Three Maps You Should Carry in Your Emergency Survival Bag
The triad of staying found in the wilderness is the GPS, map and compass. Don't take a GPS without a map and compass, and make sure you have the right map along.
The circumstances we’re writing about are a little different, and so are our map choices, but I’ll weigh in later. (I will put my two cents’ worth: A map is just one part of the staying-found equation. Also have a compass along, and a GPS with spare batteries. None of these tools are worth anything if you don’t know how to use them!)
Here’s Lucas with some great information for improving your Bug Out Bag:
If you stuck a state road map in your emergency survival gear backpack (or Bug Out Bag), and thought you were prepared, then you should reconsider. Here are three types of maps that should be included in your survival gear:
One of those maps should be a detailed topographical map of your area.
If you go to Digital-Topo-Maps.com you can get free topographical maps.
Just zoom in to your area, and click the “My Topo” button in the top right corner. You can print off any shots that you want for free!
*Note: Sometimes it is difficult to get these maps to print correctly. You might want to get the image you want, save it to a flash drive, and take it to your local office supply store for a higher quality print.
I agree that topo maps of your local area is a good idea unless you are living in the middle of a huge metropolitan area. In that case detailed street maps are a must. And you should have several escape routes highlighted on the maps. Obviously the routes should avoid major arteries. For people who live in a semi urban environment, county maps should be considered. I live in Oregon and I have a collection of county maps that I got from AAA that show all the small roads, even including fire roads and logging roads in the local area.
Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site by accident, I bookmarked it.
Survival is all about finding those weak areas of expertise and improving them. Sounds like you’re on the right track!
Admittedly, navigation/orienteering is one of my weakest areas. Always has been. Clearly a subject I need to work on…