Be A Backpacker Map Correspondent

BACKPACKER map contributor in the field. (Alan Bauer)

An example of a BACKPACKER tracklog.

Follow these steps to create prize-worthy trips:

1. CREATE a user profile at backpacker.com/community.

2. CHECK our trips database to make sure the hike you’re doing isn’t already done. New hikes only!

3. HIT the trail with your GPS and camera.

4. REQUIREMENTS: Snap 1-2 pictures per mile (at least 5 images per hike), create waypoints for key points-of-interest on the route (trail junctions, water sources, campsites, summits, overlooks, tricky spots, etc.), and, if you can, on-trail video clips. (Check out our detailed contest rules.)

5. UPLOAD the GPS track and multimedia content to backpacker.com/postatrip. Include an overview paragraph describing the trip, details and descriptions for each waypoint and point-of-interest, and trailhead driving directions.

6. CLICK the “Submit A Trip” button.

7. REPEAT. Hike and map like crazy from May 1, 2012 through October 31, 2012.

NOTE: Once your map reaches our standards for quality, we’ll add it to your tally. Remember, new hikes only! Repeats of trips on backpacker.com/hikes won’t count toward your total.

EXAMPLES OF PRIZE-WORTHY TRIPS:

1. Colorado: Never Summer Wilderness: Baker Gulch to Bowen Gulch

2. Washington: Vancouver: Dog Mountain Loop

3. New York: New Paltz: Mohonk Lake and Sky Top Tower

QUESTIONS? Email the map team at maps@backpacker.com

(Official Contest Rules)

* All equipment has been used in the field by our gear testers and bears requisite signs of use. Don’t worry, though: We won’t stick you with any mangled junk (that stuff goes back to the manufacturer with a note).