Hiking begins even before walking, as we find out the route on the map. A detailed reading of it will provide all the information on what walkers can expect, hence it is a useful and important tool .
A map shows the terrain only on a horizontal plane, seen from the sky, minimised and schematised . It takes a little training to establish the relationship between the map and terrain. You can’t read it too quickly. Whether it's to prepare for a hike or to get a sense of direction, your map will always be there to help you, and unlike GPS and mobile phones, it won’t fail. Think of bringing a compass so you never miss the north direction.
For hiking, the ideal scale is 1/25 000; that is, 1 cm is equivalent to 250 m, or 4 cm for 1 km. It allows you to see every detail (streams, forests, trails ...) and to obtain a precise sense of location. These scales correspond to IGN Blue Series Maps and TOP25 maps. For those who hike in the rain, there are TOP25R maps ("R" for "Resistant"), waterproof, tear proof and printed double-sided to save space on your bag.
The colors used on the map are important; they indicate the nature of the terrain.
You will see areas that are more or less darkened. Shaded areas on slopes or hillsides give the impression of a relief. By convention, theoretical light mapping is determined as if the sun illuminated the ground from the North West (with an average angle of 45°). This fact is not an element of orientation, it is simply a tool to facilitate the perception of a relief when reading the map.
To be as precise as possible, a map overlays four types of information of human or natural origin.
Relief:
Contour lines complete the relief by defining the volumes and general shapes of the terrain. A contour line is an imaginary line that connects all points at the same altitude. On 1/25,000 scale maps, contour lines are represented every 10 meters. For example, you will climb 50 meters of elevation every five contour lines. Therefore, the closer the contour lines are, the steeper the slope. Conversely, very spaced contour lines indicate a gentle slope. Consider using poles to make your ascents easier and to increase safety during descents.
Hydrography:
Rivers, streams, lakes, swamps, the sea, etc., are always represented. Watercourses have long been very useful to lost hikers. Since most villages were traditionally built along rivers, it was enough to follow the watercourse upstream or downstream to find civilization.
Human-made structures:
Buildings, roads, paths, and administrative boundaries are indicated in black.
Toponymy:
This term concerns the study of proper names designating a place. Depending on the detail of your map, you can read the names of the smallest villages up to the largest cities. Peaks and forests are also indicated.
Details often make it possible to determine one's location in a very precise way.~Cartographers are careful to include all the remarkable elements that are in the areas (a spring, a chapel, a cross, a footbridge, a ruin, an isolated tree, etc.) whether they be natural or man-made.~By referring to the map's legends, it will be easy to identify the element in question.
By convention, the north is located at the top of the map.~
Hiking lover at Quechua
