366 : Franconia Notch

Ben was a fifth grader and avid hiker when he drew this remarkably detailed topographic map of Franconia Notch, New Hampshire. Dense hand-rendered contour lines fill the page, with dozens of labeled peaks, trails, brooks, ponds, and roads including Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Lincoln, the Kancamagus Highway, and Tripoli Road, all recorded with the kind of care you’d expect from a seasoned cartographer. In his submission letter, Ben called his hike up Mt. Lafayette (5,260 ft.) with his friend Caleb the most fun he’d ever had on a trail, ending with the first snowball fight of the season at the summit.