Maps

[yotarunner77]

I was wondering how important is it to cary maps of the AT with me on my nobo hike next year. It seams to me that they would be somewhat pointless while on the trail but also usful when planning a resuply or zero day in town or to find a shelter. I have cut all the pages out of my through hikers companion and put them in a small binder and plan on taking only the pages I need between my bounce box pickups, will that be sufficient to aid me in making plans as I go?

[map man]

Some hike the AT without maps. I wouldn't do it myself (but then again my trail name is "map man" so what would you expect me to say). But seriously, the times you really want a map are when you make a wrong turn, and no one who has done a decent amount of hiking has ever avoided making some wrong turns.

[Montana Mac]

It has been discussed many times. Be ready for as many opinions are there are members

On my 09 hike I carried them and the pages from the guide book for the section I was hiking. Would get the next ones in my drop box and mail home the ones I no longer wanted.

If you want them carry them. I am the type of person that I enjoy using a map and compass to pinpoint the area I am in.

Remember to HYOH

[royalusa]

Wow...just went back and reread some of the previous threads on map usage. The WB'ers who posted seemed to either carry them or think that they were carried by "most" people. I can only remember meeting a handful of people on our 2008 thru-hike who had them. Perhaps we were always in a mapless pocket of hikers?? Or perhaps the majority of WB'ers who respond to map posts are "map people"?? We did not carry them and if we were to hike again, would not carry them. But you need to figure out what works best for you...HYOH.

Rather than opening the same ol' can of worms on map usage, here's some threads that already discuss this topic: (found via the SEARCH button)

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=67526

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=68445

[fredmugs]

On my first section hike I didn't have maps and wished I had them. Now that I have a GPS I would not do a thru hike with maps although I enjoy seeing the upcoming elevation profiles. Any relevant info you could get from a thru hikers handbook (water, shelters, hostels, post offices, restaurants, etc) you could put in the GPS before leaving.

[jeffmeh]

Having grown up hiking the Whites, where the weather can create an "emergency" pretty quickly during all 4 seasons, I have never considered maps to be a luxury item. There have only been a few instances where I really needed them, generally when taking the quickest route below tree-line to get out of a thunderstorm, but in those cases they enabled finding a relatively safe descent and re-ascent (or exit). I generally led trips of kids, so it was a no-brainer for those. By myself, in an area I know well, I sometimes consider leaving the map behind, but I always throw it in anyway.

I believe my son will be using http://www.toposports.com/main/ on his Blackberry. From the limited experimentation I have done with it, it looks pretty good. Load all the maps for the trip before hitting the trail, and you have them in case they are needed. That, a minimalist compass, and some loose-leaf pages from AWOL's guide should do it with very little weight penalty, assuming that he will be taking the Blackberry anyway for music, camera, and communications.

[4shot]

maps were very useful to me. twice I had to get off trail to find a water source. once took a wrong turn. Maps helped me get back to the trail without retracing my footsteps. Maps are very helpful but they are not necessary as most people don't carry them. If I thru-hiked again, I'd carry them.

[10-K]

I don't use maps to follow the AT, I use maps to know what's around me in relation to where I am and that can be helpful at times.

It's also kinda fun to orient the map with a compass during lunch and just look around identifying land features - one of the things I like to do is figure out exactly where I am by triangulating 2 identifiable points. But I could live without it - it's just fun to do.

[yotarunner77]

Thanks for all the tips....I think I will take them and decide once im on the trail what I prefer

[sarman]

as a sarman, I never leave home without them. I'll take a map over a gps any day hiking, especially a long distance hike. But I did carry my iphone and it has a gps app, and a compass, and a camera, and a phone, and internet, and, and.......

[Lando11]

as a sarman, I never leave home without them. I'll take a map over a gps any day hiking, especially a long distance hike. But I did carry my iphone and it has a gps app, and a compass, and a camera, and a phone, and internet, and, and.......

Leave the map/guidebook at home as well! you can download pdf's of either guidebook and load it onto your phone or kindle if you choose to carry one.

[kayak karl]

leave the maps home, how lost can you really get.

[Carl in FL]

If you are taking electronics along, I would suggest using the AT-TOPO maps
as an offline guide. There are almost 300 detailed topographical maps in PDF
format, and each map shows all of the features and services ON the trail, as
well as elevation information and section difficulty.

They are not designed to assist with off-trail services, but are (in my
unprofessional opinion) a valuable tool.

[House of Payne]

I have been hiking and backpacking for over 30 years now and one thing I was taught when I was young was some simple fundamentals. I believe a map and compass are one of those items. In times of emergency, in times of being lost and in assisting others. Despite the weight I think it's the right thing to do, carry the maps.

[emerald]

Click on the link and note what's at the top of the list.

http://hikesafe.com/index.php?page=the-10-essentials

[Jack Tarlin]

This has been extensively discussed elsewhere here on Whiteblaze and I encourage you to check out some of these threads.

There are two and only two reasons not to carry maps......to save a few grams and to save a few bucks.

These are both lousy reasons.

Your decision to obtain, carry, and use current Trail maps is a very wise one.

[Kaptain Kangaroo]

A map can be like a first aid kit....... you don't need it until you need it.... & then you REALLY need it !


Do you need a first aid kit (map)to hike the AT.....No
Will you use a first aid kit (map) every day........No (well, hopefully not)
Is a first aid kit (map) an important piece of gear when things go wrong .......Yes

Your call, but many people consider maps an inportant piece of safety gear. Speaking from personal experience on my thru......... hiking over Max Patch through deep snow in a white-out......... I was very glad to have a map & compass to tell me the best way to bail out if I needed to.

[Tennessee Viking]

As a day-hiker and beginning maintainer, I used to carry them religiously when I started hiknig as I was not familiar with the trail. As I got more knowledgeable, I started leaving them at home.

For what I tell other hikers, maps are good to judge your days and distances, and plan out an itinerary. Tell which trailsheads and direction are closest to town.

Then again since the south is pretty well blazed and walked, and shelters and campsites are within a half-day or day from each other. You can really walk it without a map. But once you get of Mt Rogers or southern VA, there are small road walks and unmarked turns private property easements which you will need a map.

[Ender]

I've said it before... if you need to ask if you need to bring maps, then you should bring maps. Not bringing maps requires a level of skill and experience that if you have to ask if you have, then you don't have. So, bring the maps.

[emerald]

I hope you aren't suggesting going mapless is like riding a motorcycle without a helmet and the status it conveys.

Likely no one knows the A.T. over its entire length well enough to not benefit in some way from carrying maps and referring to them.

Hikers familiar enough with a locality to leave their maps at home have the information they would provide stored in their heads as a result of accumulated experience acquired through repeated visits under a variety of conditions.