Hiking

Here are some hiking routes, mostly around Karlsruhe. I've already done all of the tracks myself, and most data tracks are a result of GPS logs. The elevation data is taken from SRTM. To edit or convert the GPS data I suggest to use GPS-Track-Analyse.NET, GPS-Format-Konverter (which adds conversion commands to the explorer's context menu), GPX Editor and GPS Babel. A good OpenStreetMap-based hiking map is the Wander- und Reitkarte which covers the polygon Portugal-Denmark-Slovakia-Italy and which can be readily downloaded in Garmin mobile device format. For your own planning purposes (if you do not just want to download one of my tracks below) the Naturparkscout page will probably be most helpful. It offers routing functionality on dedicated hiking trails in the Black Forest. Fixed GPS tracks of mostly very good tours in South-West Germany can be downloaded for free from the Krümelhüpfer homepage. Wanderkompass offers free GPS tracks of official trails in Germany.

Here at first I list the different tracks with GPS data for download. Below there are descriptions of the regions and some of the tracks. I have tried to rate the routes in the categories "clear view", "nature", and "culture", whereas later one means castles, as well as cities, just any man-made POI or history or myth or whatever is attached to a spot.

Tracks

Regrettably these times require a statement as follows: By downloading one of the GPS tracks you recognize and accept that you alone are responsible for using the track in any way especially following it as a navigation advice. Note that the precision of the data is not sufficient enough to exclude harm to you, if you would follow the track exactly. At least for the via degli dei and the Karlsruhe Ridge tour it is safe to say that it is highly improbable to survive a tour carried out in this manner. Use these GPS tracks only as indicators for your directions and not as replacements for reason and intuition.

The columns of the tables where you can download the tracks have the following meaning:

Start and end point.          
Link to track data.           
Distance according to track data, rounded to full km.                 
Indicator for sum of altitude one has to rise in both directions. The given numbers are rounded 100 m, i.e. 8/7 means that in one direction you have to climb a total of about 800 m of altitude while in the other direction it is 700 m. The difference in altitude between start and end point as a consequence then is about 100 m.
The information about altitude or elevation along the track really is just an indicator as the value depends on the number of track points recorded along the track. The more there are, the larger the number will be. This is mainly due to limited precision of the data and less because more track points cover the path more precisely. The highest density of track points is about one point for 7 m on average. Some of the tracks have a considerable lower track point density. To a track with on average one point each 50 meter as a rule of thumb you may have to add as a rule of thumb 10% distance and 35% elevation, to one with one point each 100 m it is about 20% resp. 50% more and with one point each 150 m it is about 25% and 65%.

It is possible to estimate from the distance plus elevation data the required walking time. Assuming that for one km flat or downward one needs (on average, incl. rests) 15 min and if along a km one has to rise 100 m it takes 25 min for one km the time can be calculated as distance in km / 4 + elevation in 100 m / 6. With respect to endurance this number can also be interpreted as measure for the difficulty of a tour.

Descriptions

Both the descriptions and the GPX track files are now on separate pages (see menu column to the left).