HARNESS TOUGH TERRAIN
How often do you run into this situation? A section of country is too tough to set, the ground is all wrong and you just can’t figure it out! Well, is it really that difficult or are you looking at the problems instead of the obvious solutions? Long before you break those first springs open, it might be better to work on your geography skills.
CARTOGRAPHY 101
Electronic options, GPS maps and cell phone apps like OnX Hunt are now readily available at everyone’s fingertips. A map, however, is about like any tool and only as good as the person using it. Maps offering trapping information fall into two basic types: the county or local area map, and the topographic map. Always be sure they are current since terrain can change with a new road or logging operation. Local, state and federal maps provide good coverage of roads or fire lanes and trace watersheds in great detail. Forest Ranger and farm extension offices can also provide good maps for a fee.
A good topographic map clearly explains the degree of slope and the height of any sections of higher ground. These appear to be concentric irregular circles, each numbered so many feet above sea level that will slowly get smaller until the summit is reached. A long series of these denotes a line of hills and any divides up through will also be noted in a lower height number. On
