How does one measure topographical features while hiking?

Asked by Ltryptophan (12091

) May 13th, 2011

Say you come to a hill. The height of which you would like to know. It is generally lower than 35 feet, but you want to know exactly how high it is. What do you do?

Are there any other similar measuring problems that one would encounter while hiking?

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6 Answers

Could you have a topo map in hand and split the difference between two lines?

woodcutter (16382

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No maps…no gps cheats…but tape measure ok

Ltryptophan (12091

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They taught us this in the Scouts years ago. You put a stick of known length in the ground then align the top of the stick with the top of the hill. The heights of the hill and the stick are then in the same proportion as the distances to the hill and the stick.

flutherother (34864

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Yep, what @flutherother said.

YoBob (12846

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Response moderated (Unhelpful)

Using a level with a 45 degree angle, you approach the hill until you can sight along the 45 at the top of the hill while the level is level. Then you measure, in your already measured foot steps, the distance to the center of the base of the hill, and that gives you the height.

kritiper (25757

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