Maps?

[BlindMoose]

Does someone have suggestions on a good map system to use, and whats available out there for thru hikes?

[Lone Wolf]

Does someone have suggestions on a good map system to use, and whats available out there for thru hikes?

go here http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.1423119/k.BEA0/Home.htm for maps

[rafe]

The maps from ATC are excellent. Not cheap, but worth the cost, in my opinion.

[Undershaft]

Not all the maps from the ATC are great. Good and perfectly adequate, but not great. The maps for SW Virginia are pretty lame. They don't have anywhere near the detail of some other state maps. I know there are National Gographic hiking maps of certain areas the trail passes through, like the Mt. Rogers area in VA, and the White mtns in NH. I personally like the AMC maps of the White mtns better than the ATC maps. The AMC maps have more detail and show ALL the trails prominently, not just the AT, which makes it easier to orient yourself. I think it's a nice feature to have on a map when hiking in the Whites, where there is a trail intersection every few miles and white blazes are sometimes hard to follow.

[Blissful]

ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) maps are fine.

Look after the 2008 season, I'm sure some hikers will want to sell theirs.

[rafe]

Not all the maps from the ATC are great. Good and perfectly adequate, but not great.

I'll bet you never saw the "old" Keystone Trails Conference/ATC maps of Pennsylvania. Now that was an ugly, useless set of maps.

I did have one gripe with the profiles of a few of the maps in SW Virginia (eg. the Cloverdale to Pearisburg stretch.) They made the trail look smooth and flat. They lied.

[The Old Fhart]

_terrapin_ "I'll bet you never saw the "old" Keystone Trails Conference/ATC maps of Pennsylvania. Now that was an ugly, useless set of maps."Oh, do you mean one of these maps?
4400(click on map for larger image)

[rafe]

Something like that, TOF. I know that even Bill Bryson commented on those maps -- and he was right. They were awful. The newer maps (of PA) are fine.

[BlindMoose]

The maps from ATC are excellent. Not cheap, but worth the cost, in my opinion.
Did you purchase them in a bulk set, or each state as you entered it? Any benefits or detriments ie cost / weight / etc?

[Undershaft]

I'll bet you never saw the "old" Keystone Trails Conference/ATC maps of Pennsylvania. Now that was an ugly, useless set of maps.

I did have one gripe with the profiles of a few of the maps in SW Virginia (eg. the Cloverdale to Pearisburg stretch.) They made the trail look smooth and flat. They lied.

No, I bought the PA maps last year after they had been redone. I would rate the PA maps as "Excellent" now. I recall Bryson complaining about the PA maps in AWITW though. He had those old B&W maps, and after looking at TOF's pic, I would've complained about those maps too. I found the elevation profiles on the new PA maps to be very accurate. I only have AT maps for 8 1/2 states so I don't know how they all compare, side by side. I've bought all my maps and a couple state guidebooks from the ATC. I didn't find them prohibitivly expensive.

[rafe]

Did you purchase them in a bulk set, or each state as you entered it? Any benefits or detriments ie cost / weight / etc?

The weight's the same either way. :D If you plan to walk the entire AT eventually it's more cost-effective to buy the entire set in one go -- particularly when ATC is having their annual special. Otherwise, just buy the maps you need.

I bought a full set of maps in 1990 for somewhere around $200. I used these up until 2002, where, on a section in Vermont, I noticed some fairly serious discrepancies. After that I started buying (for a 2nd time) the maps for the sections I was hiking, on an as-needed basis.

Probably worth the cost of ATC membership just to get the discount. Money given to ATC is for a good cause, in any case.

[Undershaft]

Did you purchase them in a bulk set, or each state as you entered it? Any benefits or detriments ie cost / weight / etc?

I purchased mine state by state. I'm a section hiker though. One year I decided to hike in Maine, so I bought those maps. The next year it was Virginia, so I bought those, and so on. I think it's less expensive if you purchase all the maps in a bulk set. If you are thruhiking, buy all the maps at once and mail them to yourself on the trail as needed.

[10-K]

I'm working my way up the trail from Springer and am on Map 5 of the Virginia series. So far, the NC/TN maps have been the best. GA/NC comes in 2nd. The National Geographic map of the Smokies is pretty good except for the elevation profile which is a joke IMHO. The Virginia series (so far) is ok but nothing to brag about.

[Rain Man]

Not all the maps from the ATC are great. Good and perfectly adequate, but not great. The maps for SW Virginia are pretty lame. They don't have anywhere near the detail of some other state maps.

Agreed. I just got to Virginia on my NOBO section hiking last weekend and bought the ATC maps for SW Virginia at Mount Rogers Outfittes before leaving Damascus. Man, am I disappointed, comparing them to the ones I'd just been using for TN. "Lame" is right and a good hiking pun too! LOL

I did the Shenandoah National Park last summer and found the 3-set ATC maps for the SNP to be far superior to the National Geographic single map. Same for the GSMNP (Smokies).

Rain:sunMan

.

[J5man]

The ATC maps for VA stink. Very small print and hard to read. I agree with remarks above about the NG and SNP maps.