Since I have become interested in the Bushcraft pastime I have been looking for a structured method for furthering my education. Sure, I have learned copious amounts of information through many hours of internet searches and online videos. During my time online I also located several books by various authors of various time periods that helped expand my pool of knowledge. Authors like Mors Kochansski, Dan Beard, George Washington Sears, and several others have contributed great amounts of information to the field that any person interested in Bushcraftt would greatly benefit from.
During my time expanding my knowledge I realized that while I was learning a great deal, there was no "method" to what I was studying. With my background in training, I prefer a structured method to learning new subjects and find a more "hap-hazard" approach not very conducive to learning. This realization brought about a search for this mysterious structured method I was looking for. Being a "newbie" I did not want to outlay a great amount of money or time for this education until I had, what I believed, the "fundamentals" of the topic covered. My research led me to several schools that had on site training from one day to several week long immersive courses that ranged from less than $100 to several thousands of dollars. None of these options seemed to be what I was looking for at my particular location along the Bushcraft learning continuum.
This lead me to look for online programs of study. The first I discovered was the BushClass available at the BuscraftUSA website. This class is very well put together and thoughtout, in my opinion. It has three different levels with instructional videos from several instructors and required tasks to be submitted to attain "certification". After completing the BushClass Basic Certification and having completed the majority of the requirements for the Intermediate Certification, I began to look for something more on the cognitive domain than the psychomotor method of producing an object for evaluation.
I wanted a self contained course that would cover a broad range of topics that did not require attendance of an on-site course, along with the extra outlay of tuition costs, in order to obtain certification. I looked at the Pathfinder School's Home Study Certification program of Phase 1 and Phase 2, however, to complete Phase 2, a student must attend the Advanced Survival Course to obtain certification, at a cost of several hundred additional dollars. The primary advantage to this course of study is the advertised possibility of becoming an Associate Instructor at the Pathfinder School upon completion of Phase 3. While becoming a certified instructor is very interesting, it was not my goal at the time.
During my time of learning and searching for a course that fit my idea of what I desired I discovered a gentleman named Derek Faria. I had viewed a great deal of his videos on YouTube and I enjoyed his no nonsense teaching style. Derek has a physical school site known as The Woodsman School and offers classes in New Hampshire. Also offered through the school are Self Development Courses available via mail. The courses are listed as Ledgers and are Ledger 1, Ledger 2, and Ledger 3 and build on each other incrementally. These courses are very reasonably priced and very well thought out, in my opinion. The courses require a great deal of study and research on the part of the student and this is the best part of the course. While there is something to be said for a fully self contained course in which all material need for the course is supplied, the student only gets one viewpoint on the subjects being discussed. I believe, that the way The Woodsman School Self Development Courses have been developed opens up the student to the opportunity to learn the information from many different sources thus providing a greater depth to the knowledge obtained than learning from one source. In his video about the courses, Derek explains that the student "gets out of the course what they put in to it", that is to say if the student wants an easy and shallow course they can get it, however, if the student wants a challenging course that will bring a great deal of information, that is possible as well.
I have completed Ledger 1 and have recently began Ledger 2 and I can say that these courses have provided the structure that I had been searching for. The courses are laid out to follow the survival priorities that are covered in the on site courses at The Woodsman School. The amount of research required is necessary to insure that the students are gaining the base knowledge required to complete the objectives that must be submitted for certification. In all, I personally believe that if you are unable to attend a class in person or are looking for a structured learning environment at home, you can't go wrong with The Woodsman School Self Development Courses.
Monday, January 16, 2017
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Wilderness Land Navigation - Topographic Maps 101
Wilderness Land Navigation - Topographic Maps 101
In today's post we will cover the basics of Topographic Maps. We will cover what is a Topographic Map as well as what information can be found on a topographic map and how that information is displayed on that map. This will be a fairly detailed explanation but I will attempt to keep the information easy to understand.What is a Topographic Map?
Topographic maps show terrain, or the "lay" of the land, using contour lines. Topographic maps also show bodies of water and various man made structure such as buildings, forest cover, and roadways. Contour lines are curves printed on the map that connect points of the same altitude on a given terrain feature such as a mountain. Topographic maps are also sometime referred to as "topo" maps. In the U.S. topographical maps are typically organized in a series of 7.5 minute grids and they are sometimes referred to as "quadrangles" or more simply as "quads". These maps are produces to cover an area of 7.5 minutes latitude by 7.5 minutes longitude (typically 49 to 71 square miles) and are printed to a scale of 1:24,000 where 1inch(map) represents 2000 feet(land) or 1 centimeter(map) represents 240 meters(land). Interestingly, the north and south sides of these maps are not straight lines, but are actually slightly curved to match the lines of latitude of the Earth. Also, the east and west sides of the maps typically not parallel as they match the lines of latitude of the Earth.What Information can be Found on a Topographic Map?
We will now cover what information is contained on the map sheet. This portion will be covered into three parts, information on the map margin, terrain features, and colors used on the map.Information on the Map Margin.
Most topographic maps will having information printed around the margins of the map sheet. This information can be thought of as the "User Manual" for the map. As with any other piece of your kit it is important to read and understand the information contained in the manual to get the most efficient use of the tool and to use it safely. Topographic maps should be considered a tool and treated and cared for as such. Many people have difficulty using a map simply because they do not understand the information shown on the map, and this can be solved by reading the instructions provided.
On the top left of all 7.5 Minute maps produced by the USGS is the name of the organization responsible for creating the map. In this case it is the USGS.
On the center portion of the top of the map will be listed either the map series as with the newer US Topo maps, or the secondary Agency responsible for information on the map.
The top right corner will show the complete quadrangle name along with the State and often the County in which the area represented on the map is located. Also shown will be the are covered by the map, here listed as 7.5-Minute Series.
At the bottom right will be found the map key, showing how roads and other features are indicated on the map. The map name and State are also shown along with the date the map was produced. This date is one of the major key features to look for on all maps. Also shown is a representation of the maps location within an outline graphic of the State. Most newer maps will have a nine square grid in this are also indicating the adjoining map sheets. This information is helpful when navigating near the edges of a map sheet.
At the bottom center the Map Scale will be found. Included with the scale are distance bars to aid in measuring distances on the map, and will be shown in kilometers, meters, miles, and feet. Additionally shown are two vital pieces of information, contour interval and map datum. The contour interval is the vertical distance between the brown contour lines on the map. Many intervals are used by the USGS from 10 feet in relatively flat areas to 100 feet in very mountainous areas, but typically 20 to 40 feet intervals are most common. The Datum that was used to produce the map is simply an agreed upon starting point for measuring locations on the Earth. Usually a map will be produced with North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) or, on older maps North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). These are important when communicating coordinates to persons using other maps or when using a GPS in conjunction with a map. Utilizing different datum sets can cause significant differences in the actual locations of a given coordinate.
The bottom left corner of the sheet contains a lot of information and is easily confusing. Here we will find the "Declination Diagram", this diagram indicates the difference between Magnetic North (Compass North), True North (North Pole), and Grid North (Top of Map Sheet). It is easy to get hung up on these but we will discuss this later. Typically the difference between True North (TN) and Grid North (GN) is negligible and True North is not typically need for wilderness land navigation. Newer maps will show the UTM Grid Zone that the map is located in. In wilderness land navigation UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator), MGRS (Military Grid reference System), and the USNG (United States National Grid) are functionally the same when used in any of the States. Again, this will be covered in a later post in detail. The other information is credit information, think of it as the bibliography of the map. This shows what sources of information were used in creating the map.
As you can see, there is a wealth of useful and important information located in the margin of the map sheet. This information will make it much easier to understand what is being represented on the field of the map sheet.
How is Information Displayed on a Topographic Map?
Information is displayed on a topographic map by the map makers utilizing various lines and designs along with several colors in order to represent the elevation change of an area as well as the features contained in that area. The most prominent feature on a topographic map is the contour lines. Contour lines do not exist on the land in reality, but are used to indicate a set of contiguous points in an area that are the same elevation. Learning to recognize and visualize what patterns the contour lines form will make a better a safer wilderness land navigator. Many different symbols are also used to indicate features and locations on the map. A complete guide to colors and symbols contained on USGS topographic maps can be found here: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/TopographicMapSymbols/topomapsymbols.pdf and here: http://nationalmap.gov/ustopo/images/US_Topo_Map_Symbols.pdf . These two document provide a very valuable resource when studying topographic maps for wilderness land navigation and I strongly recommend becoming familiar with them.Terrain Features.
Terrain features on the ground will be represented by the pattern that is formed by the contour lines shown on the map. Understanding how these features are represented on the map can make it easier to plan a comfortable efficient route while navigating in the wilderness. It is important to remember that all land features may not be represented on the map. For example a deep gouge or ditch may not be shown because it may lie between two contour lines and not cross them. Care should be taken while navigating as to not stumble into an area not indicated on the map. Terrain features indicated on the map can be divided into five major and five minor features. Many features can be better understood by utilizing your hand to indicate the features.The Five Major Terrain Features:
Hill - a single point rising in elevation above the surrounding land. A hill can be visualized as a single knuckle on a clinched fist.
Ridge - A ridge is simply two or more hills connected in a line. A ridge can be visualized by the four knuckle of a clinched fist.
Saddle - A saddle is the low area connecting to hills. A saddle can be visualized as the are between two knuckle on a clinched fist.
Valley - A Valley is the lowest area between two ridges. Rivers and large creeks are often found in a valley. The valley can be visualized as the area between two extended fingers on you hand, the fingers represent the ridges and the are between is the valley.
Depression - A depression is an area near gently sloping to flat land that is slightly lower than the surrounding land. A depression will be indicated as a contour line with small tick marks pointing toward the lower elevation. Think of a depression as a pond or lake that does not contain water. A depression can be visualized by the cupped palm of the hand.
The Five Minor Terrain Features:
Spur/Point - A spur or point is the area of land extending down grade from a hill top. A spur or point will often form a "U" shape in the contour lines and the bottom of the "U" will point to the lower elevation. A spur or point can be visualized by the finger in a clinched fist where the finger indicates lowering elevation from the knuckle or hill.
Draw/Hollow - A draw or hollow is the area of lower elevation between two spurs or points. Water can often be found in a draw or hollow in the eastern woodlands. A draw or hollow will form a "V" in the contour lines where the bottom of the "V" points to higher elevation. A draw or hollow can be visualized by the area between two fingers in a clinched fist. Where the fingers represent spurs extending down from a ridge.
Cliff - A cliff is an area of drastic elevation change in a short linear distance. A cliff can be formed naturally by erosion or other process, or can be formed by excavation of an area for road building or mining. A cliff is indicated by converging contour lines on the map and may appear as a solid brown mass due to the contour lines being very close in the area. A cliff may be visualized by the sides of the clinched fist in that the side are near vertical in nature.
Cut - Rarely indicated on a map except possibly as updated information on a map. A cut is an area that has been excavated in order to build a roadway, rail line, or possibly a large building. A cut will be indicated as missing contour lines with straight lines containing tick marks pointing toward the lower elevation.
Fill - Again a fill is rarely indicated on a map except usually in an updated map sheet. A fill is similar to a cut except a fill is an area in which land has been added in order to fill a low lying area to be level with another area. A fill will often be used in conjunction with cuts in order to build roadways or rail lines. A fill will be indicated by straight lines with small tick marks pointing to the lower elevation. Often fills and cuts will be found in close proximity to one another.
Colors Used on the Map.
Typically used on all USGS are five major colors as well as a few supplementary colors may be found on some maps.The Five Major Colors:
Brown - Contour Lines - Line close together indicate steep terrain and lines further apart indicate gentle sloping or flat terrain.
Index Contour lines will be bold and have the elevation level, usually 100 feet) indicated on the line in several locations.
Intermediate Contour lines will be narrow and will represent the contour interval as indicated at the bottom center of the map sheet.
Blue - Water Features
Green - Forest/Vegetation Cover
Red - Roadways
Black - Man Made Features, smaller roadways, and trails
Supplementary Colors:
Pink - Newly built up areas
Purple - Updated map information (when not enough to produce an entirely new map)
Yellow - The new US Topo maps will have the USNG drawn onto the map field in Yellow.
Understanding these colors will help make sense of what is being displayed on the map.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Wilderness Land Navigation - Finishing the DIY Map
In this post we will go over the process needed to turn the parts of the map that were printed in the last post into a usable full size paper map. Now that the individual tiles have printed a minor amount of work is necessary in order to get a quality full size paper map for our navigation exercises.
A few tools are necessary in order to trim the tiles in order to unite them into a seamless map. Most of these tools can be found in the home and if not they can be purchased for minimal cost and used for multiple things. Items needed are a straight edge, I used a metal ruler, but any straight object will work. Also need will be some sort of cutting instrument, this can be anything from a single edged razor blade to an Xacto knife, even scissors can be used but will require extra care to get a quality result. Some sort of fine marking device, like a mechanical pencil, and some clear tape are the final two items needed. Please, use extra caution when working with sharp objects, as a laceration will not only cause a bad experience, but will also likely ruin your map!
Begin by aligning the straight edge with the crop marks located near the corners of the prints. Special care should be given to the alignment here because the quality of the final product will be drastically affected by sloppy cutting. Sloppy and inconsistent cuts will make it nearly impossible to assembly the map as well as make it virtually unusable.
Align the edge with the crop marks and carefluuy cut off the excess. On the edges of the map, any measurement can be used to leave a border on the map. Borders have many advantages from making notes to protecting the marginal information of the map. In the example, the width of the straight edge is used to define the space for the border. It is important to use the same measurement in order to give a quality appearance to the map.
.
On the bottom of the map, in order to maintain the marginal information, a measurement of 3" was used. While these measurements do not give a completed map of USGS standard size, it does produce a very usable map of nearly the same dimensions. Simply measure from the lower border of the map and mark at least two locations along the paper then utilize these marks as the crop marks were used earlier.
Next, align the edges of the trimmed pages taking care to align any text as well as other lines on the map. Due to differences in printers and tolerance differences not all locations may align correctly on the printed panels. If this situation occurs, simply align the panels to the point at which the "most" of the image is aligned. This is an unfortunate drawback to printing your own maps but, in my opinion, acceptable for the cost of producing a map yourself. Once the images are aligned secure with a small piece of clear tape on the front of the map. After all panels are secured, turn the map over and secure all seams with long strips of tape to ensure the map is secure.
Once all seams are secured with tape, the finished product is a full size, standard 1:24,000 scale USGS Topographic Map. While an actual cost of producing a map at home, I believe the cost to be significantly less than the $8.00 for printed map from the USGS. Another option is once printed and assembled at home this map can be used and if determined an actual print from USGS can be ordered for an archive copy for your collection. An option to waterproof the map is to cover the map with self adhesive clear shelf protecting film that is available at most grocery and department stores.
Once the map has been printed and assembled the next step is to finish your map as desired then to fold the map. All newly produced maps from USGS have a United States National Grid (USNG) grid overlay printed on them. Many older USGS maps have tic marks printed on the margins for MGRS (Military Grid Reference System). It is important to note that USNG and MGRS are functionally identical on US soil so the two can be used interchangably and we will cover this in a later post. If the map you have assembled does not have the USNG/MGRS grid printed onto it, take the time to use a straight edge to mark the grid onto your map. This can even be done with prints that have been ordered from USGS to facilitate easier navigation. Any other finishing such as waterproofing can now be done. After this grid has been marked, we now need to fold the map.
Lay the map out on a large flat surface such as the floor or a table face up aith the top of the map away from you as if you were working with the map. Fold the right edge of the map over to the left edge, taking care to align the corners. Crease this fold well, and in order to facilitate easier use of the map in the field fold the map the opposite way and crease well again. This should be done to all folds of the map in order to make the map easier to fold in the field when navigating.
Fold the to leaf back over to the right side in half again. Pay attention to aligning the corners in order to get a good fold. After this fold is completed fold the remaining side in half as you did the front. The final product of the vertical folds should look like the picture below.
Now fold the map in half from top to bottom. Turn the map so the name of the map is facing upwards. The name will be located on the top and bottom right corners of the map sheet. Fold these sheet names so they are touching, taking care to crease well as you are now folding several thicknesses of paper.
Now fold the top flap of the map down toward the bottom. Align corners and crease well. After this fold is complete fold the back flap the same way. This leaves you with the map folded into a sufficient size to fit into a cargo pocket or into a map pouch. Also, the map name is located on both the front and back to facilitate locating the desired map however it has been stored.
Assembling and folding your map sheet correctly will make it easier to use and last much longer than if not taken care of properly. Even if not printed onto waterproof paper, utilizing a map case or even something as simple as a one gallon zip lock bag can protect your map from errant moisture encountered during field navigation exercises.
A few tools are necessary in order to trim the tiles in order to unite them into a seamless map. Most of these tools can be found in the home and if not they can be purchased for minimal cost and used for multiple things. Items needed are a straight edge, I used a metal ruler, but any straight object will work. Also need will be some sort of cutting instrument, this can be anything from a single edged razor blade to an Xacto knife, even scissors can be used but will require extra care to get a quality result. Some sort of fine marking device, like a mechanical pencil, and some clear tape are the final two items needed. Please, use extra caution when working with sharp objects, as a laceration will not only cause a bad experience, but will also likely ruin your map!
Begin by aligning the straight edge with the crop marks located near the corners of the prints. Special care should be given to the alignment here because the quality of the final product will be drastically affected by sloppy cutting. Sloppy and inconsistent cuts will make it nearly impossible to assembly the map as well as make it virtually unusable.
Align the edge with the crop marks and carefluuy cut off the excess. On the edges of the map, any measurement can be used to leave a border on the map. Borders have many advantages from making notes to protecting the marginal information of the map. In the example, the width of the straight edge is used to define the space for the border. It is important to use the same measurement in order to give a quality appearance to the map.
.
On the bottom of the map, in order to maintain the marginal information, a measurement of 3" was used. While these measurements do not give a completed map of USGS standard size, it does produce a very usable map of nearly the same dimensions. Simply measure from the lower border of the map and mark at least two locations along the paper then utilize these marks as the crop marks were used earlier.
Next, align the edges of the trimmed pages taking care to align any text as well as other lines on the map. Due to differences in printers and tolerance differences not all locations may align correctly on the printed panels. If this situation occurs, simply align the panels to the point at which the "most" of the image is aligned. This is an unfortunate drawback to printing your own maps but, in my opinion, acceptable for the cost of producing a map yourself. Once the images are aligned secure with a small piece of clear tape on the front of the map. After all panels are secured, turn the map over and secure all seams with long strips of tape to ensure the map is secure.
Once all seams are secured with tape, the finished product is a full size, standard 1:24,000 scale USGS Topographic Map. While an actual cost of producing a map at home, I believe the cost to be significantly less than the $8.00 for printed map from the USGS. Another option is once printed and assembled at home this map can be used and if determined an actual print from USGS can be ordered for an archive copy for your collection. An option to waterproof the map is to cover the map with self adhesive clear shelf protecting film that is available at most grocery and department stores.
Once the map has been printed and assembled the next step is to finish your map as desired then to fold the map. All newly produced maps from USGS have a United States National Grid (USNG) grid overlay printed on them. Many older USGS maps have tic marks printed on the margins for MGRS (Military Grid Reference System). It is important to note that USNG and MGRS are functionally identical on US soil so the two can be used interchangably and we will cover this in a later post. If the map you have assembled does not have the USNG/MGRS grid printed onto it, take the time to use a straight edge to mark the grid onto your map. This can even be done with prints that have been ordered from USGS to facilitate easier navigation. Any other finishing such as waterproofing can now be done. After this grid has been marked, we now need to fold the map.
Lay the map out on a large flat surface such as the floor or a table face up aith the top of the map away from you as if you were working with the map. Fold the right edge of the map over to the left edge, taking care to align the corners. Crease this fold well, and in order to facilitate easier use of the map in the field fold the map the opposite way and crease well again. This should be done to all folds of the map in order to make the map easier to fold in the field when navigating.
Fold the to leaf back over to the right side in half again. Pay attention to aligning the corners in order to get a good fold. After this fold is completed fold the remaining side in half as you did the front. The final product of the vertical folds should look like the picture below.
Now fold the map in half from top to bottom. Turn the map so the name of the map is facing upwards. The name will be located on the top and bottom right corners of the map sheet. Fold these sheet names so they are touching, taking care to crease well as you are now folding several thicknesses of paper.
Now fold the top flap of the map down toward the bottom. Align corners and crease well. After this fold is complete fold the back flap the same way. This leaves you with the map folded into a sufficient size to fit into a cargo pocket or into a map pouch. Also, the map name is located on both the front and back to facilitate locating the desired map however it has been stored.
Assembling and folding your map sheet correctly will make it easier to use and last much longer than if not taken care of properly. Even if not printed onto waterproof paper, utilizing a map case or even something as simple as a one gallon zip lock bag can protect your map from errant moisture encountered during field navigation exercises.
Monday, May 9, 2016
Wilderness Land Navigation - Obtaining Maps
This post is intended to introduce a series titled Wilderness Land Navigation. The intention is to move from the basics of Land Navigation into more advanced concepts. This subject will require many posts in order to cover the information effectively and I hope everyone stays around to learn from these posts. I also encourage the reader to share comments and suggestions and I look forward to, undoubtedly, learning from you. This series will cover Wilderness Land Navigation with map only, with compass only, with map and compass, as well as methods of navigation using only the wilderness. Thank you and lets get started.
For our first topic we will cover how to obtain maps of your area of interest. When referring to "maps" I am speaking of USGS Topographic Maps. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) was established in 1879 for the purpose of classification of public lands. By far the USGS has the largest, most complete collection of topographic maps in the U.S. The age of the internet has opened up many locations to obtain maps. The most useful, in my opinion, are the USGS 1:24,000 7.5' Quadrangle series of maps produced by the USGS and these maps are easily obtained via the internet. Recently, the USGS has made the entire collection of topographic maps available for fee to download to your computer. The website can be found with an internet search for "USGS Topo Maps" or by navigating to http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/maplocator/. You will then be directed to the following website:
Use your mouse to zoom into your area of interest on the map. Make sure that the "Navigate" button on the right side of the page and the "7.5 and 15 Minute" map footprints are selected. As you zoom in, a grid will appear showing the available maps.
Once your desired area is in the viewing window, click the "Mark Points" button. Using the mouse, left click anywhere in the desired map area as indicated by the outlined box.
Once the location pointer pops up, click on the marker. A dialog box with all available maps for the selected are will pop up.
Again, the most useful maps for navigating the wilderness on foot is the 7.5' Topographic Map. These are listed as "7.5x7.5 Grid" in the dialog box. On the left side of the box, under the "Buy" heading, you will notice some maps are listed in blue. Clicking on the name will open a shopping dialog to order a printed map from the USGS. While this is a option, most maps are $8.00, which can quickly become a significant amount if several maps are required for your area. For example, my County is covered by sixteen 7.5' maps, which would cost $128.00 to have the maps printed and shipped to me. Those of us on a budget need a way to obtain these maps at a lower cost. Further in the dialog box you will notice the year in which the map was produced. Newer maps will have more current information than older maps. This is important when the topography of your area changes, such as a new road is built or a new dam and lake are built. However, these newer maps may also not contain information that is listed on the older maps. In my area, many "Jeep Trails" as well as gas well right of ways and hiking paths have not been transferred to the newer maps. So, how do we know which map we need. It would be a great waste of resources to order over $100.00 worth of maps to find they do not have your favorite hiking trail shown. We have two options on the USGS site to find the map that has the information we need. We can click "view" which will open a small preview box of the map, but this image is small and difficult to manipulate. A better choice is to click the "Download" link for the desire map, which is listed as file size in the dialog box.
In this example, I know I need the 1995 version of the map, because the 2014 version does not show any of the hiking paths in this area. As I am planning a trip to hike these trails, this data is more important to me than some minor terrain or road changes. When the dialog comes up, select "Save As" to save the file to your computer. This will download a .zip folder to your computer which you can then extract the .pdf file for the map to view on your screen. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view and print these files. There are many helps on the internet to assist you in downloading and installing Acrobat to your computer so I will not go into the process. Most newer computers have Acrobat preinstalled and this is not an issue anyway.
When the map opens, you may see something similar to this on your screen. After deciding that this the map you want, all that is left is to print the file. I print all of my maps on my home printer and have found that even though some map require a lot of ink, the price per map is significantly less than $8.00. If your willing to put in a little work, this is a simple and viable option to obtain maps. Click the "Print" button to open the print dialog box.
Now we have come to the area that requires the most attention in order to finish with a quality product. Select your appropriate printer as usual in printing any other document. I have a color laser printer, but a color inkjet, even black only will also provide suitable maps. Black and white are a little more difficult to use but they can be used in pinch. Next click on the "Poster" button to enable you to print the map full size. Make sure the map prints 100% and other options as you see fit. The map will either print on nine regular 8.5"x11" pages or, to make less cut and paste later, I use 8.5"x14" "legal" paper and use eight sheets per map. The overlap is usually defaulted to an acceptable size, but you can change this if you would like. I have found that with the default overlap, once the pages are trimmed, the pages just need butted together to fit properly.
While the USGS website is an excellent source for standard maps, sometime the location of interest may be located on the edge of the map. This can cause some difficulties in navigating the wilderness by needing to reference two or three map sheets to plan a route or search for resources. Many websites exist that allow the user to create and purchase a customized topographic map. For example, www.mytopo.com, allows the user to select an area and order a map in several sizes from small to very large and on various types of paper. For example, one could order a 5'x8' map with public and private land boundaries printed over the topographic feature, however, this map would cost $180.00. On the other end of the spectrum an 18"x24" waterproof paper map with only topographic information is only $10.00. Another option is the website, www.caltopo.com, which allows user to add custom information to the maps such as trails and markers. CalTopo has a basic free account that offers a large number of tools for custom mapping, but is limited to print sizes. Two levels of subscription services are available at $20/yr and $50/yr, each level offers more options and larger print sizes. With CalTopo the user can print a .pdf file of the selected area on a home printer and have a custom map almost instantly.
This introductory lesson is intended to introduce a few of the many options available to outdoor enthusiasts to obtain maps from nearly free good quality to, even though high price, very high quality maps on waterproof stock. Hopefully this lesson will assist in the location and utilization of end user map products.
For our first topic we will cover how to obtain maps of your area of interest. When referring to "maps" I am speaking of USGS Topographic Maps. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) was established in 1879 for the purpose of classification of public lands. By far the USGS has the largest, most complete collection of topographic maps in the U.S. The age of the internet has opened up many locations to obtain maps. The most useful, in my opinion, are the USGS 1:24,000 7.5' Quadrangle series of maps produced by the USGS and these maps are easily obtained via the internet. Recently, the USGS has made the entire collection of topographic maps available for fee to download to your computer. The website can be found with an internet search for "USGS Topo Maps" or by navigating to http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/maplocator/. You will then be directed to the following website:
Use your mouse to zoom into your area of interest on the map. Make sure that the "Navigate" button on the right side of the page and the "7.5 and 15 Minute" map footprints are selected. As you zoom in, a grid will appear showing the available maps.
Once your desired area is in the viewing window, click the "Mark Points" button. Using the mouse, left click anywhere in the desired map area as indicated by the outlined box.
Once the location pointer pops up, click on the marker. A dialog box with all available maps for the selected are will pop up.
Again, the most useful maps for navigating the wilderness on foot is the 7.5' Topographic Map. These are listed as "7.5x7.5 Grid" in the dialog box. On the left side of the box, under the "Buy" heading, you will notice some maps are listed in blue. Clicking on the name will open a shopping dialog to order a printed map from the USGS. While this is a option, most maps are $8.00, which can quickly become a significant amount if several maps are required for your area. For example, my County is covered by sixteen 7.5' maps, which would cost $128.00 to have the maps printed and shipped to me. Those of us on a budget need a way to obtain these maps at a lower cost. Further in the dialog box you will notice the year in which the map was produced. Newer maps will have more current information than older maps. This is important when the topography of your area changes, such as a new road is built or a new dam and lake are built. However, these newer maps may also not contain information that is listed on the older maps. In my area, many "Jeep Trails" as well as gas well right of ways and hiking paths have not been transferred to the newer maps. So, how do we know which map we need. It would be a great waste of resources to order over $100.00 worth of maps to find they do not have your favorite hiking trail shown. We have two options on the USGS site to find the map that has the information we need. We can click "view" which will open a small preview box of the map, but this image is small and difficult to manipulate. A better choice is to click the "Download" link for the desire map, which is listed as file size in the dialog box.
In this example, I know I need the 1995 version of the map, because the 2014 version does not show any of the hiking paths in this area. As I am planning a trip to hike these trails, this data is more important to me than some minor terrain or road changes. When the dialog comes up, select "Save As" to save the file to your computer. This will download a .zip folder to your computer which you can then extract the .pdf file for the map to view on your screen. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view and print these files. There are many helps on the internet to assist you in downloading and installing Acrobat to your computer so I will not go into the process. Most newer computers have Acrobat preinstalled and this is not an issue anyway.
When the map opens, you may see something similar to this on your screen. After deciding that this the map you want, all that is left is to print the file. I print all of my maps on my home printer and have found that even though some map require a lot of ink, the price per map is significantly less than $8.00. If your willing to put in a little work, this is a simple and viable option to obtain maps. Click the "Print" button to open the print dialog box.
Now we have come to the area that requires the most attention in order to finish with a quality product. Select your appropriate printer as usual in printing any other document. I have a color laser printer, but a color inkjet, even black only will also provide suitable maps. Black and white are a little more difficult to use but they can be used in pinch. Next click on the "Poster" button to enable you to print the map full size. Make sure the map prints 100% and other options as you see fit. The map will either print on nine regular 8.5"x11" pages or, to make less cut and paste later, I use 8.5"x14" "legal" paper and use eight sheets per map. The overlap is usually defaulted to an acceptable size, but you can change this if you would like. I have found that with the default overlap, once the pages are trimmed, the pages just need butted together to fit properly.
While the USGS website is an excellent source for standard maps, sometime the location of interest may be located on the edge of the map. This can cause some difficulties in navigating the wilderness by needing to reference two or three map sheets to plan a route or search for resources. Many websites exist that allow the user to create and purchase a customized topographic map. For example, www.mytopo.com, allows the user to select an area and order a map in several sizes from small to very large and on various types of paper. For example, one could order a 5'x8' map with public and private land boundaries printed over the topographic feature, however, this map would cost $180.00. On the other end of the spectrum an 18"x24" waterproof paper map with only topographic information is only $10.00. Another option is the website, www.caltopo.com, which allows user to add custom information to the maps such as trails and markers. CalTopo has a basic free account that offers a large number of tools for custom mapping, but is limited to print sizes. Two levels of subscription services are available at $20/yr and $50/yr, each level offers more options and larger print sizes. With CalTopo the user can print a .pdf file of the selected area on a home printer and have a custom map almost instantly.
This introductory lesson is intended to introduce a few of the many options available to outdoor enthusiasts to obtain maps from nearly free good quality to, even though high price, very high quality maps on waterproof stock. Hopefully this lesson will assist in the location and utilization of end user map products.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Medicinal Plants for the Woodsman
10 Medicinal plants for the Woodsman
In no particular order:
1) Boneset
2) Yarrow
3) Goldenrod
4) Violet
5) Plantain
6) Yellow Dock
7) Jewel Weed
8) Mullein
9) Wood Sorrel
10) Garlic
These plants are considered by some to be the best medicinal plants for Woodsmen to know. Many reasons exist for this designation, however, the main reason is they are the most common (usually). Many can be found in the lawn of many homes throughout the country. All are usually considered "weeds" by many people who are not aware of the benefits of these plants. My hope is to cover each of these plants in the future to provide a resource for utilizing this important resource available to everyone. Each post will include photos as well as uses for each plant. It is important to stress that the reader should do extensive research from many sources before utilizing any plant in a medicinal capacity. Never rely on only one source for information as it may be outdated, or incorrect. I can not be responsible for misuse, adverse reactions or misidentification. Please be absolutely positive of plant identification prior to use of any part of the plant.
In no particular order:
1) Boneset
2) Yarrow
3) Goldenrod
4) Violet
5) Plantain
6) Yellow Dock
7) Jewel Weed
8) Mullein
9) Wood Sorrel
10) Garlic
These plants are considered by some to be the best medicinal plants for Woodsmen to know. Many reasons exist for this designation, however, the main reason is they are the most common (usually). Many can be found in the lawn of many homes throughout the country. All are usually considered "weeds" by many people who are not aware of the benefits of these plants. My hope is to cover each of these plants in the future to provide a resource for utilizing this important resource available to everyone. Each post will include photos as well as uses for each plant. It is important to stress that the reader should do extensive research from many sources before utilizing any plant in a medicinal capacity. Never rely on only one source for information as it may be outdated, or incorrect. I can not be responsible for misuse, adverse reactions or misidentification. Please be absolutely positive of plant identification prior to use of any part of the plant.
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