7
The one critique that changed how I map trails
I was tracing forest service roads for a local hiking map project and a retired ranger told me my contour lines were too smooth and didn't match the actual terrain. He showed me a section where the ground dropped 30 feet in a quarter mile but my drawing made it look flat. Who else has had a specific piece of feedback that forced you to redo a whole system?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
jade321mo ago
The thing people miss is that smooth contour lines actually tell a lie about how water moves. That ranger was dead on because real ground is full of micro depressions and subtle drainage channels that your smoothed out lines just erase. I had a hydrologist friend explain that if you map trails with fake flat contours, you end up designing routes that funnel water straight down the path instead of letting it shed off naturally. That 30 foot drop in a quarter mile is exactly the kind of subtle grade change that should dictate where you put water bars and drainage dips. Most hikers don't notice it until they're postholing through a mud pit on a trail that should be dry. Your map needs to show those small irregularities or you're just drawing a fantasy version of the landscape.
2
jade_grant951mo ago
The ranger was spot on, I spent a whole weekend redrawing a creek crossing after someone pointed out my line missed a 15 foot drop.
2