Find Yourself In the Woods

By Pam Gleason

We’ve all done it at some point. You go for a trail ride in the woods on a lovely afternoon, and it’s just too nice to stop when you should. So you keep going. And sooner or later, when your shadow stretches longer and the birds change their song, you realize it’s really time to get back. But now, you are much further out than you intended and you are not sure which trail will get you home fastest. Or worse yet, everything looks strange. You discover that you have just gone in a big circle, and you don’t know where you are. It’s getting cold and dark, and your horse is hungry and impatient. Even if you know you can’t be too far from civilization, getting lost in the woods is no fun.

Cherie and Mitch were very patient,” says Ann Kiser. “We finally signed off on it after Christmas and got it printed.”

The new map is available in kiosks at several entrances to the Woods. It is also on the Hitchcock Woods Foundation website, and of course, on your mapping app. Do you feel as if you shouldn’t have to use a map? If you know the woods fairly well, you probably won’t have to for most rides or hikes. But there are reasons why the safe thing to do is to have access to a map when you go out. Owned and managed by the Hitchcock Woods Foundation, the forest spans 2,100 acres and is the largest privately owned urban forest in the United States. It has about 70 miles of trails, but most of them are quite straightforward, easy to

If you are riding in the Hitchcock Woods, however, and you have a smartphone, there is no longer any excuse to be lost. This is because there are several mapping apps that you can download that will show you where you are and what trail you are on. Two of the most popular ones are Maplets and AllTrails. Before the next time you go out, download one of these apps, and then download the Hitchcock Woods map into the app. Then, if you accidentally ride too far or get turned around, the app will show you the best route home. AllTrails is available on Google Play, and Maplets can be found on Amazon or the Apple App Store.

Those who have already been using a GPS app in the Hitchcock Woods should update that app this spring if they have not already done so. This is because the Hitchcock Woods Foundation has created a new trail map that was published this winter.

“It was clear that the old map needed to be updated,” says Ann Kiser, who is a trustee of the foundation and who volunteered to oversee the project. “There were some important things that were missing that needed to be added – some trail names and some place names. Making the new map was a collaborative process and it took several months.”

The main people responsible for the new map were Cherie Moritz, who is the geo-services manager for Aiken County, and Mitch Ambrose, a graphic designer at Howell Printing. Cherie, who volunteers for the foundation, did all the technical work of designing the new map, as well as selecting the fonts and symbols. Then the map went to Howell Printing, where Mitch did some final tweaking to get it “over the finish line.” Everything was carefully considered and reviewed by the trustees of the foundation, which took about two months. “Fortunately, both navigate and remember. But the Woods is also a managed longleaf pine ecosystem, and the main management tools include prescribed burns, which are conducted regularly. After a burn, a well-remembered part of the forest may suddenly seem unfamiliar. Additionally, anyone can get disoriented if it is getting late and dark, or if they are caught in unexpected bad weather.

Ann Kiser says,“I use Maplets all the time.” Ann, who was trained as a forester, knows the Woods as well as anyone. In addition to coordinating the creation of the new map, she also helped the foundation do its timber survey, assists with prescribed burns, and lays the drag for the Aiken Hounds. “It’s a great tool. Everyone who visits the Woods regularly should download it.”

“People do get lost,” she continues. “It’s only 2,100 acres, and if you start walking one direction you are going to hit something, but its still good to know where you are. Most of the visitors to the Woods are so kind. It’s pretty easy to recognize when you see someone looking befuddled, and you can help them. I have helped a lot of people find their way home.”

Many Aikenites consider the Hitchcock Woods to be the city’s greatest treasure. The new map, and modern technology, will help visitors enjoy it even more. In addition to providing many more trail and place names, the map has a feature horse people are sure to appreciate: it includes symbols to represent all the fences used and maintained by the Aiken Hounds. So if you want to jump – there’s a map for that. Visit the Hitchcock Woods Foundation website at hitchcockwoods.org, and consider making a donation to help preserve Aiken’s most beautiful asset for generations to come.