Part 8

In case a club has under its care a wide extent of wilderness--as has the New York Section of the Green Mountain Club, for example--a ranger will be employed, and his duties will include the care of trails, prevention of fires, and protection of property. He may, if expedient, be constituted game warden also.

“Some of us have been blessed of the Gods, permitted to make trail in the timberline country of the Mt. Washington range. Everyone who has tried it is unhappy till he is doing it again. That is why there are so many trails there. I came rather late; my experience in that fascinating country has been little more than that of the common or idiotic tramper, scuttling from hut to hut on schedule. Always, summer or winter, I am glad to be starting for timberline, and content when there. When, after the long climb, I suddenly realize that the trees are lowering fast, that underbrush has vanished, that a sensation of altitude and space is pressing for conscious recognition, I feel a lift and urge--timberline again!

“And what is timberline? It is the level at which the mean annual temperature--yes, but it is the sweep of vast spaces, the drift of cloud-shadows, the infinite gradations of distant color. It is the hiss of wind in the firs, the strain against bitter gusts, the keen concentration to hold the trail through dense and drifting fog. It is the plod and lift under the pack, the crunch of creepers, the slow struggle through tangled scrubs.”[5]

_Map Making_

Maps of unmapped regions should be prepared.

Study a good map--a quadrangle of the U. S. Geological Survey, for instance. Note what things are represented, and how representation is made: study the map, until it is thoroughly understood.

There are three factors with which the map-maker deals: direction, distance, and elevation. With the first, he must always reckon, and usually with the second and the third as well.

Direction is fundamental. Suppose there are three dominant points in the area to be mapped, relatively situated as here indicated.

The first problem is, to get those points set down on paper accurately, in proper relative positions.

The map-maker begins, say, at _B_. He has provided himself with a _sketching board_, having a sheet of paper tacked upon it, and with a ruler and a _pencil_. He sets his board up and carefully levels it. He then marks upon the paper a point _b_ which in the completed map is to indicate this station _B_ of first observation--the point where he now stands. Knowing in a general way the area which he wishes to map, and observing from his station the directions in which the distant objects _A_ and _C_ lie, he so places point _b_ that his paper will afford space for the intended map.

The map-maker then lays his ruler upon the paper, brings its edge close to point _b_, and sighting from point _b_ on the paper to the distant object _A_, turns the ruler until its edge coincides with the line of sight. Then he draws upon the paper a line or “ray” from point _b_ toward object _A_. In like manner he sets his ruler again and draws a second ray, from _b_ toward the distant object _C_, thus:

Having fixed point _b_ and drawn the two rays _b-A_ and _b-C_, the map-maker leaves station _B_ and goes to either of the other points: to point _C_, say. He there sets his board up again, and levels it carefully as before. He turns the board until, sighting along the previously drawn ray _C-b_, the now distant station _B_ is exactly covered. Then he lays the ruler again upon the paper, and turns it until, sighting along its edge, distant object _A_ is exactly covered. He then draws a ray along the edge of the ruler thus:

The points _a_ and _c_, where this ray intersects the two previously drawn rays, are the presentment of the points _A_ and _C_ in the area under observation, and a map of the area is begun.

These three points may be mountain summits, trees, telegraph poles, chimneys, or any other conspicuous features of the landscape, and they may be distant one from another 50 miles or 500 yards; they are set down on paper in their true relative positions; they are _mapped_.

In the making of the map thus far, one and only one of the three factors mentioned above has been taken into the reckoning: the factor of _direction_, namely; and the resulting map is drawn to an unknown scale. It is drawn to _some_ scale, of course; there is _some_ ratio between its distances and the distances at which the objects stand apart, but the ratio is unknown. It may be determined: the distance from _B_ to _C_ may be measured, and the distance _b-c_ on the map may be measured, and the ratio of the two distances ascertained. That ratio is the scale to which the map is drawn. Thus the second factor, that of _distance_, enters in. It may be reckoned with from the beginning.

Suppose the two points _B_ and _C_, above mentioned, to be signal towers on a straight stretch of railway, and the point _A_ to be the chimney of a house standing by the side of a wagon road which crosses the railroad at _C_. The map-maker, having at _B_ set down the data described above, in proceeding to _C_, paces the distance from _B_ to _C_, and finds it to be, _e.g._, 3,500 feet. He has previously determined what the scale of his map is to be: say, 1 inch to 1000 feet. He then carefully lays off on ray _b-C_ 3½ inches from the point _b_, and thus he fixes point _c_. He then sets up his drawing-board at _C_; but, instead of shifting the ruler freely upon the paper, he sights from point _c_ to distant object _A_ and brings the edge of the ruler into coincidence with the line of sight. He draws along the edge of the ruler the ray _c-A_, which, intersecting the previously drawn ray _b-A_, gives him the point _a_.

The railroad from _b_ to _c_ may be indicated thus,

and the highroad from _c_ to _a_ represented by two closely spaced parallel lines. (The conventional signs for various features of topography may be found on the back of a U. S. Geological Survey quadrangle.) On the way from _B_ to _C_ there may be a bridge, crossing a stream. The map-maker, pacing the distance, will, without stopping or interrupting the swing of his stride, note the number of paces from _B_ to the bridge, as well as from _B_ to _C_. He will then have the figures, and can accurately place the bridge upon his map.

He now has a map of a length of railroad and of a length of intersecting highway, drawn to the known scale of 1″ = 1000′.

And, be it noted, this has been accomplished without visiting the point _A_ at all.

Suppose now there be a haystack _D_, and a tree on a hilltop _E_, situated with respect to the points already considered thus:

They may be mapped in like manner. The map-maker goes successively to any two of the three points _A_, _B_, and _C_ from which the object to be plotted (_D_ or _E_) is visible; he sets his board at each place, levels it, and turns it until the ray on the map from the point where he stands to another point lies directly in the line of sight to that other point in the landscape. Having so oriented his board, he draws at his successive stations rays in the direction of the object to be mapped (_D_ or _E_.) The point _d_ or _e_ where those rays intersect will be the mapped location of the object.

Proceeding thus, the outstanding features of the area may be mapped, one after another. The intervening details may be filled in, freehand.

It will have been remarked that only very simple apparatus is required for map making: the _sketching board_ may conveniently be mounted on a tripod, with provision for turning it evenly and surely. Boards so mounted and intended for the very purpose may be had of dealers in draftsmen’s and surveyors’ supplies. A _level_ should be provided, for use in setting the board up. The _ruler_ will be graduated to inches and fractions of inches, if the map is to be drawn to predetermined scale. In pacing, one must carefully count his strides. A _pedometer_ may be used, but a pedometer is a sort of toy; it requires to be carefully adjusted to the stride of the user, and is hardly worth while for any purpose. It may be convenient in pacing to use a _tally register_, and so relieve one’s self of the necessity of keeping count.

The value of a map is vitally dependent on the accuracy with which it is made. Measurement and observation should be repeated, and errors eliminated by averaging variant readings.

Nothing has yet been said about a _compass_, and a compass, though not necessary, is so serviceable as to be almost indispensable. With a compass one can not only do, and do more expeditiously, what has thus far been described; he can do some things which could not otherwise be done.

A sketching board is ordinarily provided with a compass, set near its upper margin, and bears also an orientation line passing through the compass. The board is set up and leveled and then turned until the orientation line coincides with the line on which the needle points. At each station the board is oriented, not by sighting along penciled rays, but always in the manner described, by bringing it to a truly north and south position. In other respects, the plotting is performed in the manner already described.

Orientation by compass is advantageous in this respect: given two points, as _a_ and _b_, on the map, the map-maker may plot a third point, as _D_ for example, while standing at _D_, and without being obliged to go either to _A_ or to _B_. He sets up his board at _D_, levels it, and orients it; he sights and draws rays through points _a_ and _b_ in line with the objects _A_ and _B_ as they appear from his point of observation, _D_. The point _d_ of intersection of the rays will be the station _D_ plotted.

A north and south line may be drawn upon the map, and then the user, wherever he may be in the area, if only he has in view two known points and can identify them on the map, can “find” himself. He orients the map by compass, fixes upon the map and in the manner indicated his point of observation, and may then observe the distance and direction of any other point in the area, whether visible or not.

The measurement of distance by _pacing_ has been noted. Practice is requisite, before one can so measure distance accurately. When the greatest precision is desired, a bicycle wheel equipped with a cyclometer may be rolled over the course, or a surveyor’s chain may be used, or even a tape line.

The measured line _B-C_ of the map begun as above described is the base line of the map. It should be carefully chosen, carefully measured, and carefully plotted; for all the rest of the map will, in accuracy, be conditioned on the accuracy with which this base line is drawn. In location it is preferably (though not necessarily) situated near the center of the area to be mapped; in length, it is best that it be about one third of the distance across the area. Its terminal points should be conspicuously marked, and widely visible throughout the area; and, for ease and accuracy of measurement, it should lie across level ground. A reach of railroad is an ideal base.

It will often be the case--generally in mountainous regions--that an adequate level base cannot be found; the terminals _B_ and _C_ may be eminences unequal in height, and between may lie mountain slope or valley. Now the third of the factors mentioned at the outset, _elevation_, has to be taken into account. It is not the surface distance between the two points _B_ and _C_ which is to be ascertained, nor even the distance from one point to the other on an air line, but the distance projected upon a horizontal plane--for that is what the map is intended to afford, the _horizontal_ distance from point to point. In order to determine this distance, if the ground between be other than substantially level, the distance along the surface must be measured (keeping a straight course by compass if necessary) and the _slope_ from point to point must be measured. To determine the angle of slope one may either use a _slope board_ or a _clinometer_ (an instrument built on the principle of the sextant). Having measured distance and angle of slope, one may betake himself to schoolboy trigonometry and a table of logarithms, to determine the corresponding distance in horizontal plane.

_Contour lines_ (see page 119) pass through points of equal elevation, and are spaced apart according to a predetermined plan, to indicate intervals in elevation of five, ten, or twenty feet, as may be desired. This predetermined contour interval has no necessary relation to the scale to which the map is drawn. Two otherwise identical maps of the same area may be provided with contour lines, one at the interval of five feet, the other at the interval of twenty-five.

A skilled map-maker, observing a slope, is able to sketch contour lines, freehand, with an accuracy sufficient for most purposes. But such skill is the result of much careful measured work.

In plotting contour lines it is best to work, not from line to line--errors of observation then accumulate--but to measure the altitude and the mean inclination of the whole mountain side, and go from the over-all measurements to the minutiae.

In drawing the contour of a mountain, rays may be laid by compass from the summit along ridges and through valleys, and then minute observations may be made along those several lines. The sweep of the contour lines between the points plotted along the rays may be filled in freehand, with the mountain side spread in view.

The data necessary for contour lines may be got by the use of the slope board alone; for, manifestly, at any certain angle, a contour interval of ten feet means a certain distance between successive contour lines. But in plotting contour lines, an _aneroid_ is invaluable; with it one measures directly differences in elevation, and measuring thus the altitude of a slope, from bottom to top, the _number_ of contour lines requisite may immediately be known; it remains to determine their _distribution_. Here observation, calculation, and experience combine to afford the result.

An aneroid should be used only under settled conditions of weather; and, even so, correction should be made, when possible, by taking the average of many readings of the same range.

It is not necessary to go afield with sketching board and its accessories. A map-maker who has taught himself a well-regulated stride may, when equipped with compass and notebook (and, if conditions require it, with an aneroid), collect all the necessary data; and then, subsequently, at home he may draw his map. It should here be said that, if one is going to gather data for map making after the manner just suggested, his compass should be one having a delicately mounted needle. It may advantageously be equipped with sights, and the scale should be reasonably large and the graduation minute. It should, in short, be a surveyor’s compass.

For more explicit instruction, the reader is referred to the manuals on Military Map Making. One by Major C. O. Sherrill, published by George Banta Publishing Company of Menasha, Wisconsin, is excellent. It should, however, be remembered that the ideal military map is one for particular needs, of maximum accuracy, based on a minimum amount of observation; timesaving is an important factor. Making proper allowance, the military manual affords all needed instruction and advice.

_Publishing of data_

Descriptions of routes should be prepared, illustrated with maps, if necessary, and should be made available to those who wish to use them, whether members of the club, visitors from a distance, or the general public. For a club, rightly conceived, is, within its sphere, a public benefactor, and its policy should be always to enlarge its usefulness.

A proper description of a route should give, (1) distances from start to finish, as well as from point to point along the way; (2) approximate time requisite to walk each stage. (Here it may be noted that Baedeker’s famous guidebooks err on the safe side, and give very liberal time allowance in describing walking tours.) The description should further give (3) elevations, where range in elevation is appreciable, with note of steep ascents and descents; (4) the nature of the surface; (5) stopping places for rest and refreshment and springs; (6) such matters of caution as the particular route may require, in regard to dangerous places, heavy roads, obstructions, and the like; (7) objectives and points of particular interest. Recommendations should be made on such matters as preferred season, special equipment, need for guides, and incidental expenses. Descriptions should be concise, easily intelligible, and should be at once accurate and inviting.

A handbook of routes of the region may well be prepared, and in such a handbook descriptions of particular walks may be prefaced by such general statements regarding topography, science, history, and sport, as are applicable to the whole region. Such general matters may, however, be published in leaflet form, and separate leaflets be prepared and published for the several pedestrian routes in the region.

An excellent specimen handbook is “Excursions Around Aix-les-Bains,” mentioned in the Bibliography (page 148).

It has just been said that the descriptions of routes should be published and distributed. They may be printed under the imprint of the club, or, more economically, they may be published in the local newspaper, and extra copies, separately printed for distribution by the club, may be procured by arrangement with the printing office. If the club be a small one and young, and the cost of printing too great, at least typewritten copies of descriptive matter and blue prints of maps should be available.

In addition to such descriptions of its own region, a club should similarly prepare and make available other routes traversed by its members in other and undeveloped regions.

_Maintaining a bureau_

A club should have a place where its data are filed, available to those who wish to consult them. This place should be a distributing point for the club’s publications. If the region has already been mapped by the Geological Survey, the club should lay in a supply of the quadrangles covering the region, sufficient to meet the needs of applicants.

A _library_ should be maintained, or a _bibliography_ at least, to which the members of the club may have access, to acquaint themselves with all that concerns the art of walking, the choice of route, and the sources of enjoyment along the route chosen. Cooperation in this regard will readily be accorded by any local public library or museum of natural history.

In such manner a walking club becomes a source of information for visiting pedestrians. Out of the wider relationships so established will come increased membership and livelier interest. Incidentally, it will have become apparent to one who reads these pages that the organization--though, by recommendation, kept as simple as possible--will, in an early stage of development, include an office with a secretary in charge. The library may be conducted, perhaps in the secretary’s office, perhaps in the rooms of a general public library. Club rooms or a club house will be maintained only under exceptional circumstances.

_Conducting hikes._

Hikes will be of two or three sorts: first, afternoon hikes, on Saturdays or Sundays, perhaps weekly throughout the greater part of the year, perhaps at less frequent intervals, or during spring and fall only--such matters depend on locality and circumstances. Second, there will be less frequent overnight hikes--perhaps two or three in the spring and as many more in the autumn. And, third, there will be the annual tour of two or three weeks’ duration, in a chosen region. Some observations applicable to all these are the following:

_Rules for hiking_

Hikes should be carefully prepared and adequately carried out.

Don’t walk in a herd; to do so is tiresome; and, when the novelty is gone, failure is sure to follow. Divide larger companies into groups, each group numbering preferably not more than six.

See that strong and feeble walkers are not grouped together.

Bring together, so far as may be, people of common interests--bird-lovers in one group, geologists in another, historians or antiquarians in another.

Let there be a leader for each group.

The general outline of the trip, in case the party numbers more than two, should be determined in advance and adhered to. Otherwise, contradictory suggestions regarding the route to be followed are likely to arise, and argument to follow. This is to be avoided.

The leader should have always in mind the physical endurance of the weakest member of his party and govern accordingly. One tired and querulous person may be a kill-joy for all. It is not necessary that every group traverse the same route, nor that all should walk at equal speed.

Don’t allow racing, nor loitering, nor too much picnicking.

In traversing highways pedestrians will walk two or three abreast; but when walking single file, as on woodland trails, companions will walk most comfortably at intervals of two paces.

Walkers should travel quietly, especially when passing through villages.

See that property rights are respected; there should be no trespassing on forbidden land.

Guard most carefully against fire. Mr. Enos A. Mills says:[6]

“Since the day of Tike’s Peak or bust,’ fires have swept over more than half of the primeval forest area of Colorado. Some years ago, while making special efforts to prevent forest fires from starting, I endeavored to find out the cause of these fires. I regretfully found that most of them were the result of carelessness, and I also made a note to the effect that there are few worse things to be guilty of than carelessly setting fire to a forest. Most of these forest fires had their origin from camp-fires which the departing campers had left unextinguished. There were sixteen fires in one summer, which I attributed to the following causes: campers, nine; cigar, one; lightning, one; locomotive, one; stockmen, two; sheep-herders, one; and sawmill, one.”

See to it that proper regard is had for public interest and welfare; lunch boxes, paper, and refuse should be collected and destroyed; springs should be kept scrupulously clean; the gathering of wild flowers should be indulged in sparingly; plants and trees should not be mutilated; nor monuments defaced. The trail should be left unmarred, for those who follow.

Do not permit irresponsible trail-blazing.

Discourage the carrying and use of firearms; they should under no circumstances be permitted on an organized hike.

Do not permit the rolling of stones down declivities.

On the conduct of mountaineering parties, Professor William Morris Davis writes, in “Excursions around Aix-les-Bains”:

“Do not make high mountain ascents alone.… Excursions are best made in small parties of three or five. If a large party sets out, it should be divided into squads of ten or fewer members. Those who wish to make the excursion without stopping should join a separate squad from those who wish to stop frequently for photographing or sketching.