Maps on the cdt

imported
#1

Hi all, iam planning the CDT from June/July next year going south. For the details map i will use the 4 trail books made by bearcreeks which seems very detailed and reliable. But the downside of them is that you dont have on overview of the surrounding area of the trail. Therefore i thought it would be good to have on the top of that the state maps for the different states the CDT going through (NM-CO-MN-WO) and some hiking maps for national parks like yellowstone where it might be interesting to get out of the main trail sometimes. What do you think and which brand would you recommand for state maps and hiking maps. For hiking maps i heard of national geographic one but for state maps no idea. Thanks for your advices.

Cedric

Cedric

#2

This is what we did for a 2006 thru hike.
Detail maps: email jonathan@phlumf.com He will mail you a CD with his maps. Send him a donation for the time he put into the maps.
Delorme Gazetteer: Outline the route onto the Delorme maps with a highlighter. These were great for finding alternate routes.
State maps: Didn’t use these much but they were fun to look at while in camp. Email each state and tell them you are traveling through their state and the state will mail you a free state map.

For a few areas I bought National Geographic Trail Illustrated maps which were nice to have, but not necessary.

I also had a Garmin GPS with maps loaded on it.

Have fun on your trip!

Mat

#3

I brought the Delorme maps but they were useless to me. They work for “big picture” planning, but a GPS will work better for that same purpose. I wouldn’t bring Delorme maps ever again. The T.I. maps (and several others that Yogi recommends) are fun and interesting but also unnecessary. I wouldn’t bring those maps ever again either.

Jonathan Ley maps are a MUST. Jim Wolf guidebook pages are great too. Xeroxing the Wolf descriptions onto the back of the Ley maps is useful and efficient but time consuming. I’ve never seen the bearcreeks’ trail books while hiking on the trail, so I cannot comment on their content. However, the fact that “I’ve never seen the bearcreeks’ trail books while hiking on the trail” is a huge negative, but maybe they’re great.

fandango

#4

I did NM with the Ley maps and CO with the Bearcreek Maps. I got lost a bunch in NM. I did NOT get lost in CO using the Bearcreek maps and a gps. They are hands down, the best resource out there. Waypoints every half mile or so which are spot on accurate - I was using a Garmin 60CSX and the ones I checked were all within a few feet. The maps are gridded so you can actually figure out where you are with a gps. No comparison, really. Go with the Bearcreek maps and get a few of the TI ones for overview.

I agree that Delorme maps are worthless.

Wayon

#5

I agree with Wayon, except you have to remember that the bearcreek maps are only of the official trail route. If you plan to take alternates you need the Ley maps. I used a combination of the two last year in CO and that worked ok. I used bearcreek as much as I could but had decided to do the Silverthorne alternate to visit a friend. I realized then how much I had gotten spoiled by the bearcreek maps and was happy when I got back on the main trail to start using them again. The bearcreek maps are easier to use, nicer maps, accurate to the extreme.

I am using a combo of the two (bearcreek and ley) again this year and hope to finish in Canada in late August.

AJ

#6

Thank you all for you advises. BC’s & Jonathan Ley maps seems to be the best option for official routes and alternatives one.

Cedric

#7

I just finished the CDT SOBO. For NM and CO I had Bear Creek and had Ley for the whole trail. Bear Creek are great maps that are everything everyone said about them. Ley maps were good for showing the alternate routes (BC only show the official trail) and have very useful trail notes especially for water sources. In hindsight I’d still take both.

Transient

#8

I am using as primary maps the BC for 2013 attempt with Ley as alternate. I receive my disk from Ley in 2010. Think too many changes have occurred since then??
-SunnyWalker

Dave