You may have seen reality shows recently where people have gotten lost only a short distance from their car, and still had to spend the night or even days in the wilderness. It used to be necessary to order topo maps for the area you would hike and you might even need two or more. But not anymore with the help of google maps, a free program available to anyone with a computer.
In this tutorial I'll show you how to check out your planned hike in advance and plan your route, print it out with compass bearings and distances so you'll know where your landmarks are and exactly where you will be going. I'll take you step by step in these pics through using google maps and ms office to get your plans ready to go.
Now you should be able to see where you will park your car and where you want to hike to. In this example we will use a parking area on this conservation area to start and we are hiking to a cabin down by the river. We can use field edges and farm roads for much of this hike and just bust through the woods in certain areas.
Open your favorite Microsoft editing program, like MS Word. Most people use Word and it works OK, but I really like Publisher better for graphics because it isn't so cranky. MS Publisher is one of the standard programs on the Microsoft Office package.
Now that you know the planned route for your hike it's time to figure out the distances and azimuth readings of the route. You'll need this to navigate by compass, and you can accurately figure this out by using Google Maps functions.
At this point you have created a route map for your hike, the distance of the total hike and between waypoints, and the azimuth bearings you will use while hiking. In this illustration I have plenty of landmarks and farmroads to verify my location and make my hike as easy as possible.
If you want to use my compass overlay for planning your hike, you can download it here.
In this scenario I'm not making a loop, but will hike in and out by the same route. So, in order to use a compass to find the way out I simply use the “back azimuth” method. That lets me use my compass to follow the opposite direction I came in with accuracy.
It works like this: on the last leg of my hike I walked from the field corner to the abandoned cabin using a azimuth reading of 102 degrees for 1405 feet. So to use the back azimuth method I simply add 180 degrees and I'll be walking in a westerly direction exactly opposite of the way I came in, and should arrive at the corner of the field in 1405 feet. So I'll set my compass direction of travel arrow at 282 degrees and start hiking.
I can do this same exercise for every waypoint of the hike, and since I have plenty of good landmarks I'll find my way back to the parking area just fine. I can use this method day or night as long as my compass has a luminous dial.
This brings up a point that all of us should make a habit – always watch your back trail. The reason is that your hike will look much different coming out than it did coming in, and if you look back every so often you'll see landmarks for your trip out. Also, take some time along the hike to look around for specific, outstanding landmarks, and memorize them.
Another method you can use if you feel lost is to look for your own tracks in muddy areas, like creek crossings. You'll likely end up at some of these same areas, and seeing your own tracks heading in a certain direction will help you reestablish your location.
Check Your Hiking Plan With A Contour Map
Now that we've plotted this hike based on Google Maps it would be a good idea to double check a contour map that will show changes in elevation. This will help us make sure we don't take a route that is hard to navigate.
In the example I've been using most of the hike is on the level, but as you will see by using a contour map we can avoid two creek crossings, some possible bluff navigation and hike on the level all the way to the cabin.
It seems pretty hard to find a decent topo map with an online viewer, since that's all we need – no need to print it out. I just want to check for possible bugaboos. The one I like best is here, just launch the map and plug in the coordinates from Google Maps, then zoom in all you can.
What's Your Pace?
So now we've created our hiking route, double checked it and printed out a copy on computer paper. It's time to make sure we can use this info in the field correctly and ensure a great hike.
Find your pace by laying out a 100′ course and count each time your left foot touches the ground – that's one pace. For me, I walk a 5′ pace, so I pace 20 times in 100′. Find your pace and you can easily use the info from your map on the hike.
If you want you can figure your paces to each waypoint before you leave and write it on the map. Google Maps gives you the footage between each change of direction on your hike, so just divide by your pace and write that number on each leg of the hike.
Now when you get out there you'll have your azimuth readings and pace count for the entire hike, and you can use your back azimuth readings to find your way right back. Plan your hike in advance with Google Maps for a sure fire successful outing.
