Contour lines, roads, bodies of water; maps you already own are a skeleton that you can put flesh on. Independent of electronics or phone signals paper maps can be reliable. A map that becomes increasingly worn as you take it on journeys earns the position of essential road-tripping companion. Add in your own annotations to incorporate information that is important to you – anything from water access directions to local features to look out for. If you are writing on maps use biro or pencil, don’t use fineliner or other pens with wet ink that will smear when you close the page. If you can’t bear to write on printed works, write on index flags that will stick to mark places but are removable, they stay on well enough if you don’t riffle the pages.