Elevation gains and losses

Donnakaten · Dec 14, 2023

Where can I find online, the elevation gains and losses for each stage of the Via Podiensis? It would be of great help in determing the length of each days walk.

Former member 104756 · Dec 14, 2023

Hi there - Perhaps you are looking for something more 'technical' but I've always found Gronze excellent for researching distances, profiles and possible accommodations of each stage (and more). Bear in mind that a 'stage', as noted on Gronze and other guidebooks or apps, is just one possibility. Your stages can be shorter or longer depending on your preferences and available accommodation.

Camino de Le Puy | Camino de Santiago | Gronze.com

El Camino de Le Puy (o Vía Podiensis) es el principal camino por Francia y la más importante vía de peregrinación medieval europea. La primera peregrinación documentada es la del obispo Godescalc entre los años 950 y 951. Se inicia en Le Puy-en-Velay, en la región de la Auvernia, y hoy en día...

www.gronze.com

To view the profile - click on a 'stage'. Underneath the map of that stage, you will see the words 'Ver perfil de la etapa' (profile of the stage). To the right of screen there is a plus sign. Click on that to see the profile.

Gronze is in Spanish. But if you open in Chrome browser - you can view in English.

All the best. It's a beautiful path. Bon chemin.

kelleymac · Dec 15, 2023

There were days I could walk farther than the recommended stages in my walk from Le Puy to Conques (2017). But then I would come upon a day where the next village/rest stop was either 10km or 45km away. The hills definitely slowed me down, I came to hate going down a hill because I knew I would be going back up.

monja · Dec 15, 2023

Look at MiamMiamDodo Guide. If you speak French or German.

Former member 104756 · Dec 15, 2023

There is a fairly recent Cicerone guide in English - written by Dave Whitson, forum member @Dave It also includes the Rocamadour and Cele Valley Variants, all in one volume. And you can buy a KINDLE version.

@Dave has also provided a comprehensive spreadsheet for the Le Puy - a link can be found in the resource section of the forum. An enormous amount of work has gone into this by @Dave and other contributors, including @BlackRocker57 - and it is regularly updated.

Anthony Rocco · Dec 15, 2023

Pelerina said:
There is a fairly recent Cicerone guide in English - written by Dave Whitson, forum member @Dave It also includes the Rocamadour and Cele Valley Variants, all in one volume. And you can buy a KINDLE version.

@Dave has also provided a comprehensive spreadsheet for the Le Puy which can be found in the resource section of the forum. An enormous amount of work has gone into this by @Dave and other contributors, including @BlackRocker57 - and it is regularly updated.

Yes! We walked in September and put the Cicerone on my Kindle. It was spot on. I must admit that this proved to be the most challenging of the 9 caminos we have walked. The elevation change was imposing, but it was the 90 degree days and searing sun that slowed us down to the point that what we expected to be a very short day, just 20 kms, took 8 hours. Nonetheless, it's an unforgettable camino.

Former member 104756 · Dec 15, 2023

Anthony Rocco said:
Yes! We walked in September and put the Cicerone on my Kindle. It was spot on. I must admit that this proved to be the most challenging of the 9 caminos we have walked. The elevation change was imposing, but it was the 90 degree days and searing sun that slowed us down to the point that what we expected to be a very short day, just 20 kms, took 8 hours. Nonetheless, it's an unforgettable camino.

We have been living in France for most of the year - in Lectoure on the Le Puy Way. This year, September was a killer month in terms of the heat - it was really an extended summer! We volunteered some days at the pilgrim welcome desk at the Cathedral. We saw many pilgrims arriving exhausted.

WayWalker · Dec 15, 2023

Donnakaten said:
Where can I find online, the elevation gains and losses for each stage of the Via Podiensis? It would be of great help in determing the length of each days walk.

Wise Pilgrims app had a good rendition of the elevation gains and losses.

dougfitz · Dec 15, 2023

Donnakaten said:
Where can I find online, the elevation gains and losses for each stage of the Via Podiensis? It would be of great help in determing the length of each days walk.

The CNIG tracks for the via Podienis contain elevation data, and will give you ascent and descent totals when loaded into a mapping app. I have tried the first couple of tracks in Garmin Basecamp and Google Earth. Go to the link and search in the page for a term like 'podienis' - searching visually over the large number of routes is a little cumbersome!

I couldn't find equivalent data in Gronze and Wise Pilgrim. While both show elevation profiles, neither expose the underlying elevation data used in creating their displays. So someone wanting to use Naismith's Rule or any of its derivatives to calculate equivalent distance won't get as accurate a result just using simple maximum and minimum elevations judged by eye on a graph as they will from track information containing elevation data.

BlackRocker57 · Dec 15, 2023

Donnakaten said:
Where can I find online, the elevation gains and losses for each stage of the Via Podiensis? It would be of great help in determing the length of each days walk.

If the «track notes» that I suggested to you are not sufficient for your needs then you might like to try Wikiloc and search for «Via Podiensis» and / or «GR65» where you can find .gps / .gpx traces for individual stages ... download individual .gpx files, make your own calculations of dénivelées [metres of ascent and descent] ... and hopefully determine the length of each day’s walk ... to the best of my knowledge there are no other apps or sites that give you metres of ascent and descent between villages and towns on this route ... N.B. that Dave Whitson’s Cicerone guide does give elevation gains and losses for his specified individual stages ... good luck / bon courage!

BlackRocker57 · Dec 15, 2023

dougfitz said:
The CNIG tracks for the via Podienis contain elevation data, and will give you ascent and descent totals when loaded into a mapping app. I have tried the first couple of tracks in Garmin Basecamp and Google Earth. Go to the link and search in the page for a term like 'podienis' - searching visually over the large number of routes is a little cumbersome!

I couldn't find equivalent data in Gronze and Wise Pilgrim. While both show elevation profiles, neither expose the underlying elevation data used in creating their displays. So someone wanting to use Naismith's Rule or any of its derivatives to calculate equivalent distance won't get as accurate a result just using simple maximum and minimum elevations judged by eye on a graph as they will from track information containing elevation data.

yep, @dougfitz that is my experience ... the apps such as WisePilgrim and Buen Camino and the websites such as Gronze give elevation profiles but not the data underlying those profiles, which some of us are interested in ... in order to plan our distances on this route carefully ... and to preserve dodgy knees; it became my covid lockdown project to remedy this situation and, as I had access to many raw .gpx files and lots of relevant data, I was able to achieve this ... but it is always a work-in-progress

Ken & Liz · Dec 15, 2023

Pelerina said:
There is a fairly recent Cicerone guide in English - written by Dave Whitson, forum member @Dave It also includes the Rocamadour and Cele Valley Variants, all in one volume. And you can buy a KINDLE version.

@Dave has also provided a comprehensive spreadsheet for the Le Puy - a link can be found in the resource section of the forum. An enormous amount of work has gone into this by @Dave and other contributors, including @BlackRocker57 - and it is regularly updated.

I purchased this book and found it great value for distance, elevation, easy to strenuous, plus Gite accommodation and prices

BlackRocker57 · Dec 16, 2023

Anthony Rocco said:
Yes! We walked in September and put the Cicerone on my Kindle. It was spot on. I must admit that this proved to be the most challenging of the 9 caminos we have walked. The elevation change was imposing, but it was the 90 degree days and searing sun that slowed us down to the point that what we expected to be a very short day, just 20 kms, took 8 hours. Nonetheless, it's an unforgettable camino.

yep, very warm this year

Camo · Dec 16, 2023

If you simply import the file (any format) for the walk segment into Google Earth you get an instant elevation profile

dougfitz · Dec 16, 2023

Camo said:
If you simply import the file (any format) for the walk segment into Google Earth you get an instant elevation profile

This might depend on what settings are used. If it doesn't display instantly, alternate-click on the track name, and select 'Show Elevation Profile' from the pop-up menu. This will then open up the elevation profile display on-screen.

WalkingInGers · Dec 16, 2023

monja said:
Look at MiamMiamDodo Guide. If you speak French or German.

I understand that the guides are now available online and downloadable.

Camo · Dec 17, 2023

kelleymac said:
There were days I could walk farther than the recommended stages in my walk from Le Puy to Conques (2017). But then I would come upon a day where the next village/rest stop was either 10km or 45km away. The hills definitely slowed me down, I came to hate going down a hill because I knew I would be going back up.

Yes I like the Google Earth elevations because as well as the minimum and maximum heights it also tells you the total of all the ups and downs. Here is an example for walk 1 on Camino Frances (the route over the top)

krystianw · Dec 21, 2023

If you want to get exact numbers for elevation gains/losses, you can check out https://mapy.cz. (They have an app too.) It's a bit cumbersome to use, but if you look up a route in "tourist" mode, it will follow the nearest hiking trail - the Camino, in this case - and give you very detailed elevation profile. Also, their time estimates are shockingly close to what I experienced in person, when walking the Mozarabe.

Here's an example for the first stage of the Podiensis: https://pl.mapy.cz/turisticka?plano...iV0dS55A4chndTq&x=3.7819657&y=45.0166537&z=12

MCCanada · Friday at 8:36 PM

Hi there, I'm considering walking from Le Puy to St. Jean next spring if I can get my French up to par. I'm looking on advice on a few things: - Would it be too cool and rainy to start walking...

Elevation gains and losses

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