With a Purple Lizard map, some bug spray, and water—you can explore some of the most interesting places within our public lands.
Purple Lizard Maps offer a modernized traditional exploration experience and a break from our digitally mapped world. These paper maps (yes— paper!) are independently mapped by a group of cartographers with an emphasis on exploration. They are rich with details—from a rich curation of hiking trails and camping spots, to water recreation and bike paths. Even some local restaurants and other small businesses with similar quirks are included in the final print. The Purple Lizard symbols themselves represent an area of interest. They symbolize anything that the map makers believed as worthy to experience and explore. From my own usage of the maps, it was clear that thousands of hours went into the accuracy and detail of the mapped regions—offering a rich outdoor experience for those interested.
Of the various Purple Lizard Maps we have to check out at the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information, I received the second edition of the Bald Eagle State Forest Map just a few months back to try out. When the concept was explained, I initially thought it was a great idea; an explorative service with a definitive meaning behind its destinations—unlike the previously viral Randonautica (which easily led one to the middle of fields and borders of private land). Meanwhile, the hundreds of lizard symbols across the series of recreational maps represent actual locations with something worth to explore, and give a motive for even those reluctant to go outside in the Pennsylvanian humidity.
Before going on my first trip using the map, I planned out a loose itinerary noting the general area I wanted to be in. While planning might make the trip a little less spontaneous for some, it helped me feel less overwhelmed from the large amount of lizards on the double sided map. I marked a few Purple Lizard symbols of interest, and additionally curated a list of local restaurants for afterwards that I never tried. The next day, I was finally onto my trek of state forest somewhere northwest of Lewisburg, PA, for my first go at using the Purple Lizard map!
The first lizard I searched for was on the border between civilization and the Bald Eagle State Forest—a massive, multi-county tract of land containing 194,602 acres of wilderness (link to additional state DCNR maps if interested). These maps encourage exploration with little detail on the lizard symbols, and with only the placement of the lizards themselves being your clue onto where to look. This became more of a challenge than I initially anticipated due to how remote some of the Bald Eagle state forest genuinely was.
The woods of the state forest were so dense and never ending— it felt almost otherworldly when compared to the urban and industrialized landscape I knew most of Pennsylvania for. Luckily for my legs, the first lizard I picked was located closer than most to a residential area. Near the shoulder of a rural, residential road, I walked for about half a mile in the woods through trails looking for any indication of something interesting. While searching near a steep bank and stream, I met my first curiosity from the Purple Lizard Map (at least, in an unintentional way). Just a few yards away from me, a baby raccoon rested on a toppled tree. Too fearful to get closer and possibly deal with an enraged raccoon mom, I resumed further into the woods.
As an environmental science major, I definitely gain something when I’m within nature like this, and the added joy of exploration made it so much more fun. Old growth trees of hemlock, white birch, oak, and more lined every inch of my view within the forest. Massive ferns and mountain laurel decorated the ground, and bumbling mountain streams painted with mossy stones were frequently placed. In the massive state forest, it is important to stay aware of your surroundings. While the trip was picturesque, a wild tract of land this size will have its accompanied wild animals. Black bears, bob cats, porcupines, rattlesnakes, and so many more animals have the state forest as their home. It is crucial to take the additional measure and learn what to do if an encounter between you and one of these animals did arise, and how to mitigate your impact for them as you explore their habitat.
After an hour of walking, a beaten path my parents found seemed perfectly placed to take us to the spot of the lizard, using a nearby creek and the direction we walked from to orient our location on the map. Another 10 minutes of walking downhill on this path, we came to a gorgeous intersection of a few mountain streams and behold—a spot that could only be the Purple Lizard itself.
Two chairs sat on a sandy bank at the intersection of streams, allowing those that made the journey a rewarding rest— and with a view! In front of the chairs and streams, miles of undisturbed forest were laid out. Behind the chairs and next to the path we came down on, the hill slope revealed part of itself as a massive, geological wonder. On the hot summer day, the forest canopy and movement of the streams made the air here feel cooler, making it deserve to be a spot of interest in the state forest.
If you are interested in trying out a Purple Lizard Map, we have many at the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information available to be checked out!
Ben Brosius is a rising Junior Environmental Resource Management major under the Environmental Science option. He is pursuing minors in GIS and Watersheds and Water Resources. Ben’s interests also include environmental restoration, conservation, and education. He has been working at the Donald H. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information since January 2021.
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