Hiking - A Simple Introduction To Navigating Using Maps

Although you would think that it should be the other way around, you will find that most seasoned hikers rely on maps in order to navigate their way along trails and through wilderness areas while novice hikers feel that maps are unnecessary. The novice frequently believes that it is not necessary to go through the hard work of learning map reading and that sticking to well worn trails will be okay. Alas, that is a mistaken view.

You can get yourself seriously lost even near clearly marked trails and stepping just a few meters off the trail into a heavily wooded area has confused more than one newcomer. In the absence of the sun, stars or recognizable geographical markers it is all too easy to get turned around and to find yourself straying even farther from the trail and getting yourself well and truly lost in next to no time.

Now in the example given above a map by itself will not necessarily help you out of the wood in question. But, you will usually run across another trail which connects to your original trail and a good map will help you to easily find your way back to your starting point.

Okay, so where do you start?

Begin by getting hold of an up-to-date map which covers the area which you will be hiking in and start by studying it carefully at home in a relaxed environment. Of course you will not be in a position to match the map to features on the ground, but it will help you to learn and understand the symbols used on the map.

All maps will have a legend (which differs a liitle from one publisher to the next) and you need to familiarize yourself with the symbols. You also have to familiarize yourself with the scale of the map which will be clearly printed on it somewhere as something like 1 inch = 5 miles.

Do not forget however that distance is only part of the story and that 1 inch representing 1 mile on level ground is a very different thing from 1 inch representing 1 mile over an area including a steep winding path up the side of a 3,500 foot cliff.

To allow for the latter, you will have to consider altitude which is shown on the map as a series of curved lines which, if 'stretched out', would form a circle. The spacing between two altitude lines around some natural feature like a large hill indicates the altitude. Often there will also be numbers printed along the lines in order to help you. These are called contour lines and the closer these lines are to each other the steeper the terrain.

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

In daylight you can use the sun together with natural features to orient the map so that it is lined up with the ground over which you are hiking. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West so that at the start of the day facing the sun will have you heading in an Easterly direction. By the same token, late in the day facing the sun as it sets will have you hiking in a Westerly direction.

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