What is the use of a hiking map these days? At a time when trails have signposts and information panels, where topo guides accurately describe paths, where GPS have digital map Holdings, where phones are overflowing with all kinds of hiking applications, and...
Beyond seeing when you will need to fork out of the ridge on which you are standing, the hiking map offers many advantages not necessarily found elsewhere.
The advantages of the hiking map
1 / have an overview
The map is the only one that offers an overview of the massif, the region... that is around you. This allows you to better understand the environment around you (GPs and smartphone screens are too small to have a global view). This also makes it possible to clearly see the route for several people. For example, simply display the map on the table of the refuge to visualize the day or day after the stage.
2 / Improvise on the spot
With its overview of the massif, it is easy and fast to spot at a glance / the different routes that are close to you. You're free to go wherever you want. Bad weather that pushes to shorten the hike, a closed Route... is not a problem with a map.
3 / Know the next water point
To know in advance where will be the next water points, the springs, the streams... is a major asset in hiking. This allows you to take less with you (the water is heavy !) and don't risk running dry.
4 / Find a small corner of bivouac
When you know how to read a map, you can easily spot the best places to spend the night just by looking at it. This helps to avoid being stuck at night, in an area where the bivouac would be impossible.
5 / name the summits
Thanks to your map, you can easily put names on the mountains, peaks, rocks, teeth... on all the peaks that surround you, as well as the altitudes to which they culminate.
6 / share your itinerary
At the corner of a table in a refuge, what could be warmer than to share, exchange, your itinerary with other hikers, to show on the map the path you have taken, to discuss the different variants…
7 / understanding all maps
Once you know how to read a map, you will be able to read any map, from the most simplistic to the most complex.
8 / Pencil, annotate, highlight
The card offers the possibility to write directly on it. You can add information gleaned before the start, write notes during the walk, highlight the route you intend to follow... it is customizable to become a real roadbook.
9 / in his library
Having a map in its library, allows you to bring it out whenever you want, quietly at home in your sofa, to quickly plunge you back into your last hike and remind you of good memories.
10 / modest investment
A hiking map requires little investment. According to the countries, its purchase is between 10 and 20 €.
This list is, of course, not exhaustive, each one will find in the paper card, his own indispensable reasons to take it with him. And then, a hike without a map, it's a bit like a beer without alcohol, the word Ch'ti!
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