Hiking - A Simple Introduction To Navigating Using Maps

Despite the fact that you would think that it should be the other way around, it is a fact that most seasoned hikers make use of maps to navigate their way along trails and through wilderness areas while novices feel that maps are not really necessary. The newcomer frequently thinks that it is not necessary to go through the hard work of learning to use a map and that sticking to well worn trails will be fine. Sorry to say, that is a mistaken view.

You can get seriously lost even close to clearly marked trails and straying just a few meters off the trail into heavy woodland has confused more than one newcomer. In the absence of the sun, stars or geographical markers it is all too easy to get turned around and to find yourself walking even farther from the trail and getting yourself lost in no time at all.

Now in the example above a map by itself would not necessarily help you out of the wood in question. But, you will normally run across another trail which will hook up with the one you were on and a good map would help you to find your way with ease back to your starting point.

So, where do you begin?

Get hold of an up-to-date map which covers the area you intend to hike in and begin by studying it at home in a relaxed environment. Of course you will not be able to match the map to features on the ground, but it will certainly assist you in learning and understanding the symbols used on the map.

All maps will have a legend (which will differ a liitle from one publisher to the next) and you should familiarize yourself with the symbols. You also need to understand the scale of the map which will be printed on it as something like 1 inch = 1 mile.

Bear in mind however that distance is only one part of the equation and that 1 inch representing 1 mile on flat ground is a quite different thing from 1 inch representing 1 mile over an area including a steep and winding path running up the side of a 3,500 foot cliff.

To account for the latter, you will need to think about altitude which is marked on the map by a series of curved lines which, if 'stretched out', would make a circle. The distance between adjacent curved lines around some natural feature such as a hill indicates the steepness of the terrain. Often you will find that there are numbers printed along the lines to help you. These lines are called contour lines and the closer these lines are to each other the steeper the ground.

Next, you need to study the longitude lines and latitude lines. Longitude lines which show North and South run 'up and down' the map from the top to the bottom while latitude lines showing East and West run 'right and left'.

During the day you can make use of the sun together with natural features on the ground to orient the map so that it is aligned with the ground over which you are hiking. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West so that early in the day facing the sun will have you heading in an Easterly direction. Similarly, late in the afternoon facing the sun as it sets will have you hiking in a Westerly direction.

After dark you can use the stars and you will generally be able to see the sky reasonably well because the majority of wilderness areas are a long way from the glow of city lights. One of the great pleasures of hiking is the ability to hike out under the stars and familiarizing yourself with such star formations as Orion and the Big Dipper as well as the North Star.