For the Love of Maps
I have always enjoyed maps. Perhaps it is from those days of family vacations. While my dad drove us, I would often be the one with the map, navigating to the next exit or tourist site.
As a geocacher, you learn to love maps very quickly. They help you plan your geocaching trip. Topographical maps guide your trail walking. Road maps get you to your destination. However, there is so much more to be learned from maps.
One of the many items on my bucket list is a trip to the Lake District. I want to go to a place where walking is such a revered activity. The pictures that I have seen of the Lake District are truly breathtaking. There is good news then for British walkers and travelers. Maps from the British Geological Survey are now online.
While I have written before about all things outdoors from outdoor clothing to geo-hazards, there is one aspect of hitting the trails that I had not considered–false compass readings from magnetic rocks.
As you probably know, shown on every topo map is the map declination. This diagram shows the between the local magnetic field and true north. This is the direction toward teh geographic North Pole. Since the surface of the Earth is curved, this figure is necessary for proper navigation. Ignoring it can mean the difference between reaching your destination or ending up someplace very different than you intended.
So with geocaching, map reading becomes a necessary skill because as we all know, our GPS unit will direct us in the direction as the crow flies, not necessarily the most convenient one.
Another good use for topo maps is to find alternative routes. How many times have you gone out specifically to an area to geocache only to find out that there is construction at the main entrance or spring floods have washed out part of the trail? Been there, done that.
A good map gives you that bird’s eye view of the site. You can choose your path to avoid the steep elevation or head to it if flooding is directing your course. A good use I’ve found for topo maps is also to identify areas of wetlands. Sometimes, the best way to a geocache is to bushwhack–but not when you have to slog through a half mile of wetlands.
Maps are your friends. They have so much to tell you. The location of the geocache is only the start.
