Halfmile PCT downloadable Maps are No Longer Available

When I hike I use physical maps (I'm not a Smartphone/ Guthook kind of guy). I was very disappointed today to learn that Halfmile is no longer producing his fine downloadable maps of the PCT.

See here...

https://pctmap.net/2019/12/05/nation...now-available/

He instead has collaborated with National Geographic to produce a maps available for purchase from the PCTA. I have not ordered any yet, but no doubt the quality is fine. I am just going to miss the convenience of going online to do my research, and printing out just what I need for the next section hike.

Thank you Halfmile, for all the work you did all these years. I very much appreciated the work you put into producing your fine maps.

Yeah, I saw someone post on another forum that he was taking them down at the end of the year, so I made sure I had all the latest ones and told all my trail friends to grab them while they could. I thru-hiked the trail before the Half Mile maps existed, but have since used some of them for redoing sections of it since they were really convenient to just grab at the last minute. I'm grateful for all the work Halfmile put into them.

I'm sure the Nat Geo maps are fine. Only issue is they will likely not update them very often so they'll miss some of the very minor trail updates that happen; most hikers will probably not even notice any reroutes (even if they were aware) as they aren't very common or long on the PCT, unlike the AT. That said, anyone seen the new maps yet? Are they showing a wider area around the trail? Or is it about the same as Halfmile's.

Miner, I have two section maps on the way. I will let you know once they arrive.

At $15 each buying all 11 maps could get quite expensive, although there is a 'full map bundle' deal for $125.

I received the National Geographic maps today.

As expected they are high quality maps made of sturdy water resistant paper. I was surprised to see that the maps were produced in 'book form' (you flip pages) rather than one large folding map.

The scale of these maps is 1.2 mile per inches vs. the 0.5 miles per inch of the half mile maps. I liked the fine scale of the half mile maps because usually trail location was shown in such detail that I could tell exactly where I was on the map by counting switchbacks and such. Some of that detail gets lost at the larger scale. Some of halfmiies comments (such as warnings for upcoming long dry sections) survive on the Nat. Geo. maps, but some of that detail is also lost. You would definitely want to also print out the water report and town information to complement the Nat. Geo./ maps.

On the plus side the Nat. Geo. maps do a much better job of clearly identifying things like Park Boundaries. The larger scale allows you to see a bit more of the surrounding area, which might be helpful if you need to bale mid-route.

However, I think my overall plan will be to continue using an archived copy of Halfmile's maps until they become totally obsolete. I enjoy the fine detail, and also the ability to print just what is needed, and then dispose of the used maps as I hike (or take notes on them for when I get home).

I downloaded Halfmile's gpx waypoint files so I can import them into any mapping app. Google maps, arcgis, and more. I use Backcountry Navigator and download maps for offline use as well as import them into Google maps to overlay on Satellite view. I haven't tried creating any printed maps yet.

I just have a copy of the Washington section. Wouldn't mind if someone would send me CA and OR. Email is [email protected]

they are available here for now...get em while you can

http://edthesmokebeard.com/unofficia...2018-pct-maps/