Do You Carry Maps?

[AeroGuyDC]

Stupid Question #437 here:

Do you carry maps on your section and/or thru hikes? In a few weeks I embark on a 100 mile section hike that actually requires 4 separate maps from start to finish. That's alot of maps in my opinion, but its just how it fell for this particular hike. Looking at the Thru-hiker's Companion, I feel like all the information I need is found on those pages. Granted, there are benefits to having maps, such as elevation profiles and general spatial orientation, but do you feel the need to have the additional weight and hassle?

Tell me where i'm going wrong.

Thanks!

[Kerosene]

You'll find a number of threads devoted to this topic, with as many opinions.

If it's weight you're concerned with, either split up the maps between food caches, or copy/condense the portions onto double-sided paper.

You're correct, you really don't need the maps to hike the AT...if everything goes as planned. I have several examples where they've proven invaluable, and in one case perhaps life-saving (for another hiker), mainly to be able to tell where bail-out options exist and where you might be should you lose the trail.

[SGT Rock]

Yep. I carry the maps.

[Hikes in Rain]

As do I. I like being able to identify what's around me, and on at least one occasion where a bale-out was necessary, they were essential to routing off the trail and taking a shortcut to the car.

[Johnny Swank]

+1 on carrying maps. I always get people who "don't need them" asking to take a peak at mine.

[fredmugs]

I carry them mostly to see the elevation changes and because I try to pick out a spot every 2 - 3 miles away to plan breaks.

[Jaybird]

Stupid Question #437 here:

Do you carry maps on your section and/or thruhikes?.............ETC,ETC,ETC,..... Thanks!




Yo AG DC,


NO!....follow the WHITE BLAZES!
you dont need NO STINKIN' MAPS!

i simply carry the AT DATA BOOK pages that i need during my 2 week section-hike each year....

some hikers carry the up-to-date-"THRU-HIKERS' Companion" (ALDHA)

No matter what you carry (or DONT CARRY)...GOOD LUCK with your hike!):D


i'll be out there (w/ NO MAPS!) Apr 24-May 8
NOBO Clarks Valley,PA to Greenwood Lake,NY
w/ "Jigsaw"

[garlic08]

As said before, this topic is perennially beaten to death here. The best nugget of wisdom I've seen in all the posts is this: "If you have to ask whether you need maps, you should probably take them."

I hiked the AT without maps, taking the advice of some trail veterans I respected and who knew my hiking experience and style. There are about 170,000 whiteblazes on the Trail, per the ATC website (both directions). That works out to one every 140 feet. I could often see three or four at a time in each direction. (The only times I remember being confused was at a few road crossings, which a 200' walk in each direction took care of, and at one tree-less summit with several beaten paths, which took a little scrutiny to find the next blaze. Every time it was easier and faster to look around than it was to pull out a map, especially in the rain.)

Again, if you're not sure, take the maps.

[The Old Fhart]

AeroGuyDC-"....That's alot of maps in my opinion...."That's because it's a lot of hiking.:rolleyes:


"....but do you feel the need to have the additional weight and hassle?"The hassle is asking other prepared hikers to let you look at their maps.

[AeroGuyDC]

That's because it's a lot of hiking.:rolleyes:

The hassle is asking other prepared hikers to let you look at their maps.

Thank you for your input. However, I disagree that 100 miles is "a lot of hiking." Considering that it only covers ~5 percent of the entire trail, 4 maps, two of which have only tidbits of my planned section, does seem like a lot of maps to me. I was looking for experienced input, not sarcastic diatribe.

As far as asking others to look at their map, yes, I can see how that would be a hassle, although i'm not one to lean on others for hardly anything. Not my style.

I was on the fence because I know that the AT is relatively easy to navigate. Spatial disorientation has never been a problem for me, but i'll likely consolidate and photocopy "just in case."

Thanks to everyone for your input.

[Blissful]

I know SNP but I still carry maps. But on my next section there is a seven mile section on one map only when I begin. I will not carry that particular map.

Maps are hardly a hassle. They are part of your life saving gear, imo

[Panzer1]

I like the terrain profile on the maps. They help me plan my day by letting me know how difficult the trail is going to be that day.

Panzer

[jnl82381]

I got a map of the entire Long Trail that is on one map sheet. It's broken up into five vertical maps on each side. If all the Mountain Clubs went to this format instead of what they have now, there would be a lot fewer maps to carry.

Some sections of the AT aren’t bad; others it looks like a strong hiker will go through a map a day! That’s a little excessive. And you can't even blame it on the fact that they are 1:100,000 vs. 1:250,000 because the face is, is that the scale isn't what takes up most of the space on the maps. It's all the marginal data, trail etiquette, flora and fauna, etc. a lot of "extra" stuff on what is supposed to just be a MAP.

There are different Guide Books out there, maybe its time someone else published a new set of maps? Huge undertaking I know. But we’ll see...


BTW, I do carry maps.

[Lone Wolf]

Stupid Question #437 here:

Do you carry maps on your section and/or thru hikes? In a few weeks I embark on a 100 mile section hike that actually requires 4 separate maps from start to finish. That's alot of maps in my opinion, but its just how it fell for this particular hike. Looking at the Thru-hiker's Companion, I feel like all the information I need is found on those pages. Granted, there are benefits to having maps, such as elevation profiles and general spatial orientation, but do you feel the need to have the additional weight and hassle?

Tell me where i'm going wrong.

Thanks!yes. i always carry maps. nice to know the fastest, easiest way out in case of emergency

[Johnny Swank]

[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana]I got a map of the entire Long Trail that is on one map sheet. It's broken up into five vertical maps on each side. If all the Mountain Clubs went to this format instead of what they have now, there would be a lot fewer maps to carry.

I'd pay a premium for a full AT map set like that. I'd like to go at least 150-200 miles per map (front and back), and cutting out some of the extra crap and doing some formatting could make that happen.

[Skyline]

+1 on carrying maps. I always get people who "don't need them" asking to take a peak at mine.



Bet they're the same people who don't "need" stoves, water treatment, etc. but always "borrow" from others. Maybe even the same folks who don't "need" to carry a tent but demand those already crowded into shelters move into tents so they can grab their shelter space.

[10-K]

What's nuts is having a bunch of 1 sided maps.

[Bear Cables]

Make good quality color copies of the trail on each section then cut out the sections that show what you need, tape sections together and seal with clear contact paper. You can also copy just the pages you need from the trail guide and put them on the back side of the pieced together map. Just roll or fold it up and the contact paper protects and strenghtens the map.

[The Old Fhart]

AeroGuyDC-"Thank you for your input. However, I disagree that 100 miles is "a lot of hiking." Considering that it only covers ~5 percent of the entire trail, 4 maps, two of which have only tidbits of my planned section, does seem like a lot of maps to me. I was looking for experienced input, not sarcastic diatribe."Sometimes when one asks what is a stupid question (your own words), they can expect a range of answers-some they won't like. I always find it amusing that some people complain about the weight of maps. If you want to hike a certain section of the trail and do the wise thing and carry maps, that is part of the trip, just like you need more food and money to hike longer distances. In order to give maps the detail they consider necessary for hiking they have to use a certain scale and that makes the hiking maps larger than your average state road map.

I've carried all 7 ME maps thru the state and that never killed me. Four of the Maine maps total just over 4 ounces, hardly a back breaker. Maybe if I was a gram weenie I'd get concerned about 4 ounces but on a hike I try not to worry about the small stuff. If you were complaining about the quality and detail of the old Keystone maps then you might find more agreement. ;)

[Blissful]

Laurie P of ATC makes a good point to bring maps with the fire danger and possible reroutes - see the trail news forum

[elray]

I've had hikers tell me that they aren't interested in knowing what's ahead and prefer to hike the Trail as is comes. As for myself, a one and two week section hiker, I can't be without a map. I need to know where I'm at in order time my finish and find pickup points. And on one occasion was forced off the Trail by a heavy snowfall and with the map knew exactly which blue blazed trail would lead me down to a Ranger Station. Take the maps, you'll make lots of friends who are interested in seeing them.

[SGT Rock]

I bet that guy that went home after getting rescued on his first day on the trail didn't have maps.

[Hikes in Rain]

If he did, bet you could get them cheap! :-?

[TIDE-HSV]

OT for the AT, but I encountered a fellow hiking the CDT (or so he thought) without maps. It was one of those situations where, if he were right about where he thought he was, then I was in the wrong place. We spread my maps out on the ground and I could show him that we were looking across a valley at the actual CD. He was lucky, in that he could intersect the CDT by hiking south - something he wouldn't have had a clue about without my maps...

[Kerosene]

Here is a great example of the value of having a map.

I encountered a dayhiker (actually a female high-school student) near Sam Moore Shelter in mid-October 2001, about 3 miles south of Bears Den Hostel. It was later in the day, and the next road crossing was 11 miles south, so I thought it strange that she was going in that direction. I asked her where she was heading and she was appropriately vague. I finally convinced her to look at my map, which made it clear that she had been walking in the wrong direction to get home from Snickers Gap where her friends had dropped her off. She would have had a very cold night and some worried parents if I hadn't convinced her to turn around.

[OHBob]

Had some similar experiences with meeting people without a map. Last summer while I was on the John Muir Trail, a man stopped by my camp commenting on several hikers he meet down the trial who "thought they were on the JMT." I informed him that, yes, they were. He actually had directed the hikers to a different route. I met those hikers a day later, and fortunately they had run into a second hiker who knew where he was. I spread my map out and directed the man to a nearby ranger station since he was off trail considerably and we couldn't even find where he wanted to go on that section of the JMT map.
In another incident on the same trip, a hiking companin and I were resting at an intersection of a couple of trails when three people came trudging down the JMT. They had gone about four miles on the wrong trail, realized they were "lost" and returned to the intersection, still not sure where to go. My hiker companion and I pointed them in the right direciton on the map;
Most of the trails are clearly marked, but if one gets off, a map does come in handy.

[SGT Rock]

Helped a couple of turned around day hikers once. They had cell phones and a GPS, but no maps. A lot of good the GPS did them.

I've used maps to find things that are not in the guide, like the fact that 0.2 off on a side trail is a campsite and water, when the choices by the guides were miles back the way I came or miles further ahead to the next water source.

High water with a bridge washed out and no crossing possible, I've found road walks that get me around the deluge.

And finally, when you are walking back and forth across a road with nice views while the trail stays "in-the-weeds" it's nice to pick an alternate route and know where to get back on the trail and stay there.

[emerald]

In Pennsylvania, where many different public agencies manage A.T. lands, to comply with pertinent laws and regulations, you will need maps and need to know where you are at all times, otherwise you'd better be good at reading signs and hope none of them are missing.

Don't let anyone tell you there is no enforcement either because they don't know what they're talking about. It may be random, but it happens and the fines are intended to communicate compliance is expected.

[10-K]

Not exactly a dangerous situation but the last time I hiked from Devil's Fork Gap to Erwin I passed a couple that parked at Sam's Gap and were hiking up to Big Bald for a picnic lunch.

The only trouble was they were halfway to Devil's Fork Gap when I ran into them... :) If we hadn't stopped to chat and asked where each other was headed who knows when they would have figured out that they had hiked in the wrong direction..... The male half of the couple didn't believe me at first until I showed him on my map.

[Old Grouse]

I was once doing an out-and-back day hike. Got to my turn-around point - a state highway - and decided to make it easy on myself by roadwalking back to my car instead of reclimbing the same hill I'd just gone over. If I'd had a map I would have known I was actually adding four hot and weary miles. Learned my lesson that day, but was thankful that it wasn't a more painful lesson.

[TIDE-HSV]

Helped a couple of turned around day hikers once. They had cell phones and a GPS, but no maps. A lot of good the GPS did them.

I had to chuckle here. Several years ago, friends ours were making a flight to Alaska along with another couple, both in their little Cessna 182s. I asked if they were taking GPSs. My friend pointed out that, for where they were going, there were no maps, and longitude and latitude didn't really do you a lot of good...

[SGT Rock]

Especially if you don't know how to use them.

[TIDE-HSV]

Well, since they flew from HSV to the Alaskan outback, they certainly knew how to use aviation maps. This was pre-Google Maps. It's possible that the areas they were going now have maps of a sort, even if not USGS...