View Full Version : I don't want to be a map dummy
Pickleodeon
03-02-2009, 14:05
Hello, I need some assistance with my map set. My boyfriend and I sat around last night and tried to put them in order for my nobo hike. I have the ATC map set but they're not at all consistent. So, this is the order that I have them in so my parents can grab the next one in line and mail it to me.
Georgia ATC map Springer to Bly Gap
Nantahala Natl. Forest Bly Gap to Fontana Dam NC
GSMNP TN/NC Nat.Geo map
TN/NC maps 3,4 ATC map
TN/NC maps 1,2 ATC map
AT map 1 Mt. Rogers Natl. Recreation Area
AT map 2 Wythe Ranger District
AT map 3 Eastern Divide Ranger District
*now is there a piece of trail in between these two maps that's not shown? I can't find where one map meets the other
Map 11 AT SNP South district 6,7,8,9
Map 10 SNP Central district 3,4,5
Map 9 SNP North district 1,2
Map 8 Northern VA South half Snickers Gap to Chester Gap 3,4,5
Map 7 W. VA and Northern VA Potomac River and Harper's Ferry WV to VA7 1,2
Map 5,6 MD and Catoctin trail 1-7 MD
Map 4 US Rt. 30 to PA/MD 14
Map 2,3 PA Rt. 49 to 30
Map 1 Susquehanna River to PA Rt 94 9,10,11
AT in PA 7,8 Susquehanna to Swatara Gap
AT in PA 1-6 DWG to Swatara Gap
AT NY/NJ 3,4 NY 17 to DWG
NY/NJ map 1,2 CT state line to NY 17A
Mass, CT map 4,5,6 Cornwall CT to Pawling NY
Mass, CT 7,8,9,10 map 3
Mass, CT 1,2,3,4,5,6
I dont have anything for NH, VT :confused:
Maine maps 7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Does this seem right, am I missing maps, are these in order so I can just go from one map to the next? Anyone else have this much trouble or is it just me? Thank you.
Alligator
03-02-2009, 14:08
...
AT map 3 Eastern Divide Ranger District
*now is there a piece of trail in between these two maps that's not shown? I can't find where one map meets the other
Map 11 AT SNP South district 6,7,8,9
...There are two maps, numbered 4 and 5 for VA. Offhand, I don't know the whole names.
dont sweat it, man! just follow the white thingys on the trees!
Alligator
03-02-2009, 14:10
I think there are 6 NJ/NY maps, but you are showing 4?
Pedaling Fool
03-02-2009, 14:14
I remember having the same problem, just check and double-check to make sure you have everything in order then put them in a plastic baggie and lable it so your parents don't have to think.
If you're missing NH/VT then you should call ATC (assuming you ordered them)
And yes you're missing Virginia maps #4 (Glenwood and New Castle Ranger Districts) & Map #5 Pedlar Ranger District.
Alligator
03-02-2009, 14:16
I think there are 6 NJ/NY maps, but you are showing 4?I just looked that up, the NJ/NY map set was new in 2007 and my set is older than that. You are probably good there.
Blissful
03-02-2009, 14:20
Yes you're missing maps four and five of VA. Dragons Tooth area all the way north to Rockfish Gap.
Oops saw someone caught that...:)
NH Vermont and the Va maps you're missing haven't shipped yet
Pickleodeon
03-02-2009, 14:39
ok, missing two maps in VA, what about VT and NH, I dont have anything for them?
Pickleodeon
03-02-2009, 14:40
nevermind, we must've been posting at the same time, RWK.
ok, so they should be here eventually. Thanks!!
I got some little white sticky things (about the size of a nickle) from Staples and numbered all my maps in the order I would use them (1-37). Then I put them in envelopes with the address I wanted them sent to. This not only helped the people sending them, but helped me a lot when on trail trying to figure out what came next or before.
I would also think about sending the maps to the town before you need them, that way you know what to expect. Maybe thats just being silly, I found the maps where more of a luxury and not absolutely necessary. Fun to look at for map geeks like me though. YMMV.
Of all the maps, you'll want NH most. Lots of trails with local names and not always white blazed.
Last I heard is they should ship toward the end of March
Monkeywrench
03-02-2009, 16:00
Central VA and VT/NH haven't shipped yet. I am waiting for these as well.
Echoing Sly, if you're into maps, the NH and VT ones are nice to have. Not only are they nice and small (not like those ridiculously heavy PATC maps you'll be lugging through the mid-Atlantic), but NH and VT are where you might actually need your maps to get off the trail quickly in bad weather or due to injury (I know hikers who had to do both in the Whites and Mahoosucs).
Powder River
03-10-2009, 00:27
Yeah you got it. Last year I was missing the Georgia section!! They kindly sent it to me sometime in May, never an explanation on that one. My VT and NH sections were late last year too, which is strange because I understood it was because they were being revised last year. Maybe they are "revising" two years in a row?
It is confusing to put everything in order, but once I got them in order I picked out several towns along the way to mail the maps to, based upon never carrying more than 3-4 maps at a time. Some maps only cover 20 miles, are one sided, and are nice and heavy (thanks PATC) so you might need more frequent maildrops in those sections. Since many of the maps use a trail town as an ending point, it will be obvious which towns to ship them to. From memory, I think I used:
Fontana Dam, NC
Damascus, VA
Pearisburg, VA
Waynesboro, VA
Front Royal, VA
Harpers Ferry, WV
Duncannon, PA
Delaware Water Gap, PA
Kent, CT
Williamstown, MA (or North Adams)
Hanover, NH
Gorham, NH
Caratunk, ME
I put them all in plastic bags and labeled the town they would be shipped to. I had also tore up the Companion into the corresponding sections and put each section with the right maps. One thing I had a problem with was forgetting to tell my support person when to mail the maps. Sometimes I would out-hike the mail system, because the maps were sent too late. So it might help to put on that label "mail when I reach ____" which would be when you reach the town before, send the next two.
I also made it clear that if friends or family wanted to send me mail drops, these were the only towns I was going to stop at to check mail. The last thing you want to do is feel compelled to go to every last post office during business hours because your whole family sent mail to post offices all along the trail for you.
I will say that getting mail at the P.O.s turned out to be a real pain in the rear. On more than one occasion I found myself looking at the mileage on a Thursday, realizing I had until noon on Saturday to do 30+ miles or get stuck in town until Monday. It would be much easier to pick hostels you plan to stay at, and are good with mail drops to receive your mail for you.
Finally, I mailed each map home as soon as I finished that section. Some people will leave them in hiker boxes or give them to southbounders. (Lord knows they need the maps since they're going the wrong way to begin with!! :D:D) I kept them simply because they make a nice keepsake, are useful in the future and cost a lot of money!! You can always sell them as a set to a future thru hiker. It was a nice marker of progress to mail each map home, and I was darn excited when I held that last map, Maine #1 in my hands and could see I really was right there, on the map.
Good luck to you! :banana:banana:banana Wish I could be headin' down to Springer myself in a couple of weeks.
Echoing Sly, if you're into maps, the NH and VT ones are nice to have. Not only are they nice and small (not like those ridiculously heavy PATC maps you'll be lugging through the mid-Atlantic), but NH and VT are where you might actually need your maps to get off the trail quickly in bad weather or due to injury (I know hikers who had to do both in the Whites and Mahoosucs).
On the other hand, the PATC maps have much better detail than most of the AT maps I've seen so far, which is nice in some of the complicated areas that come up in PA, MD, and Northern VA. They also have more easily readable elevation profiles. The KTA maps for the rest of PA are even better in those respects. And as far as weight goes, how much difference can there be? Two ounces? There's probably a lot of other places one could cut one's pack weight, and with considerably less loss of value.
And as far as getting off the trail goes, injuries can happen anywhere, and while it's true that bad weather is a more pressing issue in the Whites than other places, if you're closing in on Lehigh Gap on a summer afternoon, and it's beginning to look stormy, it might be nice to know where the side trail to Palmerton is so one can sit it out until the next day.
Pickleodeon
03-11-2009, 14:33
Hello, I'm still trying to organize my maps, now according to mail drops. I have all my maps in order, and numbered, but I'm trying to figure out which ones go in which mail drop. The map has from this gap to this gap, ya know? But I need an easy way to say this map will get me to this trail town. So far, these are my mail drops:
Fontana Dam
Hot Springs
Damascus
Pearisburg
Waynesboro
Harpers Ferry
Port Clinton, kind of-I'll be home
Kent, CT
Hanover, ME
Andover, ME
Monson, ME
So I'm trying to figure out which maps correlate to which drop. If you have yours handy and can help that would be awesome! Thanks.
Refer to the NPS map link I sent you way back when or Google it if it's easier to find that way.
Be certain you clearly indicate Waynesboro, VA and the proper ZIP code. There are many Waynesboros including one not not far from the A.T. in Pennsylvania.
It's Hanover, NH!
Pickleodeon
03-11-2009, 15:44
oops, I knew it was Hanover, NH. mistyped.
Be certain you clearly indicate Waynesboro, VA and the proper ZIP code. There are many Waynesboros.
It's Hanover, NH!
And in Virginia, don't make the mistake of confusing TroutDALE and TroutVILLE.
Hello, I'm still trying to organize my maps, now according to mail drops. I have all my maps in order, and numbered, but I'm trying to figure out which ones go in which mail drop. The map has from this gap to this gap, ya know? But I need an easy way to say this map will get me to this trail town. So far, these are my mail drops:
Fontana Dam
Hot Springs
Damascus
Pearisburg
Waynesboro
Harpers Ferry
Port Clinton, kind of-I'll be home
Kent, CT
Hanover, ME
Andover, ME
Monson, ME
So I'm trying to figure out which maps correlate to which drop. If you have yours handy and can help that would be awesome! Thanks.
I could have sworn that once upon a time--possibly in the Articles section--someone had posted an Excel spreadsheet that listed all of the maps and what they covered. Unfortunately, I can't find it now. Either it was another website, it's gone, or I'm just not looking in the right place. Anyone have ideas?
At any rate, let's see if I can reconstruct it for you here:
To get from Springer to Fontana Dam, you will need the Chattahoochee (Georgia) and Nantahala maps. These are the ones you will need to take with you to the start of the trail.
Fontana Dam to Hot Springs: GSMNP Natl' Geo map, TN/NC Maps 3/4. These you will send to yourself at Fontana Dam.
Hot Springs to Damascus: All 4 TN/NC Maps.
Damascus to Pearisburg: VA Maps 1 (Mt. Rogers), 2(Wythe Ranger Dist.), & 3 (Eastern Divide Ranger Dist.)
Pearisburg to Waynesboro: VA Maps 3 (Eastern Divide), 4 (Glenwood & New Castle Ranger Dists.), & 5 (Pedlar Ranger Dist.)
Waynesboro to Harpers Ferry: PATC maps 11 thru 7 (All three SNP maps and both Northern VA maps)
Harpers Ferry to Port Clinton: PATC maps 6 thru 1 (MD map and the PA maps up to the Susquehanna) & both KTA map sheets (7 & 8 and 1 thru 6)
Port Clinton to Kent: The KTA map sheet that has maps 1 thru 6 (Swatara thru DWG), all 4 NY/NJ maps, and MA/CT Map 5 (CT sections 4 thru 6)
Kent to Hanover: All 5 MA/CT maps (which come on three sheets) and VT/NH maps 8 thru 5 (which come on two sheets. This assumes that ATC doesn't change the map arrangement with the new edition. It's probably pretty safe to assume that Hanover will still be a dividing line between maps, however.)
Hanover to Andover: VT/NH maps 4 thru 1 (again, assuming no changes in the edition) and ME map 7 (NH Line to ME Rt 17)
Andover to Monson: ME maps 6 (ME Rt 17 to ME Rt 27), 5 (ME Rt 27 to the Kennebec River), and 4 (Kennebec to Monson)
Monson to Katahdin: ME maps 3 (Monson to West Branch of Pleasant), 2 (West Branch of Pleasant to Nahmakanta Lake), & 1 (Nahmakanta to Katahdin)
Hope this helps.
Pickleodeon
03-12-2009, 09:14
wonderful!!!
You can buy the maps (and guidebooks) directly from ATC. This link should make it clear the maps that are available to comprise a complete set:
https://www.atctrailstore.org/catalog/itemlist.cfm?atcmem=1&catid=42&pcatid=0&compid=1&page=1