How do you follow a hiking map?

[littlebum2002]

I have been hiking for awhile now, and soon my hiking partner and I are going to attempt our first off-trail hike. However, since neither of us have tried this before, we really don't even know how to begin. We have a map here, and we have GPS and compass capabilities, but that's about it.

How does one go about following a map like this? I have seen many hiking apps, but how would you copy a map into the app? Or are you supposed to follow it just using your compass and hiking in the approximate direction?

I'm hoping the trail will be somewhat marked, but I want to go into this assuming it is not and that we will have to navigate 100% on our own so we will be prepared for anything.

Thanks for your help!

[toejam]

Pay attention to the map while you hike. Look around you for the big landmarks then identify them on the map. Turn the map so it is oriented with the land (the north arrow points north). It takes some practice and experience to build confidence, so get out there and give it a go.

[ogg]

Pick somewhere easy to start out with, wide open spaces where multiple landmarks and general features are easy to distinguish. I cut my teeth with x-country travel in the Eastern Sierra high country around the timberline. I think Humphrey's Basin and adjacent French Canyon was my first experience with off trail travel, where the country was wide open and dominated by very distinct features. I've also done a fair amount of off-trail travel in the Mojave Desert, where "trails" displayed on a map are often little more than sandy washes with maybe a few boot prints, strings of cairns that aren't always properly placed, faint old mining roads or older and fainter Native American trails. I've found cross country travel in the desert to often be a bit more challenging than the alpine areas. The key is always knowing how to find your way back should you make a blunder on finding your way forward. Preparation is essential, a good map a must, allow yourself plenty of time ahead of time to site down with the map and study it. I've found an altimeter to be useful at times but be wary of using the elevation feature on a GPS if it is not a true barometric altimeter and your are not in a broad flat area, as, if you think about the trigonometry involved, a small error in location can yield a larger error in elevation. An altimeter needs to be periodically calibrated to a known elevation.

[grizzled]

Some folks like a compass but I've really never found them that useful-but I've never hiked in the Maine woods either. Certainly not nearly as good as a functional GPS unit. I don't have a smart phone so can't comment on the apps for those but just about all the dedicated GPS units like the Garmin's now have decent topog built in and the option of loading even more detailed maps. With those, you know exactly where you are with respect to the map and the direction where you would like to go. If you're venturing into strange country, look the route over on Google Earth-phone or otherwise.

I always also carry the USGS raster maps also and I've become addicted to http://caltopo.com/. That site gives you the option of layering contours or the full raster maps on a Google base-about as good as it gets for field maps.

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

I have been hiking for awhile now, and soon my hiking partner and I are going to attempt our first off-trail hike. However, since neither of us have tried this before, we really don't even know how to begin. We have a map here, and we have GPS and compass capabilities, but that's about it.

How does one go about following a map like this? I have seen many hiking apps, but how would you copy a map into the app? Or are you supposed to follow it just using your compass and hiking in the approximate direction?

I'm hoping the trail will be somewhat marked, but I want to go into this assuming it is not and that we will have to navigate 100% on our own so we will be prepared for anything.

Thanks for your help!

As far as the apps are concerned, the ones I've used have built in features that allow you to download the maps to the phone. But I wouldn't rely on it, the battery life isn't great if you're using it for full time navigation and it's something I believe is best utilized as an infrequent backup for a quick spot check...A dedicated GPS unit would be better in that regard. A map and compass and staying aware of where you are at all times to the best degree possible are your best bet IMO with anything else serving as a backup or supplement. Maybe head out to an area you're already familiar with and practice some basic map and compass skills or look into taking a class locally?