Hiking Guide Part 6 Maps

The Importance of Maps

Most experienced hikers rely on maps to navigate along hiking trails and through wilderness areas. Actually, it's the more experienced hikers who tend to do this and the beginners who think they don’t need maps.

Beginners will often think that they can stick to well-travelled trails and forego the hard work needed to learn how to use maps.

You really can get seriously lost, even near clearly marked trails. Stepping a few yards off a trail into heavy forest has confused more than one beginner. In the absence of sun, stars or geographical markers it's easy to get turned around. You can end up walking even farther from the trail. Then when you look again, you're lost.

Many hiking maps won't necessarily help you out of that forest. But you'll usually come across another trail that, which hooks up with the one you were on. A good hiking trail map will help you easily get back to your starting point.

So, how do you start?

When you start hiking, I advise you get into this habit from the get go. Find a current map covering the area you intend to hike. Study it at home in a relaxed environment. You won't be able to match the map against features you see, but it will help you understand the symbols used. Google maps is an amazing tool to use with the map you have to get to know the area you are going to hike.

Almost all maps will have a legend. Get familiar with the symbols, this is very important. They differ from map publisher to publisher. Find out what the scale is - look for 1 cm = 1km or similar markings.

Don't forget, that distance is only part of the story. One km on level ground is one thing. But if 3/4 of that distance takes you from near sea level to 600 meters high by a steep, winding incline, that's quite another.

You need to consider altitude. Altitude markings are usually indicated by a series of curved lines that. The distance between two curved lines around some natural feature like a large hill indicates altitude. Often there will also be numbers printed along the lines to help you. These are sometimes called contour lines. The closer the lines are together, the steeper the terrain.

Now look at the longitude and latitude lines. Longitude runs 'up and down', or north and south. Latitude runs 'right and left', or east and west. Those directions are put in quotes because they're all just conventions.

In the daytime you can use the sun and natural features to keep direction. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. So early in the day, find the sun and you are facing mostly East. Late in the day, face the direction of the light and you are facing predominately West. There are variations because of coastlines, latitude, etc. It's just an approximate starting point.

At night, you can use the stars. You can often see the sky reasonably well - most wilderness areas are relatively far from city lights. This link from Getaway magazine will help you with that. http://www.getaway.co.za/travel-ideas/things-to-do/how-to-navigate-using-the-stars/

Even at night, then, if you have a flashlight to read your map by, you can get yourself back onto a trail to find your way back.