View Full Version : Topo Maps
spfleisig
05-20-2018, 18:01
Does anyone know if there are topo maps that cover from Dicks Creek Gap to Fontana Dam (other than USGS quads)? Maybe something that is 1:30K or 1:50K.
Thanks
There are Matteo map of this area. Look here under North Carolina. https://www.natgeomaps.com/
That should be natgeo. NC is under trail maps.
side rail...but when did the USGS stop updating their maps? Do they even still print any?
Feral Bill
05-20-2018, 21:58
See MyTopo and make your own. Cover the exact area. You specify scale, size of printed map, name, and center the area to suit. Download for free, or have waterproof printed maps sent to you, folded or rolled, for a fair price. There's a $5 shipping charge, so it's best to order multiple maps together. Here: http://www.mytopo.com/ They have other products, as well.
1:24,000 is the standard USGS quad scale. The maps are available in PDF format for printing from the US Gummermint.
CalTopo is another online source.
There are map dealers in the USA who sell printed quads.
One has but to look.
Wayne
You could buy the official AT maps (http://atctrailstore.org/guides-maps/official-a-t-maps/north-carolina-georgia-maps/) covering that section that are 1:63,360-scale. A little less detailed then you wanted but adequate when the trail isn't buried in snow.
Postholer's southern states AT Pocket Maps (https://www.postholer.com/maps/Appalachian-Trail/3#purchase) are 1:38,500 scale, but cover a much larger area then you may want (small book size that covers GA to Glascow, VA) and cost ~$32 on amazon. His original 1st edition that I used in 2012 wasn't that good, but he addressed most of my complaints by the time he came out with his recent 4th edition.
It seems to me what you need is something in between the 2, but I don't know of something that covers that section. Perhaps a couple of the Nat Geo maps, but their scale tends to be as bad as the official AT maps I listed above and you'd likely have to buy several of them with a few gaps in between.
Offshore
05-21-2018, 05:45
side rail...but when did the USGS stop updating their maps? Do they even still print any?
They didn't. USGS topos are available at https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/basic/ as georeferenced PDFs for use in apps like Avenza Maps or for printing.
Offshore
05-21-2018, 05:48
That should be natgeo. NC is under trail maps.
GaiaGPS recently added the NatGeo AT map to their available basemaps. You need to be a subscriber, though.
Rex Clifton
05-21-2018, 11:58
GaiaGPS recently added the NatGeo AT map to their available basemaps. You need to be a subscriber, though.
In order to get this map, it’s not the regular $19.99 subscription but a premium membership, which tacks on another $39.99. Better off with Guthooks.
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Offshore
05-21-2018, 13:50
In order to get this map, it’s not the regular $19.99 subscription but a premium membership, which tacks on another $39.99. Better off with Guthooks.
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Premium isn't another $39.99 on top of the $19.99, it's $39.99.
While Guthook and GaiaGPS have some functional overlap, they are not equivalent. (I use both, depending on the circumstances.) Guthook is primarily a trail guide with some mapping and profiling capability. Its also limited to the major trails and you need to buy the sections of that particular trail - which adds up very quickly. On the positive side, they've not (yet) adopted a subscription model. GaiaGPS is a universal trail map and arguably turns your phone into a full-featured GPS. Buying either the standard $19.99 or premium $39.99 subscription gives you access to a collection of additional map layers, depending on the subscription. Its not limited to the corridor of the big trails, but there are no guidebook type of features other than what may be on the map you happen to be using.
Rex Clifton
05-21-2018, 14:03
[QUOTE=Offshore;2209056]Premium isn't another $39.99 on top of the $19.99, it's $39.99.
I have a basic $19.99 subscription and, when I try to download the premium maps, it takes me to a subscription page and hits me for another $39.99. I think the way it works (who knows, it’s pretty confusing the way they went to a subscription model) is that after the premium membership runs out, the basic continues for the remainder of your original term. So, if you want to continue as a premium member, you will never get your original subscription $$$ back. I’m really ticked at Gaia, I bought the old app just before they switched over. I never would have done if I knew it was moving to a subscription. Sure, I can continue using the old app, but that’s a dead end.
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Offshore
05-21-2018, 14:11
[QUOTE=Offshore;2209056]Premium isn't another $39.99 on top of the $19.99, it's $39.99.
I have a basic $19.99 subscription and, when I try to download the premium maps, it takes me to a subscription page and hits me for another $39.99. I think the way it works (who knows, it’s pretty confusing the way they went to a subscription model) is that after the premium membership runs out, the basic continues for the remainder of your original term. So, if you want to continue as a premium member, you will never get your original subscription $$$ back. I’m really ticked at Gaia, I bought the old app just before they switched over. I never would have done if I knew it was moving to a subscription. Sure, I can continue using the old app, but that’s a dead end.
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Reach out to their support and let them know what you want to do and I'll bet they'll help you out. They are a small shop but pretty active on the GaiaGPS subreddit and seem to be very responsive to their customers. It would make sense to prorate a refund of your basic towards the premium - I forget how they handled it when I did it - but it did involve contacting them.