by Olivia Bernard

One of my favorite things to do before going out on a hike is to take a good, long look at a map (and to keep it with me when I head outside).

Adventures spill out when I open a trail map: mountains rise and fall with each unfolded quadrant, lakes and rivers appear. Did you know that we can visualize what a three-dimensional mountain will look like with all its shapes and contours just by reading a two-dimensional paper map?

A Catskills trail map shows the region’s high peaks, lower peaks, fire towers, deep notches between mountains, brooks winding in and out, and those elusive trail-less mountains.

At the Catskills Visitor Center, a common visitor question is, do I need to buy a topographic map?

I’ll usually ask some follow-up questions: are you planning to go for a hike? Do you plan to do future hiking in the Catskills? Two yeses are a guaranteed “Yes” from me on whether the person should buy a trail map.

Apart from the satisfying elegance of a paper trail map, the function of the map is real. The Catskill Mountains can often have spotty phone reception, which is a big reason not to rely on cellphone apps for trail information. Cellphones can also have unreliable battery power, especially if it’s a cold day outside.

For everyday use, the essentials of trail maps come down to a few main pieces of information:

-mileage and distance

-elevation

-what are the colors of a trail’s disk markers?

-parking lot locations, nearby roads

-surrounding mountains

-public land (wilderness area or wild forest) and private land

Other useful information: 

-locations of water sources (especially if you’re backpacking – don’t forget your water filter!)

-where campsites and lean-to shelters are located (backcountry, primitive, and car camping sites)

-do any buses or trains stop nearby?

-how far will you be from the nearest road?

-alternative ways to approach a mountain 

For future reading on maps (and compasses), I can’t recommend highly enough a book that I refer to often, called Be Expert with Map & Compass. It’s written by Björn Kjellström, who helped create the modern-day compass with Silva, a Swedish company that he co-founded.

And of course, don’t forget to pick up a trail map the next time you’re scrolling the Catskills Visitor Center’s shop page!

-OB

TOPO CHALLENGE ✨

Make a topographic map of the room (don’t forget the furniture) in which you’re spending most of your time while you’re social distancing and share it with us. #topochallenge

We’ll collect them and share them all!
This excellent sample 🙌🏻  @palatecleanzr