One reason I carry a watch is it helps with navigation. My pace is slow, but consistent, so I know every 6 minutes, I'll go 1/10th of my pace.

I find the miles the easiest if I follow a 40 minute routine with a break for just water on the odd ones and water and food on the even ones. About every 3 hours is a longer break at a scenic spot with a quickly cooked meal. At each stop, I mark my position and time on the map and compare it with my SPOT track when I get home. It's not really necessary, but it's fun. My son can glance at the map at the beginning of the day and know exactly where we are through the day. I get lost in WalMart.

We like to have a plan to be off the trail by about 1 as that's when the storms start moving in. Then we have a secondary plan to go further if they don't materialize.