Hiking

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.. . Don’t Go Hiking Without One

The type of map you carry on a hiking or backpacking trip really does depend on the type of hiking route you will be exploring. If you are planning a long backpacking trip over a very complex hiking route, then you’ll need a complex map to go with it, one which you can use to find your way from A to B, even if you lose track of the hiking trail. If, however, you are planning a hike on a well traveled trail you’ll need a map which has details of things like water, rest rooms, campsites and points of particular interest along the way.

• Special Interest Maps – do exactly what they say on the tin! They have basic topographic information along with details about backpacking trails, side trips, campsites, and other recreational activities which you can enjoy in the area. These are often on-sale at an office at the trail head of each hiking trail, national park, state park or national forest . . . as well as in many hiking and backpacking stores.
• Topographic Maps – are the types of map which the serious back country hikers and back packers need to take along with them . . . I don’t care how ultralight they’re trying to travel, the little added weight for a topographic map is well worth the effort. They have detailed information about the physical features of the land you are hiking through, elevation gains, elevation losses, hills, valleys and other natural features. If you need to use a map and compass for your navigation, then this is the sort of map you need to take on your hike.  Don’t forget that as well as carrying a topographic map on your hiking adventure, you’ve also got to know how to read it.

Having The Right Scale of Map

Even hikers with the most elementary map reading skills (who incidentally shouldn’t go too far off the beaten track until they’ve brushed up on those map reading skills) will know that maps are available in different scales. The scale of your map is what determines exactly how much land is covered and the amount of detail available on that land. You can generally find the scale of the map written somewhere along the bottom . . . in ratios to the inch . . . for example, 1:24,000 means that 1 inch on the map equates to 24,000 inches in real life . . . how far is that in English . . . 2,000 feet.

• Small scale maps aren’t that useful for beginners at the backpacking game . . . they cover a lot of area but with minimal amount of information. You need as much information as you can muster at the beginning of your backpacking career, so avoid maps which are of a smaller scale than 1:62,500.
• Large scale maps cover less distance but have shed loads more information on then . . . just what the doctor ordered, so if you choose a map of more than 1:62,500 it will be of a smaller area (specifically the area where you’ll be hiking) and have tons of info for your backpacking trip. You might have to carry one or two different maps if you’re hiking a long way, but that’s still preferable to using one small scale map with minimal information.

Using Your Map On A Hiking Trip

It really doesn’t matter what scale of map you have in your backpack, in fact, if you can’t read the map and use it in conjunction with a compass to navigate your way along the hiking trail you might as well take a street map of San Francisco for all the good it will do you. There are some great books available with the basic principles of map reading and navigation, or you could enrol on a learning course. The more proficient you are in navigation by map and compass, the safer you will be on your back country backpacking adventures.

He gave a good explanation didn’t he? Cheers bro, very helpful indeed!

Fantastic . . . but I don’t think he was paying attention in map reading class – do you?

Check The Date On Your Map

It may look like hiking trails and the back country have remained the same forever . . . but it hasn’t. Always check the date on your map before you set off on your backpacking trip . . . things do change over time.

Look After Your Map

These days lots of topographic maps which hikers choose are made from waterproof and tear proof plastic paper . . . for very good reason. Conditions can change very quickly when you’re on a hike, and maps can easily become damaged if you’re trying to figure out where you are, where you are going and how you are going to get there in a rainstorm with a howling gail. If you don’t have a waterproof, tear proof map then it’s important that you protect them from these elements in a clear plastic case.

 He sure knows how to protect his map when he’s hiking, and now . . . so do you!