Hikers and backpackers are generally adventurous people yet few ever venture off the beaten path. In a world where recreational hiking trails and constructed paths are the norm, it is far too easy to become complacent and forget that there are abundant opportunities outside the perceived safety of parks. If you've ever dared to pick up a topographical map and plot your own course however, you'll be well aware that some of the greatest experiences nature has to offer are in "the middle of nowhere." For any avid outdoors person, learning to use a map and compass for wilderness travel can take the outdoors as we know it to a whole new level.
Where do I get maps?
Topographic maps are available from government sources but there's usually a cost involved. In the USA, maps can be ordered from the United States Geological Survey (http://topomaps.usgs.gov) and in Canada, the Center for Topographical Maps in Ottawa (http://maps.nrcan.gc.ca/) is an excellent resource. Inquire with local orienteering clubs, landowners, survey offices and municipal land registries, as they will frequently be able to provide free maps for their areas of concern, as well.
Will any map do?
Maps are not all created equally, so be certain that the map you're getting will be an adequate source of information. The first thing you should be concerned with is the scale. A map that covers one mile of terrain per square inch will obviously be much more detailed than a map that covers 10 miles in the same amount of space. You should also pay close attention to the date that the map was created or updated. Although geographic features such as hills and lakes are usually fairly constant over time, man made features such as trails, dams, buildings and roads can appear and disappear from one year to the next. The more up-to-date the map, the less likely you'll be confused by new features added since the map's creation.
Another important quality to look for when you're buying a map is how well it will withstand the weather! Maps come in paper, Tyvek and laminated versions. Paper maps are usually the cheapest, but if that's the route you choose, you'll want a waterproof map case to carry it in. It's no good to be miles into the woods only to have your map disintegrate in a torrential downpour. Tyvek maps are the best in my mind;they come close to paper in weight, fold easily, and stand up to a lot of abuse.
Reading your map
At first glance reading a topographic map may look like a frightening prospect. Don't let the intimidation factor discourage you though, navigation with a map and compass is easy enough for a child to understand. Not everything on the map will be of importance to the average hiker. Some items are printed on there for military personnel and surveyors who may require a greater deal of precision. We'll stick to the basics in this article so if you see something on your map that's not covered you can probably just ignore it.
Scale
The Scale will be printed on your map somewhere near the bottom. You'll see a ratio such as 1:250,000, 1:50,000 or 1:10,000. You'll also see a measurement bar that indicates distance in measured map units.
The ratio given on your map can be read as "1 map unit (inch, centimeter, etc.) is equal to X numbers of that unit on the ground". For example, a 1:100,000 scale would indicate that one inch on the map covers 100,000 inches on the ground or approximately 1.6 miles. 1:10,000 and 1:50,000 are the most common scales for orienteering and hiking maps. A greater scale will make navigation very difficult.
Knowing the scale is crucial when you're planning how far you wish to travel in a certain period of time. A hike to the waterfall in the middle of the map might seem like a great idea, but when you realize that it's 40 miles from where you park the car, you'd better reconsider if you were planning a day trip!
Scale and distance are also important if you're using naturally occurring sources of drinking water. Mark the likely sources (rivers, streams, etc.) on your route and make sure that you always carry enough water to make it to the next source comfortably.
Legends
A map legend is a guide to the different symbols used by the mapmaker. Every map has one, and the symbols listed in legends vary from one map to another depending on the features of the terrain the map covers.
Legends will indicate symbols for man made objects such as buildings, dams, ruins, athletic fields, power lines, towers and tanks, as well as geographic features like lakes, streams, hills, boulders, reefs, glaciers and rapids.
It's not important to understand every feature on a map's legend, however you should familiarize yourself with anything that may be of concern when you are traveling in the field. Knowing the symbol for a cemetery has limited use when you're navigating the wilderness, but pinpointing mountains, bogs and old wells could be very important when you're trying to plot a safe and accessible route.
Contour Lines
Even though topographical maps are two dimensional, understanding rises and falls in elevation is crucial when you're planning a trip into the backcountry. A straight line on the map from point A to point B might only cover 2 miles, but if one of those miles is straight up the side of a cliff and back down the other, the time required for the hike, as well as the difficulty level, changes drastically.
Contour lines are the brown concentric irregular lines that you'll see all over the map and they indicate changes in elevation. Groups of contour lines represent the shape of a hill with the innermost line sitting near the top of the rise and the outermost line sitting near the bottom. The further apart contour lines sit, the more gradual the slope. Contour lines that are very close together represent a sudden change in elevation such as a cliff or a waterfall. If you walk along a contour line, elevation remains the same, however moving from one contour line to another will result in a change of elevation.
The Contour Interval printed on the map will tell you how much elevation each contour line represents. A Contour Interval of 50 feet means that when you travel from one contour line to the next you are either ascending or descending 50 feet.
Look at contours carefully when you're mapping a hiking route. Except for the most conditioned hikers, the long way around a steep ascent might be preferable to the seemingly short and direct route right over the top. Look carefully at the terrain around the bottom of the hill as well; water collects in low lying areas and slogging through marshes and bogs may be even less enticing than going for a climb.
Lines of Latitude and Longitude
If you've ever looked at a globe with a grid printed on it you've experienced latitude and longitude. These imaginary lines are a way of pinpointing specific spots on the globe. Both latitude and longitude are measure in degrees, minutes and seconds there are 60 minutes in a degree and 60 seconds in a minute.
Lines of Latitude (or parallels) run from east to west and lines of longitude (or meridians) run between the North and South poles. The equator (0 latitude) runs around the center of the planet and the latitude lines are degrees north or South of this parallel. Lines of longitude fall east of west of the Prime Meridian, the meridian that runs through Greenwich, England. If you use a Global Positioning System (GPS) for navigation it will give you your exact position on the earth in degrees latitude and longitude. That's pretty handy, however GPS devices are not infallible. Throw some fog or heavy cloud into your day and suddenly that expensive piece of technology has the potential to become totally useless. That's why I love my compass.
North
North is up, right? Well sort of.
There are actually three different Norths and knowing which to use can make or break the success of your navigation.
True North is what most people are thinking of when they say "North". If you think back to the globe with the lines of latitude, True North is the point where those lines meet. On a flat map those lines never meet, however the margins of a map always indicate True North to South and East to West.
The needle on your compass points to magnetic north. Magnetic north is actually located several hundred miles away from True North and it shifts slightly over time.
Grid North is represented by the grid that's printed on your map. The grid lines that run north and south are very similar to lines of longitude, however meridians converge to meet at the top and bottom of the globe whereas grid lines never meet. Therefore, the closer you get to the poles, the greater the difference between grid north and true north.
Once you start using a map and compass to navigate, the difference between the norths becomes very important to understand. This difference is referred to as declination. Declination is a number in degrees that tells you how far off your compass is from true north. If you are east of that imaginary line where the norths overlap, your declination is referred to as Westerly and if you're west of the line, you must calculate an Easterly declination. Failing to compensate for declination could make the difference between getting where you're going and getting lost.
Using a Compass
For the purpose of wilderness travel, nothing beats an orienteering compass. You can buy a decent one at most stores that carrying outdoor gear for around $20 and it's one of the most valuable pieces of equipment you can own. Many people think that compass navigation is difficult but those people haven't tried. The procedure is really very simple.
Your orienteering compass will have a few important features with which you should be very familiar before you use it. The base plate of the compass is usually marked with different scales on the edges. Pick the one that corresponds to your map scale and you can easily measure distance by lining the scale edge up with your start and finish points on the map.
The top end of your compass will be printed with the Direction of Travel Arrow. When you hold the compass this arrow should always be pointing away from you.
A movable dial in the center of the compass houses the magnetic needle which will always indicate Magnetic North, although some needles are marked to indicate south as well. The north end of the needle will usually be red or feature a bigger arrowhead than the south end.
Parallel lines marked on the dial's interior are referred to as orienting lines. These lines are used to orient the compass to grid north on the map. There is also a clearly marked area amongst the orienting lines that we call the orienting arrow. This arrow indicates north and south within the orienting lines.
The outside ring of the compass dial will be marked with numbers indicating degrees within the 360 circle of the dial. North, South, East and West are also marked on the dial.
Okay, so those are the main features but how do you use them? It's really quite easy if you follow these steps.
1. Place your map on a level surface. Look at your map and locate where you are and where you're going.
2. Line up one side of the base plate with these points so that the direction of travel arrow is pointing towards your destination.
3. Hold the base plate firmly on the map and turn the dial so that the orienting lines are parallel to the grid lines on the map. Make certain that the orienting arrow (not the magnetic needle) is actually pointing northerly.
4. The number shown below your direction of travel arrow is your bearing. Adjust your bearing for a Westerly declination (we'll say it's 10 degrees) by turning the dial counterclockwise (adding) 10. If you have an Easterly declination of 18, turn the dial clockwise (subtracting) 18.
5. Pick up your compass and hold it straight in front of you and parallel to the ground at waist level. Turn your body so that the magnetic needle is framed by the orienting arrow.
6. Start walking, following your direction of travel arrow in a straight line. Eventually you will come to your destination.
In practice using a map and compass is very simple, but it's always a good idea to use a technique known as landmarking instead of hiking while you look down at your compass. Once you've taken a bearing and aligned your body as described above, look where the Direction of Travel arrow points and pick out an object straight ahead. Walk to that object without looking at the compass and then use the compass to reposition yourself and pick out the next object you'll walk to. This is much safer because it allows you to look where you're going when you walk. It also means that if a lake pops up along the way, you can make your way to a point on the other side instead of having to swim straight across to maintain your bearing.
Plan your trip!
Now that you understand how to read a map you should be able to successfully plot a course. If you're competent with a compass, that course can go almost anywhere on the map. If you're only relying on roads and trails for navigation, I would still highly recommend that you have a compass on hand and know how to use it. In many places traveling into the wilderness without a reliable navigation device such as a compass is actually illegal, and for good reason.
You should start planning your trip with two things in mind - how far you wish to travel and how difficult you wish your hike to be. Unless you're an experienced backcountry traveler or prepared to pack for an impromptu overnight stay, you should try to overestimate the distance and difficulty of the route you pick.
Using a pencil and a ruler, trace a route from your starting point to your destination. If you're bushwhacking, it's helpful to follow a route that goes from feature to feature (from a stream junction to a large boulder to a small bog, for example) so that you recognize if you get off track before you've gone too far. Keep in mind that if you do choose to travel the unbeaten path you will cover far less distance that if you take a trail or road and plan accordingly.
Knowing the direction to travel is important, but judging how far you go is just as crucial. Counting steps per mile is a reasonably accurate way to gauge how far you've gone. To give yourself a benchmark, find a measured distance (running tracks often have measured distances) or get in your car and drive 1/4 mile noting where you start and stop. Now, walk that 1/4 mile, counting each and every step. Multiply by 4 and you'll know approximately how many steps you take per mile. If you're trekking from one turnoff to another, use the map to estimate the distance between the two points. By counting steps, you can almost guarantee that you take the correct turnoff, even if new ones have been added since the map was made. Don't forget that if you're traveling difficult terrain your step count over a given distance will increase dramatically.
Hiking with a map and compass is a thrilling experience. There is something very special about picking a point on a map and walking to it, wondering along the way if the ground you're hiking has ever seen human traffic before. The freedom of traveling to a destination regardless of whether there's a path means that the whole terrestrial surface of the planet becomes your hiking trail. You may never take the same route twice again; with a map and a compass your hiking trail options are infinite.