To prepare for a hike you'll need to be in a relatively good physical condition because hiking requires endurance and strength. Of course this all depends on how far you are going to hike. Get all your things gathered together and ready for your hike. Usually you should work out and go on short hikes bringing your backpack filled with your essentials so as you can get used to carrying it.
Some of the supplies you'll need to have include: a tent, sleeping bag, footwear, clothes, food, and water bottles. LEAVE NONESSENTIAL ITEMS AT HOME! You'll want to keep your backpack as light as possible so leave your nonessential items such as your razors, shampoos etc. Pack extra foot ware as you'll be doing a lot of walking and might need to change shoes. You'll want to take extra food and water because unexpected things could happen on your hike such as you being delayed because of the weather.
Prepare for different types of weather by bringing sweatshirts and short sleeve shirts so you can be comfortable on both warmer and colder days. For water you're going to want to plan lots of it because the average intake is about half a gallon of water per day if doing constant walking and activities. Therefore, it is important to bring lots of water so you can stay hydrated during your long hike. This is accomplished by buying 12 pack waters which are bought in stores. The bottles are disposable and you'll have enough water bottles. For food it's recommended to pack light weight foods that have high nutritional contents such as freeze dried meals. These could include free dried fruits like vegetables, beans, pasta, crackers etc. When camping plan your different meals so you have them at least 60 yards from where you'll be sleeping because the meals tend to attract wild animals.
Sometimes hikes would be more enjoyable if they are done with a friend or a group of people. For one you should have buddies to help you if you get stuck, hurt, or trapped. Such "companions" are recommended for long hikes because of the length of time you'll be isolated from others. The most experience hikers can hike alone because they know all about hiking and have been doing it for years.
The next step you'll wish to take is to research the path or trail you have chosen to hike. This applies mostly if you're hiking on private property or unknown trails. You should find different paths to travel, some in cases of emergencies; especially if you have to change to a different path hurriedly. To do so the recommended map is a topographical map. What sets a topographical map from other maps is the fact that it shows the shape of the land in addition to roads, rivers, lakes, oceans etc.
Maps are the basic tools of geography. They enable you to find your way around places you might not have been before. A good map will have a legend or key which will show the user what different symbols mean. The map legend is a key that is used to understand a map. The legend is comprised of different symbols and often the same symbols are used throughout different maps. One such example is lines which are used to symbolize regular landscape features such as rivers, roads, and borders. Other figures such as parks are shown with little shapes often colored. A square with a flag on top usually represents a school and roads are represented by a variety of widths and combinations of lines.
Often a dashed line represents a border. Note, however, that map symbols used in the United States are often used for different things in other countries. The symbol for a secondary highway on a USGS Topographic map is equivalent to a railroad in Switzerland. There are some features displayed on maps, however, are not shown by easily interpretable symbols like the height above sea level are called contours.
Each map is a representation of a much bigger section of the earth and because the map is flat is can be remarkably inaccurate as the earth is a curved shape. Without a north arrow, it is difficult to determine the orientation of a map. With a north arrow that points in the right direction is useful because it tells the user the different directions places or things are. Some maps like topographic map points to "true north" which is the north pole, and also points to the magnetic north, which is where your compass points. On most maps you won't find something quite as pretty as a real compass rose but all maps need to provide some sort of orientation to help guide the reader. You can learn a lot from the different titles of a map. The map's title provides important clues about the map-makers intentions and goals with the map.
Now, the primary scale for topographic maps is 1:24,000, meaning that one inch on the map equals 24,000 inches on the ground. 24,000 inches equals 2000 feet. Topographic maps use a huge variety of different symbols to represent physical features as well as human ones. Contour lines are used to represent the elevation and by connecting points that have equal elevation. These contours do a nice job representing the land. When contour lines lie close together they represent a steep slope. Lines that are farther apart represent a gradual slope. Each map sheet uses a contour interval, which is the distance in elevation that is in between contour lines that are appropriate for that particular land. For example, flat areas may be mapped with 5 foot contour intervals and rugged terrain might have a 25 foot contour interval. Through this whole use of the contour lines an experienced topographic map reader will easily be able to visualize the direction of stream flow and the shape of the land.
The majority of the topographic maps are produced at a large scale so as to show individual buildings and the streets in cities; especially in urbanized areas where larger and more important buildings are found. The topographic map represents these building in black even though the surrounding area around it is red. Many topographical maps also include objects in purple. These purple areas are map sheets that have been revised through aerial photographs and not by the typical way the topographic map is made. These revisions are shown in purple and often represent new areas. These areas are often newly urbanized with new road and perhaps even new lakes. Topographic maps also use the standard colors to represent normal features like the color blue for water and the color green for the forests.
All the colors are listed below: there are seven in total on a map and each is related to different features.
BLACK: shows cultural features like buildings, railways and power transmission lines. It is
also used to show geographical names, certain symbols, geographic
coordinates, precise elevations, border information and surround information.
RED: used for paved roads, highway numbers, interchange exit numbers, certain symbols as well
as names of major transportation routes. A red tint is used to show urban development.
ORANGE: indicates unpaved roads and unclassified roads and streets.
BROWN: shows contour lines, contour elevations, spot elevations, sand and eskers.
BLUE: represents water features, such as lakes, streams, falls, rapids, swamps and marshes.
The names of bodies of water and water courses are also shown in blue, as are magnetic
declination and UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) grid information.
GREEN: indicates wooded areas, orchards and vineyards.
GREY: used on the back of the map where the different symbols and a glossary of terms and
abbreviations can be found.
PURPLE (not a regular color): can be used to show information added over the original map
detail (updates).
To find your position on your map first find as many features around you as you can, whether cultural or natural, and locate those same features on your map. Then orient the map so that it corresponds to the ground features that you have identified. If you have a GPS position, you can use the geographic or UTM grid reference system on the map to determine where you are.
You can also use a compass to better navigate with your topographic map. The compass provides your direction through degrees. But you must take into account the magnetic declination which you can find on the right margin of your topographic map in order to obtain accurate bearings.
Because of the different map sheets it can be hard to determine which one you need to use. In order to discover which map sheet to use, you must know either the location (latitude/longitude) or the name of your area.
To prepare for a hike you'll need to be in a relatively good physical condition because hiking requires endurance and strength. Of course this all depends on how far you are going to hike. Get all your things gathered together and ready for your hike. Usually you should work out and go on short hikes bringing your backpack filled with your essentials so as you can get used to carrying it.
Some of the supplies you'll need to have include: a tent, sleeping bag, footwear, clothes, food, and water bottles. LEAVE NONESSENTIAL ITEMS AT HOME! You'll want to keep your backpack as light as possible so leave your nonessential items such as your razors, shampoos etc. Pack extra foot ware as you'll be doing a lot of walking and might need to change shoes. You'll want to take extra food and water because unexpected things could happen on your hike such as you being delayed because of the weather.
Prepare for different types of weather by bringing sweatshirts and short sleeve shirts so you can be comfortable on both warmer and colder days. For water you're going to want to plan lots of it because the average intake is about half a gallon of water per day if doing constant walking and activities. Therefore, it is important to bring lots of water so you can stay hydrated during your long hike. This is accomplished by buying 12 pack waters which are bought in stores. The bottles are disposable and you'll have enough water bottles. For food it's recommended to pack light weight foods that have high nutritional contents such as freeze dried meals. These could include free dried fruits like vegetables, beans, pasta, crackers etc. When camping plan your different meals so you have them at least 60 yards from where you'll be sleeping because the meals tend to attract wild animals.
Sometimes hikes would be more enjoyable if they are done with a friend or a group of people. For one you should have buddies to help you if you get stuck, hurt, or trapped. Such "companions" are recommended for long hikes because of the length of time you'll be isolated from others. The most experience hikers can hike alone because they know all about hiking and have been doing it for years.
The next step you'll wish to take is to research the path or trail you have chosen to hike. This applies mostly if you're hiking on private property or unknown trails. You should find different paths to travel, some in cases of emergencies; especially if you have to change to a different path hurriedly. To do so the recommended map is a topographical map. What sets a topographical map from other maps is the fact that it shows the shape of the land in addition to roads, rivers, lakes, oceans etc.