Excuse my ignorance but do PCT thru-hikers need to carry maps? Do you need maps to thru hike the PCT and if so what is the source of the maps?
Downunda
Maps for PCT Hike?
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#2
Maps are very important, IMHO, for the PCT. I just came back from a section and found maps to be helpful to stay on the trail when over treeline, trekking through snow. Furthermore, it was imperitive to know where possible outs were should there be an emergency. The PCT is remote and there are often sections where you don’t cross a road for days. I think its careless and irresponsible not to be prepared when you head out.
Check out www.pcta.org
Grimace
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#3
I agree that maps are a good idea, no matter where you are hiking. Getting lost was never too much of a problem on my thru-hike, but the maps come in handy in the places mentioned above and in the desert where you are trying to identify jepp road #4 vs. jeep road #5. The bummer is that the only maps are published in the guidebooks. You cannot buy them seperately which means purchasing the books, cutting them up, coordinating mail drops and hoping it all works out. There is a site on the web… something like Mike’s PCT Maps (someone’s name)…and you can download maps someone made from their GPS that I saw a bunch of people carrying. They are color topos and even have elevation profiles; they seemed way superior to the book’s black and white maps. Good luck and happy trails!
Cross Country
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#4
check out http://www.morethanamile.com/pctcd/
haven’t used these myself (my long hike is many moons away), but they look awesome.
emma
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#5
Cross Country - I have the Pacific Crest Trail volumes 1 and 2 (Wilderness Press) which has some repro maps in them that are of fairly poor quality. Are they they the guidebooks you are referring to or are there others available?
Downunda
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#6
David- Yes, those are the maps that I used. The maps are actually pretty accurate, but it takes some getting used to because the scale varies from map to map. One may be of a very small area with lots of detail and the next may be a wide area with little detail.
Of some concern, the maps often are little or no help if trying to get OUT of the wilderness and into civilization. When our dog got wounded, and we had to hitch to Sisters the maps were useless for seeing where roads led or which was the best route. We had a road map from our trip to Campo and we carried the CA page for the beginning of the trip which helped when hitching (we had to reroute at Yosemite to drop off our dog because the he wasn’t allowed in the park.
I have heard a new edition is now/soon(?) available from Wilderness Press for California and they split it into two volumes. Probably expensive, but you amy want to see if there are any significant differences in the quality of the maps.
Cross Country
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#7
the new CA editions are available. the maps are the same, but Wilderness Press plans to digitize them in the next 5 years. i have no idea whether that means the quality of the maps will improve or not. i miagine they will remain “strip maps,” that they will show the trail and closely located landmarks, but not much beyond.
you can get the books from Amazon for $13 each, or buy them through the PCTA for $20 each and help support the trail, too.
emma
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#8
Other map resources can be found off the pct link page at http://siechert.org/adz/pct_links.htm.
Cal
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#10
I have a friend who is a mapmaker. He frequently digitizes maps from other maps and satellite images. From what I’ve read in this forum we need accurate hiking maps with detailed information covering not only the trail areas, but also exit routes to civilization. Would elevation & GPS coordinates at particular points come in handy? Would we want elevation contour lines? How would you like it set up? In a book starting from the north and each page is one quadrant to the south, a big fold out or other suggestions. How far should it range out to the east & west? What would be a reasonable price range for something like this if it’s good quality and what most every hiker desires? Maybe he would practice and post it online for free and get feedback until it’s perfected. It’s time to put our heads together & come up with something. This could just be a pipedream but it will be fun to experiment and create our own wish list.
Regards,
BigSwede99 (Joe)
BigSwede99