How did hikers measure trail distances before GPS?

Prior to the invention of GPS, one of the principle tools used by hikers and trail builders to measure distances between two points was a measuring wheel. Also known as a surveyor's wheel, clickwheel, hodometer, waywiser, trundle wheel, and perambulator, the measuring wheel was introduced by surveyors in England in the 17th century. By the early 1900s, the hiking community was using the instrument as well.

Since its original invention, the device has undergone many improvements. By the early 1900s it had basically evolved into a bicycle wheel attached to a pole. As it does today, the instrument measures the distance between two points by rolling the device along the ground. As the wheel completes a full rotation, a mechanical counter records the number of revolutions. The total distance is then calculated by multiplying the number of clicks by the circumference of the wheel.

Myron Avery, regarded as the person most responsible for the construction of the Appalachian Trail, famously pushed a measuring wheel along the route in the 1930s, and in the process became the first person to hike its entire length (in sections). Here he is along a stretch of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania:

According to an article on the Appalachian Mountain Club website, “For the first edition [of the White Mountain Guide, published in 1907], AMC cartographer Louis Cutter fastened a cyclometer, a device that measures distance based on the rotation of a wheel, to the front half of a bicycle and walked it into the mountains.” Although I couldn’t find any other mentions of its usage prior to this date, there’s a very good chance that measuring wheels were used in the White Mountains (and other locales) prior to this timeframe.

You can read more about the pioneers of trail building in Ramble On: A History of Hiking.



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.