New 无毛视频淟izard Map无毛视频� an invitation to adventure
There无毛视频檚 no reading material like a map. A map can guide you from points A to B, for sure, but a map can be so much more, especially outdoors. A map can be a ticket to relive fishing, hunting or exploring memories that might otherwise fade. Or, maps can present the allure of new adventure not yet savored, but within your grasp because you can envision it reading a map.
I无毛视频檓 of a generation that still likes maps made of paper, and substantial paper is that much better. I know digital maps have outpaced printed ones in popularity, but I like the reassuring ritual of checking a map in the woods, then folding it up to tuck in a pack or shirt pocket. I can sense its presence and know it无毛视频檚 there. No battery failure, satellite-blocking overcast, or dousing rain can knock it 无毛视频渙ff-line.无毛视频� Handled with appropriate care, a printed map is both durable and indispensable, like a good and trusted knife.
Recently, I acquired a new map which, despite my acknowledged 无毛视频渕aturity,无毛视频� I can best describe as 无毛视频渃ool.无毛视频� It无毛视频檚 the most detailed, informative, and stimulating map of our region I无毛视频檝e ever perused. Best of all, it beckons you to venture out to new places and try new things.
It无毛视频檚 the Lizard Map of Ohiopyle and the Laurel Highlands, available from Mountain Watershed Association, the non-profit but highly active organization that promotes and protects the Laurel Highlands无毛视频� rivers and streams. For long spans of enjoyable scanning, I无毛视频檝e never seen a map like it.
The Lizard Map folds out to about 3 feet by 2 feet, printed on durable water-resistant stock. On one side is the entire Laurel Highlands region, from Smithton and the Flight 93 National Memorial in the northwest and northeast corners, to the Mason-Dixon Line无毛视频搑oughly from Quebec Wild Area eastward to the Big Savage Tunnel on the Great Allegheny Passage northwest of Cumberland, Maryland. That无毛视频檚 about 875 square miles in which Uniontown and its suburbs are the largest urbanized place.
The map无毛视频檚 无毛视频渇lip-side无毛视频� zeroes in on Ohiopyle, increasingly an acknowledged outdoor destination for much of the nation. One-hundred forty square miles are portrayed, from Youghiogheny Reservoir northwest to remote stretches of the 无毛视频淒unbar Mountains无毛视频� within State Game Land No. 51. Ohiopyle State Park and the Youghiogheny Gorge dominate the center.
For an outdoor user, both sides highlight public land, like state parks, state forests, game lands and National Park sites in distinctly keyed colors. Trails and their access points for hiking, biking or paddling (river trails) are conspicuously marked. Parking areas, campsites, picnic areas, ranger stations, as well as prohibited 无毛视频渘o camping无毛视频� areas are clearly shown.
But almost any map provides such basic requirements. What makes the Lizard Map of Ohiopyle and the Laurel Highlands unique and 无毛视频渃ool无毛视频� are the additional touches you don无毛视频檛 expect on such a utilitarian tool as a map. Scattered across both sides are interpretive boxes that explain our region无毛视频檚 internationally significant history and geography无毛视频搇ike this quote from George Washington无毛视频檚 journal: 无毛视频淢ay 20, 1754无毛视频e gained Turkey-foot by the beginning of the night无毛视频he 21st tarried there some time to examine the place. We went down the river about 10 miles when at last it became so rapid as to oblige us to come ashore.无毛视频� Washington is writing, of course, about the Youghiogheny downstream from Confluence, described to him by Indians as a place where three rivers (Youghiogheny, Casselman and Laurel Hill) come together, resembling a turkey无毛视频檚 foot.
There无毛视频檚 even inspiration and insight sprinkled across the Lizard Map无毛视频檚 surface, including a quote from Ernest Hemingway: 无毛视频淚t is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.无毛视频�
Readers may be wondering why it无毛视频檚 called the Lizard Map. We do have true lizards in our region, but they无毛视频檙e uncommon, secretive and difficult to find. Tiny lizard symbols explain the name. The symbols indicate places of special interest. 无毛视频淭his could mean anything,无毛视频� states the map legend, 无毛视频渁 cool place, sweet view or a local legend.无毛视频�
As an example, a lizard symbol marks a grid of old stone walls that once marked the boundaries of a farm along the Youghiogheny above Ohiopyle. Today the walls course through forest, but they testify to the hard work and determination of settlers who, for a time, wrested a living out of a mountain gorge.
My Lizard Map hasn无毛视频檛 hit the woods yet, but it makes great bedtime reading. I like to scan the contours and pick out places where I无毛视频檝e called in a turkey, killed a grouse, or swamped a canoe. Even better, it lures me to hike a new path or fish a new stream.
The people who publish Lizard Maps don无毛视频檛 make them for just anyplace. They pick locations around North America with outstanding natural features and outdoor options. Ohiopyle and the Laurel Highlands made the grade. You can get a copy of the Lizard Map from the Mountain Watershed Association at www.mtwatershed.com.
Ben Moyer is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.