Reddit reviews HME Products Trail Marking Ribbon, Orange
We found 2 Reddit comments about HME Products Trail Marking Ribbon, Orange. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Hunting or hiking trail marking ribbon150 feet long for multiple or long trailsPhotodegradable materialHeat sealed to prevent unraveling when out of package
So when I would go hiking in the woods I'm usually walking through logging areas. There are a ton of roads, usually a big stream/river around the area. First thing I do when I get out of the truck is grab my compass and determine when I walk away which way my truck is. I might only walk 3-5 miles away but if I get turned around all I have do is walk "South West" and I should be walking back to my truck or the road I parked on.
This is only half good though because I've exited the woods more than a mile from my truck and have had to walk along a road towards it. If it wasn't so civilized a mile off course will make you more lost because you won't see your only landmark, your vehicle.
Now if i have a map and a compass I can walk a direction and the first obvious landmark I come to I can determine some location. Say I come across a river and it is east of me according to my compass. Now I know that I'm within a certain area of the map: the entire river. I walk south along the west side of the river for about 1 hour, at a slow walking pace through dense forest and I arrive at a joining stream. I glance at my map and find there's only 3 intersecting streams that come from the west side of the river, now i have determined that I'm within three possible locations.
I cross the small stream and continue south and finally arrive at a forest service road. It took me another hour to find this road and it has a bridge. Now I look at my map and there are two possible bridges south of a stream but one looks like it was 10 miles between the stream and the road and the other one looks like maybe 2 or 3. I'm probably at the 2-3 bridge and stream location.
Of course if you have a topographical map, you can notice shapes in the landscape like cliffs, gentle hills, bends in the landscape that can make navigating much easier.
Lastly when in the woods i would bring trail marking tape http://www.amazon.com/Hme-Products-Marking-Ribbon-Orange/dp/B004RFXAOC to start marking my path as I go along if I got lost, or at least my entry/exit point so I could see it.
Ok and lastly you can always lay down your map and lay your compass on top of it. When the compass shows north, turn your map so that North on the map is aligned with the compass. Now, look around and see what is around you. Oh, that mountain range is 175 degrees from your location. That river is 90 degrees from you, down a steep hill. Now with your compass you can determine your location if the spots are marked and you can align them easily. Topographical maps are the easiest because you can judge steepness in terrain. It just becomes a elimination game of what you see around you and what lines up on the map. Most people look for bends in a river. If your map is accurate (rivers change course) and zoomed in enough you can track bends and distances and get a bearing that way.
I've never seen trails marked with paint but with orange ribbon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004RFXAOC/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/189-2469628-2196402