i'm walking the PA part of the AT (NOBO) this summer. which map should i carry?

-section of thru hiker's companion?
-KTA PA mapset?
-other?

Tell us where you want to hike.

Read ATC's Hike the Trail (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805465/k.9760/Hike_the_Trail.htm). Buy KTA's Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania or at least the maps from KTA or ATC's Ultimate Trail Store and refer to them often. Only then will you have a clear sense of where you are and what regulations apply. Pay attention to signage and boundaries as you hike.

If you opt to purchase only KTA's maps, I recommend you carry ALDHA's Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers' Companion. In some respects, it's more current and provides more information related to hiker services.

Click on Online Companion (http://www.aldha.org/companyn.htm) to learn more. It includes a wealth of useful information and is carried and recommended by many A.T. hikers. Data for 2009 is now online. It can be viewed or downloaded free of charge, but please consider purchasing a printed copy or contributing the cost of a printed copy to ALDHA or ATC.

I would suggest exploring the appalachian trail.... mid-atlantic edition.....It has some cool historical facts...... If you want to hike strictly a.t. and not any blue blazes, the maps are not necessary in my opinion of course......

AT mapset.

Maps are always good to have along and the ALDHA companion part that corresponds with that section.

i'll be hiking the whole state. i already have the online companion printed out and carry that now on little days and weekenders. it's been good enough for me so far, but i was curious if it'll do me well for the whole state. i've never done this long of a hike before :D

Buy KTA's Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania or at least the maps from KTA or ATC's Ultimate Trail Store and refer to them often. Only then will you have a clear sense of where you are and what regulations apply. Pay attention to signage and boundaries as you hike.

Maybe you missed what I posted. If you want to carry maps for the entire state, you'll need PATC's maps for the portion south of Susquehanna River.

i did. thanks. i'll look into it

If you're ONLY following the white blazes, with NO detours (intentional or otherwise), then, yess, you can probably get by with just the Companion. BUT...

if for any reason you have to leave the AT proper (medical emergency - yours or someone else's - or a lack of water at the usual sources, for instance), then you will find the maps are absolutely indispensible.

Besides, if you don't have the maps, then how are other (mapless) hikers going to be able to ask you to "just sneak a peak" at your maps? :D:D

Summer on the PA A.T. means one is likely to need to look for alternative water sources. Maps are very helpful to find these.

Are the PA maps still as bad as they used to be? The last set I had, lets just say it was a few years ago, was horrible, black and white, nothing but the AT and the scale was tiny.

Are the PA maps still as bad as they used to be? The last set I had, lets just say it was a few years ago, was horrible, black and white, nothing but the AT and the scale was tiny.

NO! We've moved up into the 21st century with our maps. Full-color, good scale, good detail. They even show land ownership (NPS, PGC, DCNR, State Parks Dept., etc.). They're even printed on that special paper (Tyvek-type?) that doesn't disintegrate when it gets wet!

Are the PA maps still as bad as they used to be? The last set I had, lets just say it was a few years ago, was horrible, black and white, nothing but the AT and the scale was tiny.

At the risk of becoming a bore, the KTA maps are the best on the trail as far as I'm concerned. The PATC maps aren't bad either.

is this the set you guys are referring to???
http://www.kta-hike.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=9

it says 1998 :o

According to KTA's and ATC's websites what you linked is the current edition. The entire map set is available separately as are individual maps from either ATC or KTA. You can find them on the pages following your linked page.

I didn't pay attention to where they may be acquired at the better price which may depend upon whether or not you are an ATC member.

If the price tag discourages you, consider you're supporting organizations which maintain the A.T. Take care of your maps and they can be resold here when they become more useful to someone else.

i don't mind paying $40 bucks for a set of good maps. i think those are the 'current' addition as well, but like i said, that 1998 startled me

The A.T. route is relatively stable these days. Guides and maps need not be updated as often as they did when much of it traversed private land.

I don't mind paying $40 bucks for a set of good maps.

ATC's retail price for Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania is $40.00. Members pay $32.00. The Pennsylvania map set is $37.50 or $30.00 for members.

PA hike Port Clinton to delware water gap (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=45930) [sic]

You'll find lots of informative and useful links by clicking on the thread's title.

PM me if you have questions you'd prefer not to ask on the message board.

i don't mind paying $40 bucks for a set of good maps. i think those are the 'current' addition as well, but like i said, that 1998 startled me

One of the two maps has been updated since then. I think it's the Susquehanna to Lehigh Gap one.

The A.T. route is relatively stable these days. Guides and maps need not be updated as often as they did when much of it traversed private land.

Although I must say that on our trip last year, we did find a couple of errors or omissions.

Also, the KTA was soliciting pictures a few months ago for the PA AT guide, which implies a new edition is coming in the near future.

the maps are in the process of being updated. that said, the oldest of the maps is 1998. the newest are 2005or6. they are top notch.

i'd obviously prefer the newest, but the KTA site only has the 1998 ones, as far as i could tell

i'd obviously prefer the newest, but the KTA site only has the 1998 ones, as far as i could tell

ok to clarify: the KTA mapset is a set of maps that cover, by section, the entire state. some maps are older ca.1998- like the stretch from Swatara to DWG. But the other maps are more recent, from different years depending on the section. Its one set, made up of maps produced in different years.

It's entirely possible the websites don't reflect what maps are actually in stock and would be shipped.

Can anyone post the current update of each map?

Map1: (Sections 9,10,11) Susquehanna River - PA 94 (2001)
Map2&3: (Sections 12,13) PA 94-Rt30 (2000)
Map4: (section 14) Rt30-PA/MD border (2000)
Map5: (sections 7&8) Susquehanna River-Swatara gap (2004)
Map6: (sections 1-4) Swatara gap-DWG (1998)

Map1: (Sections 9,10,11) Susquehanna River - PA 94 (2001)
Map2&3: (Sections 12,13) PA 94-Rt30 (2000)
Map4: (section 14) Rt30-PA/MD border (2000)
Map5: (sections 7&8) Susquehanna River-Swatara gap (2004)
Map6: (sections 1-6) Swatara gap-DWG (1998)

correction

is this the set you guys are referring to???
http://www.kta-hike.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=9

it says 1998 :o

The 1998 date on the KTA website refers to the GUIDE not to the maps. The KTA map from Susquehanna River to Swatara Gap should have at least a 2004 date when you get it - there are a number of significant improvements from the earlier version color map, including denoting NPS property not just Game Lands and State Forest, and the relocated route just trail-south of Swatara Gap that is not shown in its final location on the earlier version.

I would suspect you would get the most current map ordering from either KTA or ATC. Neither website actually states that though.

BTW the material the newer color KTA A.T. maps is printed on, is called Hop-Syn. http://www.hopindustries.com/dept2_index.cfm?c=2&cat=203

According to information provided on ATC's website, it's expected to be available around Labor Day.

will there be any map revisions?

Will there be any map revisions?

I don't know. I emailed KTA yesterday and asked them to indicate the latest revision of AT maps on their website. Maybe something will come of it.

After adding a post to this thread, I realized it might have been better to begin another SF thread or do both.

I ordered and carried whatever the ATC sells online - worked fine.... I didn't even know there was a competing set...

The only thing that I didn't like about the maps were that there were so many of them... it would be nice if maps were printed on both sides. A minor niggle no doubt.

I mailed back the maps I didn't need anymore at the Boiling Springs PO....

I didn't even know there was a competing set.

There isn't. KTA publishes Guide to the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. It's what you bought from ATC and own. Take a look and you will see.

Some of the guides are published by AT maintaining clubs, others by ATC.

Will there be any map revisions?

Yes. The map for sections 12-13 will be new. Your other PATC maps are not current either. See below for the most recent maps.

I emailed KTA yesterday and asked them to indicate the latest revision of AT maps on their website. Maybe something will come of it.


KTA's respondant liked the idea and indicated the information below will soon be provided on their website.

Sec. 1-6: 1998 (checked and republished 2007 without change)
Sec. 7-8: 2004
Sec. 9-11: 2007
Sec. 12-13: 2009
Sec. 14: 2007

Sec. 1-6: 1998 (checked and republished 2007 without change)
Sec. 7-8: 2004
Sec. 9-11: 2007
Sec. 12-13: 2009
Sec. 14: 2007

Thx 4 the info. 3 of my 5 PA maps are out of date :(

Sec. 1-6: 1998 (checked and republished 2007 without change)


Kinda a shame it was just reprinted without revision, since there have been a number of changes (first that comes to mind, a lot of new trails around Lehigh Gap; second, the closure of the Kessel Trail near 501) since 1998.

Summer on the PA A.T. means one is likely to need to look for alternative water sources. Maps are very helpful to find these.


Case in point --- the water source south of Cove shelter (between Cove and Darlington) does not show up in the Companion. But when I happened upon it last week, I was able to check the map and determine I was better off filling up there than having to sidetrack almost a mile round trip to refill at the spring below Cove.

I am pretty sure Wildware in Harrisburg has the newest revised ones. You can also get at least some of the Pa. maps at the fly fishing outfitter in Boiling Springs. But you should not have to drive all the way out there . . . last time I checked, Wildware had all of Pa. (and some of the guide books mentioned in this thread, too.)