# RouteCard Maker

> Free web tool for creating hiking route cards with distances, timings, elevation profiles, and safety planning. Built for hikers, Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) groups, mountain leaders, and outdoor educators.

A route card is a structured document used in hill walking and hiking that records each leg of a journey: bearings, distances, estimated times, ascent/descent, and emergency contacts. They are standard practice in UK mountaineering and DofE expeditions.

RouteCard Maker automates the creation of route cards from a map interface — users plot waypoints, the tool calculates distances and timings using Naismith's Rule, fetches elevation profiles, and produces a printable route card.

## Pages

- [Home](https://routecard.uisce.app/): Overview of RouteCard Maker and its features
- [Route Card Maker App](https://routecard.uisce.app/routecard): The main planning tool — plot waypoints on a map, get distances, timings, elevation, and generate a printable route card
- [Help & User Guide](https://routecard.uisce.app/help): Step-by-step guide to using the app, adding waypoints, adjusting timing, exporting, and sharing routes
- [All About Route Cards](https://routecard.uisce.app/allaboutroutecards): What a route card is, why they matter for hiking safety, what information to include, and how to make one
- [Route Card Safety Guide](https://routecard.uisce.app/routecards-safety-guide): Why route cards are important for safety, what to include for rescue teams, and a pre-hike safety checklist

## Key concepts

- **Route card**: A leg-by-leg record of a hike including grid references, bearings, distances, timings, and emergency contacts
- **Naismith's Rule**: The standard formula for estimating hiking time (1 hour per 5 km + 1 hour per 600 m ascent), used by RouteCard Maker for automatic timing
- **DofE**: Duke of Edinburgh's Award — a UK youth programme requiring participants to complete expeditions with route cards
- **GPX**: GPS exchange format — RouteCard Maker can import GPX files and export route data