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  1. #1

    Default Delorme Atlas and map questions

    I know a lot of people use the Delorme Atlas to get a bigger view of the surrounding area. Just curious if people pulled out the corresponding pages or photocopied them and how many pages they carried on average?

    I'm still trying to figure out what to do about maps. I like the bearcreek maps because they have the gps waypoints to match and I was thinking of carrying the Ley maps only for the alternatives that I plan on taking. Does this seem practical?

  2. #2

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    I bought the Delorme atlas for Montana. It's really big. 16" x 11" I haven't decided if I want to cut it up and carry the approperate pages or not. I might just get a state road map instead.

    I got the Bear Creek map book in the mail the other day and it's real nice, but heavy - 18 oz just for Montana, but much more detail and easier to read then the Ley maps, which I can only print with a inkjet, so they won't last. It looks like there are 3-4 Bear Creek maps for each Ley map section.

    I also haven't decided if I want to mail drop sections so I don't have to carry the whole thing. I'm only doing Montana, but that is still almost 1000 miles!

    I may buy a Kindle Fire and read the Ley maps on that if needed. I also want a GPS. I might end up with 4 pounds of maps and electronics, ouch!
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  3. #3
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    I did cut up my Delorme books, and folded the pages. With 8 resupply boxes along the way, there wasn't any ambiguity on how many pages carried --- not that many compared to Ley maps. I do suggest that you also cut out or xerox the per-book overview, which tells you which map to look at based on page number.

    Bearcreek maps plus Ley only for planned alternatives --- the catch here is that what you plan from home might have little to do with how you feel and the dynamics going on at the time. This can include opting for different routes based on water availability as you find out about along the way (or at least the most credible rumors ...).

    For someone that likes the Bearcreek (aka CDTA aka Jerry Brown, right?) maps, I think it's a real conundrum for the thru-hiker. As I think I said before, I really wanted the Ley maps for the alternates AND for the notes that he puts on the map sheets. Yet carrying two complete sets was quite a bit, which I did for CO and the part of NM where I was on the official trail (I finished at Columbus, which isn't the route that Jerry & Co. mapped).
    I think that if doing it again I might just take both sets despite the extra weight, cost, and confusion, because navigation is so much a bigger issue on that trail than on others.

    I guess another way of looking at it is that instead of taking just the Ley maps needed for alternatives, I would instead take all of the Ley maps but be a bit aggressive about discarding any sheets that while en route I became pretty convinced I wouldn't be using.

    In terms of putting Ley maps on a Kindle Fire, this is a device with a 7" screen, and with battery live massively less than an older (eInk type of) Kindle. The particular issue I would be concerned about is screen size, however (plus a little bit of "how to view in bright sunlight"). The Ley maps are challenging to read when printed on 8-1/2" x 11" paper, so looking on a smaller screen you either have the useless option of seeing the whole map in a way that's completely un-readable, or scrolling around a lot to see subsets of it. Perhaps best would be for you to load up a typical Ley pdf map and size the browser on your computer screen to show just what a Kindle Fire would, and see how well you can plan a hypothetical route like that.

    Hmm, also about Ley maps, "which I can only print with a inkjet, so they won't last" --- just trim each page a little and put a sheet or two at a time in a gallon size ziplock bag. They last just fine.
    If you can borrow one of those big guillotine type of paper cutters (big blade with a handle attached to the side of a cutting board), that would make it easier to trim both Ley and CDTA maps to fit. Perhaps at a local copy shop or the like.
    Gadget
    PCT: 2008 NOBO, AT: 2010 NOBO, CDT: 2011 SOBO, PNT: 2014+2016

  4. #4

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    As an experiment, I viewed the Ley maps on my old PDA with a 2.5 x 2" screen. With that small a screen, only a small section of the map can be seen with any clarity, but is almost usable. I think with a 7" screen, it would be okay. The main issue is the short battery life, so I would not use this as my main map, but as a back up or alturnative. Since I don't own or want a smart phone, the Kindle Fire would be my journaling device and internet access in town. It's either that or the old PDA, which has similer battery life.

    I like the Bear Creek (Jerry Brown) maps a lot, so those will be my primary guide. I have only compared a half dozen of the Ley maps to the ones in the map book, but it looks like the same amount of corridor is shown in both, but in more detail in the map book and better shading of the contors to give you an idea of the terrain.

    Well, I still have until the end of June to figure this all out.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  5. #5

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    I know, in Montana, DeLorme maps grid, page number, and names are used for Search and Rescue.

    DeLorme Maps may be used for this purpose in other states. For example: 5 different Mt. Baldy's, streams with the same name, like that.

    I make a color xerox of the areas of interest. I put them in plastic: Aloksak, map case, whatever.

    If I have to call in injury, I have the right information.

  6. #6

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    Our first hike was pre Jonathan Ley, but on our second hike we used the Ley maps. We found the notes on the maps the most helpful aspect of them, but were often very glad we carried them because of that information. When your one water source of the day is dry, it's really nice to know that a few mile detour can get you to another source.

    What you can do if you choose to take the time is get the Ley cd and draw the alternative routes and trail notes on your other maps. I did that using the Wolf guides and our sets of maps so that I had a good idea of the alternate routes before we set foot on the trail.

    We only used Delorme type maps in New Mexico and Wyoming, but that was partly because the route was still completely undecided when we hiked the first time so we expected to do a lot of road walking and there are long stretches outside the NFs. Also at the time, those maps included water sources (wells and tanks). The new Delormes don't. We used NF and BLM maps in Wyo and NM as well, since they showed the trails better than the Delorme maps. We used only the NF maps for Montana since almost all of the trail is in either NP or NF and they show the road numbers in the forest areas as well as the trails. We never felt the need for more there. In Colorado we used the TI/NG maps because they do such a good job of showing all the trails. Even on our second hike when we had the Ley maps, we used the TI maps most of the time in Colorado. Since the official route is quite different from the alternate routes in parts of Colorado, you might want to be sure you understand the difference now. Given the weather we ran into on both of our hikes (snow on our SB hike in September and thunderstorms NB in July) having an alternate route in lieu of the bushwhack over Greys and Torrey was essential.

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