Mail drops and maps

[10-K]

I'm laying the groundwork for a longish section hike (300-400 miles) this fall through New England and have a question about mail drops and maps...

For those of you who do not do mail drops, what do you do about maps? Carry them all, do without?

I don't want to carry a bunch of maps... When I stopped in Luray I even mailed back 3 of the 5 maps it takes to get from Harpers Ferry to Rockfish Gap.

[snowhoe]

I have a bandana with the map on it. It works great. I dont do mail drops any more.

[garlic08]

Your question is well put, but I fear you may have still opened a can of worms. There seems to be an on-going debate about the wisdom of carrying maps.

I did not do any mail drops and I did not carry maps on the AT.

On less well-blazed trails out West here, I will carry 500 or 600 miles worth of maps at a time, then suffer a resupply for maps. I usually need new shoes and socks by then, anyway.

[10-K]

Your question is well put, but I fear you may have still opened a can of worms. There seems to be an on-going debate about the wisdom of carrying maps.

Well, if I had to choose between carrying 400 miles worth of maps or doing without maps for 400 miles I'd bite the bullet and carry the maps.

I can't imagine hiking without the elevation profiles.. uh, I mean maps..

[garlic08]

I can't imagine hiking without the elevation profiles.. uh, I mean maps..

Good one. I know what you mean. I tried out the new Appalachian Pages book last year and the best part of it was the profile superimposed over the text. Not perfect, but nice.

[Blissful]

Why not do a few..dare I say...drops? my word, there's no harm in mailing yourself maps, even if this is WB. At Glencliff, the PO is right across the street from the hostel! Other PO'S you can mail yourself maps to is Kent (for CT and MA) Cheshire for VT, Hanover for NH, etc.

[emerald]

Someone else may want to link a thread or article related to my post's title. It may be of help to hikers grappling with this issue.

[mikec]

I enclose pertinant maps, data book and Companion sections in my maildrops. I'm going to try using Appalachian Pages as well this year and see how it compares.

[emerald]

You'll need to go into town to buy food anyway. Send maps to businesses open 24/7 or every day if you are concerned you will be inconvenienced dealing with post offices.

A perfect example of a place where it wouldn't be an inconvenience at all to pick up maps would be Pinkham Notch. If you're intending to hike north into Maine, you might have MATC send you maps there.

If the objection is to postage costs, buying maps along the way and giving them away to other hikers or discarding them is an expensive proposition and outfitters may not have what you desire in stock anyway.

The most practical and inexpensive solution for through hikers and section hikers seeking 2000 miler certificates in the short term is join ATC and buy a complete bundled map set from them and resell them when you no longer have need of them.