Planning and preparation is absolutely key when it comes to any hiking trip, big or small, and you need to be prepared for all eventualities or what started out as a fun day out can very quickly turn into something potentially dangerous and life-threatening.
Orienteering skills and map-reading abilities can prove incredibly useful when it comes to traversing the great British countryside – and it would perhaps be wise not to rely on apps and the internet to get you from A to B.
Over the last few weeks, Google has come under fire for suggesting routes up Ben Nevis and other mountains, with the John Muir Trust saying that the paths being suggested could potentially be fatal or direct people over cliffs.
Nevis conservation officer Nathan Berrie explained that Google Maps has been directing people to the Upper Falls car park, saying: “But this is not the correct route and we often come across groups of inexperienced walkers heading towards Steall Falls or up the south slopes of Ben Nevis believing it is the route to the summit.”
If you do want to start hiking a lot more, learning some new map-reading skills could certainly be beneficial. Knowing how to use a topographic map would be especially useful, as it gives you detailed information about points of interest, roads, terrain and distances.
Familiarising yourself with the different features of your map will help you boost your skills. The title of the map will tell you what region the map is of, while the legend will give you a description and guide of the different markings on the map itself.
To use your map, start off by pointing it north by positioning your compass flat on the page, pointing it towards the top (which is always north) and then rotating yourself until the needle on your compass points north as well. It’s as easy as that!
You then need to try and find out where on the map you are. If you don’t know your current grid reference, find a point on the map that you do know (such as the town or village from which you started out) and then retrace your steps. Once you think you’re in the right area, start looking around you for landmarks to help you pinpoint your exact location.
You’ll also need to know how to read contour lines, which are the wiggly black lines you’ll see across the entire map.
Every contour line on a 1:50,000 scale map (where every centimetre on the page represents 500m in real life) means a rise of ten metres above sea level. The closer these contour lines are to each other, the steeper the gradient – which is useful knowledge to have if you’re keen to avoid going up too many hills!
Of course, you can always rely on a professional guide to help you get to grips with hiking – in which case, give us a call today to book Scottish hiking tours today.