting phone to an airplane mode saves battery too.

I was walking Levante with almost no shade and was always able to see the map on the phone screen. You just turn your back to the sun.

"There are no batteries to go flat."
Oh, but there are. If you run out of water

All that said I still like my self-compiled guidebooks

 

[VNwalking]

Oh, but there are. If you run out of water

Hee hee heeeeee... (and we don't want to go there about bottles versus 'water systems'...)

Don, I think you and I may share the bottom rung on the high tech ladder.

No, Laurie - clearly that's my perch. I do not want the hassle of all that when I can just glance at a paper map and think.I'm lazy.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Fellow Pilgrim's.
I am planning to walk the Lana later this year. Forum links have led me to a great Spanish guide in pdf format which with the aid of Google Translate I have managed to convert into readable English.
I have a problem though. The maps on the PDF are just about usable in that format but reduce markedly in quality once cut and pasted to the point that they are unusable. Being a "tech dinosaur" I like to have my guides/maps on paper....makes me feel secure ! On the Levante I managed (just) to download a "Bikemap" file of the route but this was not suited to use with a compass etc and basically was a strip map which meant getting lost (three times) if the route was lost. The Lana is not covered. So;
1. Anyone know where I can get large scale ie 1;50,000 scale maps covering the route (Amazon only has touring road maps)
2. Can anyone comment on the frequency of yellow arrows/markers on the route is it comparable to the Levante in terms of route marking.
3 .I am unable to edit the pdf file so cannot print direct from it (something like 230 pages), anyone with ideas on how to edit the file (so I can print the maps) or separate the maps in a high definition useable format.
Many thank's in advance,
Buen Camino,
Don.

Hi,

About the waymarking: My impression was that it was excellent for the first part (until Cuenca, rouhgly). I remember I compared it to that of the C Francés: no one can miss the arrows. It's a few years since I walked the Levante, but then it cannot be worse than on the Levante: probably even better.

But after Cuenca the decline started, and it got gradually worse until Burgos!

/BP

 

[Former member 60103]

Hi,

About the waymarking: My impression was that it was excellent for the first part (until Cuenca, rouhgly). I remember I compared it to that of the C Francés: no one can miss the arrows. It's a few years since I walked the Levante, but then it cannot be worse than on the Levante: probably even better.

But after Cuenca the decline started, and it got gradually worse until Burgos!

/BP

Hi, Thanks for that. I do recall on the way to Alpera from Almansa crossing from the Levante and briefly onto the La Lana. The La Lana was signed at that point so good to hear that it will be OK up to Cuenca.
I have finally worked out my plan with regard to the actual route - given that I have now bought a one way EasyJet ticket to Alicante at the end of August a plan of sorts was necessary.
I have loaded the route using OsmAnd (Open source mapping for Android) and will highlight various waymarks, this coupled with a full route description plus an old fashioned compass should see me right.
Couple of months to go but have a few walks in UK planned to keep my hand (or foot) in.
Don.

 

[Former member 60103]

To clarify. I have downloaded OsmAnd maps covering the La Lana from Alicante to Burgos. You are given 7 free downloads and I have used up 3 for the route and 1 for Scotland as I tested the system out last month on the West Highland Way/Great Glenn Way - it works off line and even gives a blue location dot.
I have chosen this method over a GPS Garmin. However I will also be carrying my trusty compass and full route description. The only downside is that the full map of Spain was too much for my phones 2 GB of storage hence my loading only the provinces I needed.
In addition to this and because I will be largely dependant on my mobile for maps, photographs and com's I have invested a small sum in a solar charger. I have tested this out recently in the Spanish sun as well as UK and it works with 3 to 4 hours sufficient for something approaching a full charge. The unit can be attached to the back of a rucksack and as I will be walking south to north this is where it will be attached. The weight is a reasonable 250g which is a good trade off for being able to charge up the phone without having to use mains electricity. Cost of unit was £20 but has since gone up. You can also use it to charge a portable power pack from which other stuff can be charged but this will obviously add to the weight.
Don.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Hi, Thanks for that. I do recall on the way to Alpera from Almansa crossing from the Levante and briefly onto the La Lana. The La Lana was signed at that point so good to hear that it will be OK up to Cuenca.
I have finally worked out my plan with regard to the actual route - given that I have now bought a one way EasyJet ticket to Alicante at the end of August a plan of sorts was necessary.
I have loaded the route using OsmAnd (Open source mapping for Android) and will highlight various waymarks, this coupled with a full route description plus an old fashioned compass should see me right.
Couple of months to go but have a few walks in UK planned to keep my hand (or foot) in.
Don.

Sooo,

Did you already go? As for me, I leave for Almería in just a few weeks. But I would love to be back on the Lana as well: my favourite so far!

I would like to hear what you thought about the maps & the waymarking!

Bye

BP

 

[Former member 60103]

Bad pilgrim. No haven't gone as yet. Flying to Alicante at end of August. Have had a couple of "practice" walks in UK to test out gear which was useful as a. Bivvy bag failed so had to get a new one. B. Solar panel was a success and was able to top my mobile phone charge up adequately (even in British sun).
I have upgraded my mobile phone to one with more storage and have been able to download full La Lana route from OSMAnd. My new phone has GPS positioning so looks like I am good to go.
Intention is to take my time heading up to Burgos (1 month) and maybe head off somewhere else for a week - before heading back down to Cartagena for a weeks break with my partner. This is her payback for letting me out to play again.
If I am able to get to grips with the technology I might post my progress along the route and give details as to route finding, overnight stop's etc - we will see.
Good Luck on your trip and Buen Camino,
Don.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]

Ugh,

You know a lot about technology! :Oo I have just printed some maps... and I bring my ancient mobile phone!

Yes I am leaving in just one week so I am getting a bit nervous!

See you!

BP