Finding your way in the mountains or desert can be challenging. Many factors enter into the level of challenge. The following skills can help make you safe:
Topographic Maps
The base topographic maps for the United States are produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Over 130 years they have progressed from "sketches" produced while standing on a high peak or ridge to precision maps scanned from aerial photographs. For many years maps at a 15-minute scale were the best available and the main maps used by backcountry visitors. More recently improved maps at a 7.5-minute scale became the standard.
Exploring USTopo Maps
Launched in 2009, the US Topo series is a new generation of maps of the American landscape. US Topo topographic maps are produced by the National Geospatial Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The project was launched in late 2009, and the term "US Topo" refers specifically to quadrangle topographic maps published in 2009 and later. These maps are modeled on the familiar 7.5-minute quadrangle maps of the period 1947-1992, but are mass-produced from national GIS databases on a repeating cycle.
US Topo maps repackage geographic information system (GIS) data in traditional map form; this benefits non-specialist map users, as well as applications that need traditional maps.
US Topo Map Users Guide - June 2017 (PDF)
Using The National Map Products and Services - an instructional series from USGS.
Both free digital and paid printed copies of U.S. Topographic Maps are available from The USGS Store. Details of the current USGS mapping program will be found in This PDF File.
US Topo Quadrangles — Maps for America, a service of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), offers free digital downloads of current maps and older versions including historical maps. Current maps are computer generated and updated regularly. The procedure used was updated in June 2017. Check the website for details. This PDF File contains detailed information and instructions.
Various private companies and government agencies add updated information to these maps and sell them. The Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management produce updated maps, for wilderness areas and other special areas.
Many Wilderness Areas and National Parks are covered by topographic maps available from the National Forest or National Park or from outdoor sporting goods stores. These are often more up-to-date than maps from other sources regarding the location of trails, roads, trailheads and other physical improvements. You can usually buy these maps by mail and over the internet.
These agencies also have "flat" maps which don't show the topography or the same level of detail. These "flat" maps are suitable for road navigation but are totally inadequate for off road travel.
The www.recreation.gov website can help you find the website for any National Forest, National Park or Bureau of Land Management area in the United States where you can check what is available.
Here are some links pertinent to the Eastern Sierra:
U. S. Forest Service Topo Maps containing the latest Forest Service information can be downloaded as PDF files and printed. This PDF file provides details. To print on a standard desktop printer choose Poster Mode. You will have a border to trim before taping together into one large map.
An on-line free service called Gmap4 operated by MappingSupport.Com provides access to United States National Forest Service Topgraphic Maps maintained by the Forest Service. The coordinates of your cursor are shown in the lower right corner. The menu system in the upper right provides a number of options including selecting the type of coordinates you want (UTM, Lat/Lon, etc.). UTM will overlay the UTM Grid.
These maps show trail mileages on many (but not all) trails. By varying the zoom level you get different quality maps. High resolution versions are available at the higher zoom levels - select t4CalTopo High-Res in the menu.
You can select any area you want and zoom in and out to see detail. There is not a printing provision, however, you can use Ctrl-P to print the screen or use any screen capture utility such as the Windows Snipping Tool. With the Snipping Tool you can then draw colored lines such as a hiking route on the "snip" and save it as a file.
Click here for Inyo National Forest.
The Gmap4 program has many capabilities that can be discovered by reading the FAQ and other on-line documentation. For most uses it requires an Internet connection.
One neat thing you can do is create a link to a specific location such as UTM 37.688235 119.200029 - which is Mt. Ritter and e-mail that to a friend who can click on it to see the map. Try it!
Many areas have detailed topographic maps published by private organizations rather than or in addition to the government. National Geographic Society Trails Illustrated topographic maps cover many areas. Since National Geographic also publishes "flat" maps, make sure that the product you are selecting is a topographic map.
National Geographic Society also makes available FREE topographic maps for the United States in PDF format that can be printed on standard home printers on multiple sheets of paper. This gives you a standard 7.5 minute USGS topo map in four pieces. To tape together, trim edge of one map, then overlap about 3/8 inch and tape. There is a fifth piece of paper labeled "Index".
NOTE: The excellent TOPO! series of maps on CD/DVD from National Geographic are no-longer available. Check the National Geographic website for currently available map products including printed maps. A large number of up-to-date topographic maps are available. Since they also sell non-topographic maps, make sure the product you are purchasing is a topographic map.
MONO SAR has TOPO! installed on Team computers and it is the primary Team computer mapping program. Fortunately topographic maps for the Eastern Sierra don't change significantly over time.
Click Here to see an example of the maps that could be prepared with TOPO! for a backpacking trip in the California Sierra Nevada.
Green Trails Maps are topographic maps that show up-to-date trails in National Forests, National Parks, as well as State and local parks and other public land. Originally covering Washington and Oregon's Cascade Mountains, now include portions of California, Nevada, Arizona and New York. With 28 years of history, Green Trails maps are generally the most up-to-date topographic maps available for the areas covered.
All Trails offers free access to thousands of trips planned and saved by others. A Pro version allows on-line planning of your own trip and then download and print the related topographical maps. Maps can also be downloaded to your smart phone.
Here is an example of pre-planned All Trails trails in the Eastern Sierra - zoom in and out to vary the area covered.
Garmin Base Camp™ offers a free program you can download to use in planning your trip. A subscription version offers additional options.
CalTopo Tutorial - Columbia River Orienteering Club
www.caltopo.com allows you to plan a trip route and print maps using several different types of map. It is an excellent replacement for the no-longer available National Geographic TOPO! program.
At the left end of the menu click on CalTopo for access to several forms of help.
The user interface takes some practice but it has a lot of useful functions.
It is free but a paid version gives you more options including the ability to download it and install on your desktop computer - more info here. Instructional videos here.
This set of instructions will guide you through using CalTopo to create a trip map which can be printed, loaded onto your smart phone, and shared with others via a link.
NOTE: If your browser is Chrome, you may have to use the customize control (three dots in upper right) to ZOOM first the minus sign to make the CalTopo program top menu visible, then the plus sign to restore the browser screen to 100%.
You can overlay every available USGS topo map on Google Earth for free? You can set it up in a matter of minutes? Here’s how:
- Install Google Earth if you haven’t already.
- Download the Google Earth topo map layer from the ArcGIS Services Directory (it’s the NGS Topo US 2D (MapServer) file).
- When prompted, save the file to your computer.
- Find and double-click the file. It will open automatically in Google Earth.
- At this point, you’re essentially done and can begin zooming in and out on topo maps for the entire country. You need to take one more step, however, to ensure that this file remains available for future use. When you first open the file, you will see a "NGS_Topo_US_2D" icon under the "Temporary Places" folder in the left-hand "Places" column. To make this a permanent addition, move the icon to the "My Places" folder; just drag it over and drop it into "My Places."
- Important note: Some people have correctly noted that the directions above don’t always display the topo data. You may have to add the layer a number of times before it will actually display the topos. It does work, but you may have to add the layer more than once. Alternatively try closing Google Earth and re-opening it.
One great feature of this layer is that you can change its opacity. That is, you can fade it in and out so that you either see just the topo map, just the satellite image, or both simultaneously. To do so, simply slide the bar in the opacity adjustment at the bottom of the "Places" window.
MyTopo offers on order printed Topographic Maps. You can create customized maps. They also offer a MapPass Subscription service. Check website for details and pricing.
Printing the above maps at full size requires use of the printer's "poster" function which typically prints nine sheets which you can trim and tape together. The maps can also be printed at reduced size to fit on one sheet of paper.
If you have access to a large printer/plotter that can print full size on one sheet of paper, that would be an option. Some sporting goods stores will download and print maps for you.
Navigating - Finding Your Way with Map and Compass
Topographic Map Skills
Historically, paper maps have been the travellers guide. Early travelers used the sun and stars to guide them - and they are still useful tools. The magnetic compass and other "mechanical" tools improved man's ability to navigate accurately. In recent times technology has provided "electronic" tools such as the GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite based navigation system.
In many areas it is relatively easy to navigate by map and visual land marks ... particularly if you are familiar with the area. Some areas, like desert areas, are difficult to navigate using visual land marks because everything tends to look the same. So the magnetic compass is a useful and often required tool for accurate navigation. Every off road traveler should have a good understanding of how to use a map and compass to find their way.
Numerous good books are available in outdoor sportings good stores covering Map and Compass use. The classic book Be Expert with Map and Compass by Bjorn Kjellstorom was updated in 2010 (Third Edition) by his daughter - available on Amazon - and is probably the premier text for learning how to use your map and compass. A recent search on the internet found over 24,000 items related to Map and Compass.
The Outdoor Action Guide to Map and Compass at Princeton University, in three parts, is a well done, well illustrated chapter from The Backpacker's Field Manual by Rick Curtis published by Random House 1998. This on-line version downloads quickly and can be printed out for reference. Well worth logging on to and reading/printing.
The United States Geological Survey, source of our topographic maps, provides a wide range of educational materials at egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/pubslists/.
Finding Your Way With Map And Compass - an introduction to navigating using a map and compass.
How To Read a Topo Map - REI Expert Advice page - includes instructive video.
Navigation Basics: Map and Compass - REI Expert Advice page - includes instructive video.
Map Tools Tutorials - including Map, Compass and GPS Tutorials from maptools.com.
Columbia River Orienteering Club Navigation Videos - an excellent set of instructional videos.
Where Are You
Historically, in a non-urban or wilderness environment, you used your compass to sight on identified landmarks and draw lines on your map. Where those lines crossed each other identified your location. Commonly known as "triangulation". That method still works and should be practiced and understood since it is always available when modern electronic methods fail - such as run down batteries.
The advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS) utilizing satelites has simplified finding locations by using GPS Receivers, Smart Phones, and other devices that use the GPS technology. Law enforcement agencies can sometimes determine Smart Phone locations by triangulation from cell phone towers.
Describing a location and communicating locations to search and rescue teams, rescue helicopters and others takes several forms. The historical Latitude and Longitude (Lat/Lon) method is still used. It can take the form of Decimal Degrees, Degrees & Decimal Minutes and Degrees, Minutes & Seconds. Verbal comunication of Lat/Lon can be confusing and result in errors as large as six miles.
With modern topographical maps, use of the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) method is more prevalent for search and rescue operations. The military has used, for many years, a grid system they call Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) which is derived from UTM. An equivelent of the current MGRS is the United States National Grid (USNG) which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has designated as the preferred method for identifying locations.
To locate someone (including yourself) who has a smartphone, have them type findmesar.com in their browser and the site will use the GPS location capabilities of their smartphone to find their location. If their phone displays a pop-up asking if they want to "allow" the program to find their location, they will need to tap "allow". They may have to do this more than once.
Their location coordinates in United States National Grid (USNG) format are displayed. Tapping NEXT FORMAT will provide UTM coordinats. Tapping again gives Decimal Degrees, and again Degrees & Decimal Minutes.
By tapping DISPLAY MAP the location will be shown on a map. A button in the lower right allows changing the type of map. Choosing an appropriate map, you could probably give the person directions for travel.
To see how this works, do it for yourself.