Importance of Maps

[ed bell]

I intended to detail several reasons I haven't read yet why I don’t feel the need to use the ATC map on the AT unless I think I might detour using side trails.

Then I read the authoritative, “Nobody with any sense goes into the backcountry ... without the best current map ...” and “... Only a fool goes out into the backcountry without one.” (Post #11)

I won’t bother elaborating upon my initial idea. Why would one waste valuable time reading the writings of someone identified as a fool, with no sense?

There apparently is no need to read more, so, no need to write further on this topic.

If you don't agree with post #11 then explain why. Last time I checked there was a free exchange of ideas going on here. I have certain areas that I hike/backpack in where I do not feel the need to have a map with me. To imply that you have useful input, but are withholding it because of another's post is not in the spirit of an open forum. Why comment at all?

[weary]

I intended to detail several reasons I haven't read yet why I don’t feel the need to use the ATC map on the AT unless I think I might detour using side trails.

Then I read the authoritative, “Nobody with any sense goes into the backcountry ... without the best current map ...” and “... Only a fool goes out into the backcountry without one.” (Post #11)

I won’t bother elaborating upon my initial idea. Why would one waste valuable time reading the writings of someone identified as a fool, with no sense?

There apparently is no need to read more, so, no need to write further on this topic.

Jack is a bit hyperbolic at times, but he's essentially right. Maps have many interesting uses on the trail. But among the most important is safety. Sure, it's fun to live dangerously. And it's true. Situations of real danger are rare. But when they happen most find it nice to have a map close at hand, and at least rudimentary knowledge about how to use same.

Part of the fun of a thru hike -- and all long distance backpacking, for that matter -- is the sense of self sufficiency that comes from carrying all you need to explore wild areas without seeking help.

Weary

[rocketsocks]

I would bring a map for many reasons,all of which entails finding my location on the trail in relation to,Help,Food,Home,and just because I like maps.

[coach lou]

I would bring a map for many reasons,all of which entails finding my location on the trail in relation to,Help,Food,Home,and just because I like maps.

Socks speaks sense! I'm a map geek myself, and I don't get lost! Being able to read one and rely on one gives you many options in recreation and emergencies. I could/do spend hours studying them. When wandering through the boonies where I am is the last thing I worry about, I know where I am.

[rocketsocks]

Socks speaks sense! I'm a map geek myself, and I don't get lost! Being able to read one and rely on one gives you many options in recreation and emergencies. I could/do spend hours studying them. When wandering through the boonies where I am is the last thing I worry about, I know where I am.

Me too coach,always tell the wife "I'm half blood Hound,never been lost,just temporarily misplaced",just like me POP! LOL

[coach lou]

Me too coach,always tell the wife "I'm half blood Hound,never been lost,just temporarily misplaced",just like me POP! LOL

I remember a story about Daniel Boone sayin' "he'd never been lost, just a tad bewildered"

[moongoddess]

You don't really need maps on most well-maintained trails.

The problem, of course, is that a well-maintained trail can literally turn into an unmaintained trail overnight, courtesy of severe storms, rockslides or mudslides, wildfires, etc. Today in the Colorado Trail subforum an announcement was posted that a large segment of the Colorado Trail has just recently become literally impassible due to a huge blowdown of trees; thruhikers have to leave the well-marked main trail and do a long detour involving less well-marked side trails and poorly-marked gravel roads to get around the obstruction. Anyone who was out there without a decent set of maps and who was counting on just following the well-marked trail is going to be screwed. There's no reason something similar couldn't happen on the AT (or any other trail, for that matter).

[rocketsocks]

I remember a story about Daniel Boone sayin' "he'd never been lost, just a tad bewildered"

Daniel Boone was a man,such a big man!

[Biggie Master]

I have a map of the United States... Actual size. It says, "Scale: 1 mile = 1
mile." I spent last summer folding it. I also have a full-size map of the world.
I hardly ever unroll it. People ask me where I live, and I say, "E6".
-- Steven Wright


Like one or two others have posted, I usually photocopy the section I will be hiking and keep it close at hand. I pull it out at each rest break and check my "surroundings" just to keep my internal compass calibrated.

[hikerboy57]

Knowing where you are is an essential part of getting lost in the natural world.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Maps have saved my arse several times while section hiking. They let me know where I am so I can keep pace to meet up with my ride, they have let me rearrange my pick-up plans when I have had to bail for various reasons, they have even helped me find an available water source after hiking bone dry for several hours (I was very happy I had a map that day.)

[hikerboy57]

Theyre also great for changing plans with chsnging weather.one year i started from liberty springs intending totraverse to crawford notch.weather got a biy hairy coming down lafayette so i dropped down into the pemi and although it rained for two more days i had a much better time thsn if i had stayed on the AT.

[Amanita]

I agree that when you need to change plans fast, maps are where it's at. Medical emergency, alternative resupply, change of plans on a section, bad weather bypass around an exposed peak ect ect.

But I will admit that the most useful part of maps is when I'm on the phone with my ride trying to explain where they need to go to pick me up. Often state maps don't mark all the little roads or show well where the trail is, and even when I leave a photocopy of my map they usually forget to use it.

Being a section hiker, I do spend a lot more time getting on/off the trail, which maps are pretty crucial for.

[hikehunter]

The Boy Scouts have some very good training. I learned as a boy and I still use it today. A good map and compass is like insurance great to have and not need than to need and not have.

[coach lou]

The insurance of being able to rely on map & compass, for situations & emergencies is important. Using them as tools to navigate through unknown territory with confidance and the actual sport of it is very fulfilling and FUN.

[rocketsocks]

Part of the price for being able to navigate entails practicing with a compass,and you don't have to be out side to do it either,if you get a map of your area at home(I have one of my township,that's what we call em here in these parts)you can lay out a coarse,plot it on the map,and then in your minds eye visualize some of the things you'll see,(turning right and there's Mr. jones house)follow that coarse,start small at first,just a polygon shape,(or something other than four 90 degree angles) around a high school football track,as you get better,you can plot longer and harder(more involved)courses,there no different really,just more bearings to work out,it's fun....

[fiddlehead]

I'm OK with a map and compass.
BUT, in my travels I've come across too many times when it's foggy or rainy and just can't get any landmarks to use.
So, you end up guessing where you are.
Oftentimes you are right.
Sometimes not.
The GPS doesn't screw up however, so, I have learned they are more useful than a map.

Maps will be obsolete in a few more years. Not totally. Some old school adventurers will still carry them but they'll be the ones getting lost in a storm or poor visability.

Just sayin.
Hey don't blame me. I'm just pointing out the truth. I still own a sextant. (and know how to use it)........... (but I don't)

[Sarcasm the elf]

I'm OK with a map and compass.
BUT, in my travels I've come across too many times when it's foggy or rainy and just can't get any landmarks to use.
So, you end up guessing where you are.
Oftentimes you are right.
Sometimes not.
The GPS doesn't screw up however, so, I have learned they are more useful than a map.

Maps will be obsolete in a few more years. Not totally. Some old school adventurers will still carry them but they'll be the ones getting lost in a storm or poor visability.

Just sayin.
Hey don't blame me. I'm just pointing out the truth. I still own a sextant. (and know how to use it)........... (but I don't)

I don't disagree with you, but there will have to be major advances in battery technology before I entrust my safety on a hike to a GPS alone. On many occasions I have had the honor of lugging a dead GPS around on the trail.

I still bring my garmin when I'm hiking on poorly marked local trails where I need to make sure that I am within the trail corridor and not about to walk through someone's back yard. But for the A.T. I've decided to bring maps for now.

[coach lou]

I'm OK with a map and compass.
BUT, in my travels I've come across too many times when it's foggy or rainy and just can't get any landmarks to use.
So, you end up guessing where you are.
Oftentimes you are right.
Sometimes not.
The GPS doesn't screw up however, so, I have learned they are more useful than a map.

Maps will be obsolete in a few more years. Not totally. Some old school adventurers will still carry them but they'll be the ones getting lost in a storm or poor visability.

Just sayin.
Hey don't blame me. I'm just pointing out the truth. I still own a sextant. (and know how to use it)........... (but I don't)

I'm just a stubborn old-school adventurer myself. I carry a digital Camera, i have carried my Cell phone for my families peace of mind. It's GPS is not enabled. [another thread and can of worms!] As I said earlier. navigating through the boonies by map & compass is fun.

[10-K]

I love my GPS for non-AT hiking but I always carry a map if I'm hiking in one of the national forests around here.

The biggest drawback of a GPS for me is the little screen. I like being able to unfold a map and get the big picture. Of course you can extrapolate exactly where you are on the map with your GPS postion.