Appendix A: Measuring your pace

The easiest way to measure distance in a forest is to count paces. One pace is defined as two steps or the distance one foot travels from the point it leaves the ground until it touches the ground again.

Measure your pace before going out in the field. To do this, mark a distance of 50 feet on the ground. Walk this distance in your normal gait, starting with your right foot and keeping count of the number of times your left foot touches the ground. Count the number of paces it takes to travel 50 feet and divide 50 by the number of paces to determine the length of your pace in feet. If you need to convert this to meters, please see “Conversion factors” below for a conversion chart.

For example, if it takes 14 paces to walk 50 feet, your pace is roughly 3.5 feet long (50 feet/14 paces = 3.5 feet/pace). When pacing large distances, you can simply measure in increments of 50 feet by using your count (for example, every 14 paces, count 50 feet).