Nowadays, most of us have a smartphone with us at all times. If you get lost somewhere, it's no problem: just a few clicks, turn on data, and load a map. You don't even need the internet if you download offline maps in advance. GPS navigation will then immediately show you where you are with relatively high accuracy. Working with a map is therefore an outdated hobby for woodsmen, and there is no practical use for it nowadays.
Of course, I don't think so, otherwise I wouldn't have dedicated another part of the Step by Step series to the topic of orientation.
You can't stop progress... or can you?
As I mentioned in the first part about equipment, a mobile phone is a complete miracle that provides several functions at once: internet, calling for help, a flashlight, a map, and much more. However, if your fragile phone breaks, malfunctions, gets wet, or runs out of battery, you lose all these tools at once. You also won't get a GPS signal everywhere.
But so we don't just stick to pessimistic scenarios, even if the technology is flawless, it won't advise you which path to take. That is why it is good to learn to know the language of the map and be able to read it. Last but not least, working with a map develops skills and intellect and can bring you closer to the landscape.
Contour lines – the fingerprints of the landscape
The basis of map reading is understanding the principle of contour lines. These are curves that connect points of the same altitude. Contour lines on a map are graduated with a regular vertical interval (the so-called equidistance). You can find this information in the map legend, and it varies primarily according to the scale. An interval of 10 meters means that if you are standing on one contour line, you must climb approximately 10 meters to reach the next one.
If the contour lines on the map are drawn closer together, it means the slope is steeper, and vice versa. According to the contour lines, we can therefore tell whether we will be climbing or descending and how sharply. If you want to save energy, you can choose a path that follows a contour line (e.g., along a ridge or between two slopes).
Very gentle slope (Vysočina, Mapy.cz)
However, contour lines can do more. For example, they will help you get oriented. The key is the ability to imagine the landscape as a 3D model and perceive its relief – where the surface slopes down and where, conversely, it starts to rise again. Comparing the image created based on the map with reality will then help you recognize where you are if, for example, you are hesitating between two coordinates. Multiple places on a map may look identical, but the relief is rarely exactly the same. If you combine it with other elements of the landscape, you can determine your position more easily and accurately.
Very steep slope (Sněžka, Mapy.cz)
Talk to the map
The art of listening to a map is based on the ability to ask questions. You can therefore ask it, for example, these questions: Is the terrain sloping down or up? Does the slope rise on the right or left side of the path? Does the descent of the terrain correspond to the contour lines on the map where you think you are? Is the peak you see in front of you higher or lower than the one next to it? The answers to these questions can help you locate yourself or, for example, warn you that you are going the wrong way.
For moving in unknown terrain, it is therefore essential to be able to get as much information as possible from the map. Personally, I have found it useful to "read" the map in advance, even when I am walking on a marked path. This means that I don't just turn to the map when I get lost, but every five kilometers or so, I look at the next section. In more complex terrain, it is more useful to read shorter distances.
Reading the map allows you to quickly find out that you have turned off the route, for example, when I realize that I should be walking along the edge of the forest while I am walking inside it, or that the route leads along a paved road, not a dirt road, etc. I notice, for example, which side of the path the stream flows on, where I will cross a bridge, where I will cross a road, and of course the mentioned contour lines. Useful orientation elements include solitary buildings, wayside shrines, chapels, ponds, intersections, hilltops, and lines, which include the aforementioned streams, paths, roads, and power lines. A combination of different lines and points can greatly help you with orientation.
Let yourself be guided
Sometimes, however, it happens that the terrain is very unclear (it contains no landmarks), or it has changed compared to the map (e.g., new paths are constantly being created in commercial forests and old ones are disappearing). In such a case, a reliable compass (ideally a baseplate compass) will help. It will not only show you the right direction, but you can also find your position on the map by finding the intersection of azimuths using prominent points in the distance (lookout towers, hilltops, etc.).
An azimuth is the angle that a certain direction makes with the north direction in a horizontal plane. In an environment where there is really nothing else to hold onto, the only option is to follow the azimuth. In difficult terrain, such as a forest, walking in a fixed direction is very demanding, if not impossible. Following an azimuth is therefore especially suitable for open spaces, such as unplanted fields or plains.
And what after dusk?
At night, the lights of villages and especially cities that reflect off the clouds or shine above the horizon are a good indicator. They can show you the nearest way to civilization or help you get oriented. A clear sky also allows for orientation by the stars. If you are not an astronomer, you will be primarily interested in one star, because all other objects in the sky are in motion for an observer from the northern hemisphere.
The well-known Polaris (or North Star) lies almost on a straight line with the axis of the Earth's rotation in the direction of the North Pole. Other stars seem to rotate around it. Using Polaris, you can easily determine north. The star is part of the Ursa Minor constellation (Little Dipper), forming the tip of its tail. You can find it simply by extending the axis between the two stars of Ursa Major (Big Dipper) 5 times, see the picture. North can also be determined using lichens on trees or anthills, but these methods can be quite inaccurate in practice and therefore misleading.
Finding Polaris, source: www.astro.cz/clanky/hvezdy/polarka-se-znovu-probouzi-k-zivotu.html
The ability to orient yourself in the terrain is, in my opinion, a basic prerequisite for a successful trek. It will save you not only from unnecessary wandering and extending the route but can also serve to call for help. Rescue points, which are distributed in nature, especially in mountain ranges, also serve this purpose. They are represented by yellow signs placed, for example, on trees, on which a code is written. If you call for help and state the number of the nearest point, rescuers can easily locate you using it.
Of course, you can also dictate your GPS (an invaluable helper in this regard is the mobile application Záchranka, with which you can call 155 with one click and simultaneously send an SMS with your location). However, if you are not near a rescue point, you are out of signal, or the phone simply decides to be stubborn, you are left with the only old proven technique – working with a map.
In the Step by Step trekking series, we have gone through the preparation for the journey itself together – what to pack, how to choose a backpack, how to prepare your equipment and yourself – but we have also summarized what to eat on a trek, how much to drink, and how to find the right direction. Now the last step remains: to say goodbye to the series and wish you a happy journey. Thank you for your attention and I wish that all your adventures are smooth, joyful, and fulfilling. And don't be sad about the farewell... your journey is just beginning!
See you in other, separate articles, or at the Bagalio store in Brno!
Jan Horák
Photo source no. 4: Annie Spratt (Unsplash)
