Abandoned places are demolished before you make time to visit them. So, make sure, when you do get there, you have your camera ready. You may not get another chance.

My first time as an urban explorer was not with this camera. So far, the Panasonic has been my favourite camera and the second of four which I have bought.

Photographs of the First House I Explored (now Demolished)

The first house I ever visited as an urban explorer. This is how it looked from the gate at the bottom of the driveway, just off the main road.

This was the front door. Lovely arch over it.

This was the left side of the house. Later I found photos of the inside and realize that was a stairway where the windows go up on the side.

This was farther to the back of the house. Likely the wooden addition was a summer kitchen.

This is closer up looking at the front of the house. I like the gingerbread trim and brickwork. The colours were great.

My First Digital Camera on my First Urban Exploration Adventure

The first camera I bought for urban exploring was made in China by a company I have not heard of before or since then. I bought that first camera at Zellers, a Canadian department store which I was working for at the time. I was so happy and proud to have my first digital camera. It was liberating to be free of film and film developing which made photography so expensive as a hobby.

That first camera needed two double A batteries. I brought extra batteries with me. But, the first time I used the camera the one thing I did not know what how important it is to have a memory card. I had none, just the memory which came with the camera itself.

So my first urban exploration adventure was not as long as I would have liked. I ran out of camera memory before I had taken even 20 photos. That may seem like plenty. But, when you are photographing an entire house, the remains of the garden, the barn and then the more interesting parts of the house where I wanted to zoom up and see more... I was out of memory.

Urban Exploration Doesn't Come with Second Chances

I still did get photos which I treasure. Unfortunately, that was the one and only trip I made to that first house. Before I got up the nerve or found the time, the house had been demolished. As an urban explorer, two things I have learned are the importance of having a camera I can rely on (with plenty of memory and a fully charged battery) and the fact that nothing lasts forever. You don't always get a second chance.

An urban explorer needs a good camera, a reliable backpack to keep it in, and a map to both mark your place and show you the way to go home again. You should also dress appropriately, don't forget the footwear!

You may think the whole idea of being an explorer is to be the first to see something never before discovered. This isn't really what we do as urban explorers. Even the rural explorers are following past human settlement, construction and demolition. We explore in old footprints.

It helps to have a guide to where you might start. Then, when you have explored enough and the adventure of being lost is less fun than the idea of a fresh, hot coffee... the map book or guide book will show you which way to go.

My favourite is the Back Roads of Ontario, by MapArt Publishing.

Would you Doodle on Your Map?

A new map (in book form) is published each year. I don't buy a fresh book every year. Mine has notes, doodles, and marks where I found great treasure (a really unique, weathered and detailed old house). Also, the maps don't change so often that you need updated too often. But, it is nice to start again with a fresh map when my old one is getting dog-earred.

The MapArt book is an actual map, roads, rivers and all. But, I love to find a book like the one by Ron Brown pictured here. This is more than just a road map, it's reading someone else's findings, experiences and some forewarning about what you may or may not find when you look for the same places yourself. You also get to see photos someone else took. It's nice to see if you can find a better angle, maybe different light or see more than the than the author of the book noticed.

Ron Brown is one of a few people who write great books for anyone exploring Ontario history. Whether you are on the road with your camera or just want to read the history and see the photographs, the books have a lot to offer. They aren't all available on Amazon however. Some are out of print, some were published by small press and some are just plain old and forgotten.

If you want to explore take a great map book. One which shows you the roads and the back roads. But, take a look for other guide books for local history and backroad traveling.

I live in Ontario so I've shown the books I know (and have on my bookshelves) as a guide to letting you see what is out there when you start having your own adventures on the road with your trusty backpack, camera, boots and a map book!

What Does your Road Trip Map Look Like?

How do you treat your map?

• It's in pristine condition, like new.
• I took a course about map folding in school, my map is almost perfect.
• It's a bit dog-eared with the odd rip or tear.
• I've made a few notes on it and it shows some wear and tear.
• I doodle on it, make notes, circle places I want to see again.
• It's pretty marked up - but I just think of it as personalized.
• My new map or the old one I couldn't really use any more?
• It think it had enough of me and walked away on it's own one day.
• I can't find my map.
• Map..? We were supposed to bring a map?
• It's at that stage where the paper is kind of fluffy now, almost like fabric.
• I was attacked by aliens, they took a few chunks out of my map... they really did!
• I don't own a map. They are too much responsibility and map folding scares me.
• I just don't own a map. A map should be free, unowned.

It may sound funny, but the best boot I have found for exploring with, is the duck boot. You do need one which comes up onto your ankle rather than the one which is like a shoe. If you wear the wrong boot you may as well go exploring in open toed shoes. (I will admit to doing almost that a few times, but that doesn't mean it was a good idea).

Qualities important in a boot for urban explorers:

• Weather proof (water resistant or water proof and include snow in that list because snow is just colder water).
• Thick bottoms (you don't know what you might step on, into or worse).
• Fitted to your ankle (so they don't slip off if you walk through mucky areas).
• Easy to slip on (because you don't really want to be struggling with footwear when you could be out there... looking around).
• Packable and durable, more or less (boots you can toss around in the back of your car or stuff into your backpack are a plus).

As an extra tip, stick those insoles into your boots. You get extra cushion for your foot and it helps if your feet get wet from outside water or sweat from your own feet.

My duck boots are a size too big so I can wear extra socks if I was out with them in winter. Or, I can easily wiggle my feet into them and out of them again. This does make them a bit awkward to walk around in so size is a relative issue.

The perfect duck boot for me would have nothing to tie up and just be slip on. I was surprised to find some really great looking boots for explorers on Amazon. I wonder if anyone thinks of them for more than hiking or hunting or whatever other people do while wearing duck boots.

Real urban explorers wear duck boots.

Just kidding about that. I think they are great, but I explore in rural areas. People who explore in sewers, drains and tunnels probably want to wear boots up to their chin, or so. People who climb rooftops to photograph above the city, might want a lighter boot with more traction. So, your boot choice will depend on where you are going. Plan ahead!

Don't try searching for "explorer boots" (you just get Dora).

What Makes an Adventure?

Exploring, discovering and adventuring all sound like great words and things we would like to be doing and talk about doing (before and afterwards). When you have adventures you have something to brag about, right?

But, what is an adventure? What makes one day, or one trip, or one event and adventure versus another day, trip or event? Does an adventure have to be dramatic, does it have to accomplish something and do you need to come away from the adventure with something changed or different about you? Have you ever thought about what an adventure, an exploration or a discovery really are?

Can you have an adventure on an ordinary day, running errands, talking to people in same place you live out your everyday and doing stuff you think of as nothing really? Why not I say! My Adventure on April 14th: An Ordinary Day This is a well known landmark here in Barrie, Ontario. A firetruck happened to pass just as I took the photo. The unexpected things make the adventure more interesting. At some point you might think your ordinary day is more like an extraordinary day even.

I didn't have a lot I had to do that day. The adventure started mid morning, even though I had thought about an earlier start. Adventures don't always go as planned. That's one of the good things about them. I sometimes get lost and only figure out my way back by using the map, my handy sense of direction or reading road signs.

However, there were a couple of places I did intend to go that day. One was the downtown bus terminal and the other was the Tim Hortons (well, any one of them) so I had something planned and yet left myself plenty of time and space to wander and find new things to see and do. Always give yourself some time to wander. Wandering off is a great way to discover new adventures and explore new paths. Explore the World, Choose your own Adventure and Discover Something Different

Each Adventure Needs some Planning

A coffee stop to check the map and co-ordinate for bus scheduling and routes. I also bought the 50th anniversary mug from Tim Hortons while there. Not every adventure involves a map, compass, camera, sturdy footwear and all the rest of those traditional things. You can have an adventure with almost no equipment or gear at all. But, why would you want to?

At least take along a camera so you can remember where you have been and see what you missed the first time you looked. A camera is great for giving you a second glance. I'm often surprised at what I see in the photographs I took. I don't know how I miss so much when I'm actually there, looking right at it.

Really, is it an adventure without some kind of map? Keep a map in your pocket, purse or wallet at all times - even when you are not on an adventure you should be ready in case the opportunity arises!

I Really do Like Maps

Where Did you Leave your Thirst for Adventure? - Every adventure needs something you love (and a bit of nature too).

Rocks. Just because I love rocks. You should pay attention to the things you love, especially when you have travels and adventures.

Adventures Should include a Snack

I stopped for lunch. it was a nice tuna wrap until the end where the big, thick, rusty lettuce came in. Still, the coffee was good.

You can't hope for fine dining during your adventure. Not unless you are going somewhere you have been before, know the cook and some of the staff too. If people at the restaurant know you by name - is it really still an adventure? How can you be exploring if you already know what to expect?

You can see the cover of the book I was reading. I like to explore and travel alone but I always bring a book so I can read when I have a quiet moment or 30.

No map is made perfectly. You just can't turn something round and bumpy into something flat and smooth. But, you can make your own imperfect, old fashioned maps.

Map making is cartography - the study, collecting and making of maps. Have you ever wondered how early people created maps? How they could understand where land ended, where the water came in and how high the mountains reached, even though they had very rudimentary skills (in comparison to the modern technology) in geography, science and mathematics?

As school kid, I used to wonder how they knew the shape of the coastline. How could they guess well enough to draw it. They didn't even get the perfectly right dimensions for the land itself. In the old times, especially the more ancient people, may as well have been drawing fantasy maps from their own imaginations. Or, so I thought.

How to Make Paper Look Old

You can make paper look old with cold, strong black tea, instant coffee or strong, regular coffee, a cookie sheet and a blow dryer or clothes iron to crisp it up again.

Your paper can already be written on or still blank. It may be better to write or draw your map on the paper first as it could rip or tear easier once you have finished giving it the age treatment.

Just let the tea of coffee become strong and then leave it to become cold. Crumple up your paper (don't let it rip). Uncrumple the paper and smooth it out. Place it on the cookie sheet and pour the cold tea/ coffee over it. Let it soak up to an hour, turning it over once and pressing it down to be sure no edges are missed.

Pull it out, let it dry slightly, then use the blow dryer or clothes iron until your paper is completely dry. Use a cigarette lighter to singe the edges a little for a bit more of a vintage look.

No Map is Precisely Perfectly Made

No map is perfectly made. There isn't a perfect method to take the true measurements of the land and put them on a flat piece of paper. Imagine a globe of the world map. Then think about how that globe would have to be changed in order to become a flat map. This is what causes the distortions in map making.

Most maps you will see are created with the Albers conic equal-area projection. This is based on keeping the area and shape of the land correct rather than being mathematically precise.

When you draw your own map you need to gather as much information as you can about the place you want to draw. Take all the measurements and then convert them to a smaller scale and keep the same conversion for everything you draw. This will mean a lot of math skills if you are trying to be very correct and precise. It's much easier to draw a fictional map than something real.

At the end you will need a map legend too. That's how you show various features like shopping malls, schools, etc. without having to write them in by name each time. Legends are a short cut for map makers - plus they keep your map from becoming very cluttered.

What Type of Map Will you Make?

Most maps are political, physical or based on some other theme like oil production, telephone lines, forest density, etc. A physical map is all about the land itself. The focus is in rivers, lakes, hills, mountains, and everything else you could see with your eye. Meanwhile, political maps are all about man made definitions like borders between countries, provinces, states, counties and the locations of towns and cities and roadways.

The Finishing Touches

Don't forget the map legend and the compass rose (or at least the arrow pointing north). Also, every explorer should sign the map they have created.

The Drawing of the Map

Start with pencil as you make your first rough draft.

Consider how large or small your map will be. A map showing a larger area will have less detail to focus on versus a map which is based on a smaller area and would need to bring in more attention to detail and focus on the features of the area.

Begin the map from one side, drawing your rough outlines until you have included all the space you need for each area. When you have gotten to the other side of your map step back and get a long range look. If that works out (if you don't need to make some changes to fit in some features in the right locations) begin fleshing out the details.

You might find it helpful to use grid paper rather than giving yourself a complete clean page. The grid could keep your distances straighter as you work out where everything should be drawn in.

When your map is looking good make a clean version and, once that is done, trace your lines in pen. Then begin to add names for the locations and features on the map.

• Hand Drawn Map Association
• Lost Cartography
• North American Cartographic Information Society
• The Map Room