passions for maps

“as i have said before I love looking at maps i could sit for hours doing that.
my husband and myself once went to Marthas Vineyard MASS. we stayed at an old captians house. and in the entrance way he had put up all his maps of all the places he had visited with his family on his boat. i stood there for hours looking at all the places he went to.

when im getting ready to go on a trip i sit and look at my maps over and over all the time!
does anyone else have this passion or this obsession?”

“Let's just say you're not the only one.

The last place I worked had broadband access, and I downloaded all of the USGS 1:100000 maps for the Appalachian Trail. That's pretty bad.”

“Yes - it's one of the best parts of trip prep. Can't have to many maps.

I've been cosidering buying some of the topo map software. Hope that doesn't take the fun out of it.

BTW - if you use Trails Illustrated maps, the kind that are waterproof/tearproof, DO NOT get 100% DEET on them, it removes the printing.”

“Our spare bedroom, where I keep all my gear, looks like a layout of the PCT the JMT and the TRT. I love maps, I have a bookshelf full of guide books with the associated topos. Before a trip, I will be in that room for hours looking at the trails and intersections.”

“I'm too cheap to buy the Topo software. What is it, $100? Crazy!”

“I have maps on my walls, one is a raised relief map of Maine - I have one at home and one at the office. Yesterday was a crappy day at work, so I went to B&N and bought a new map and guidebook. Made me feel soooo much better.”

“I love topozone

I buy a few maps, but get much of what I need by printing maps from there.”

“MAPS SUCK MAJOR ASSAGE!”

“Sounds like somebody can't read or fold a map.”

“kleetn,

yes this is the next person id like to go into the wilderness with...






NOT”

“Oh yes. Many many hours. And not just before a trip, but after the trip and anytime I lay hands on one.

I also like topozone and terraserver.com, the latter a satellite photo service. Click on search and then USGS for free downloads of your favorite spots (including your home neighborhood).

Its fun to try and find things on terraserver.com.”

“I used to frequent small airports where I could purchase the detailed maps that the pilots used. Then I would search for back roads that could get me into the wilderness areas.”

“hey maple......!!!!!!
Just wanted to say hi and so......HI!
Enjoying the trip here, and hoping to get back soon to nyc. Hope ur doing good, and yes......I love maps too..hehe
Cheers...
Zay!”

“Finally! A support group. I feel better just knowing I'm not alone.

So, do you guys also have a dedicated filing cabinet drawer just for maps? Have you recently upgraded printers so that your printed topozone maps will be clearer? Do you have dozens of maps of places you've never been to just because you want to go there someday? Do you keep the maps of the places you've been to and every map of everyplace on the way there just in case you go there again? Are you running out of harddrive space because of your downloaded maps?

I just want to know I'm not alone.”

“True dat. I can't read or fold maps.

Please forgive me, for I have sinned. If this gets out, I may lose my cartographers license.”

“No one is alone on the Internet skully, whatever their, uh, interest is.

Anybody else prefer polar projections to Mercator?”

“You know I'm just kidding kleetn!

Skully-yep, we've got piles of maps all over the house. Some are very good, some are totally useless. Most are for places we've never been to. I even keep a large map of the Smokies in my car!”

“Ya never know when the Smoky Mountains will jump up in front of you and you'll need a map for them...”

“As noted in some of my earlier posts, I am definitely a map nut. Also, I use TOPO! software, which is like heroin to map addicts like me. I have the California and Montana series (which you can buy for 89 bucks at some website - if you want, I can find it) and probably spend way too much time poring over them. For me, that price is well worth it. I also use them for work (engineering) as location maps, etc. in reports. Trivia note: there is a USGS quad map in Montana named after my family!”

“More like...you never know when your mind might be wandering while you're driving and you end up at the Smokies. Don't laugh, it could happen.”

“what i like to do when i go any where is get maps of the area.
god i even see ads on tv about vaction places and call and get info about it. i love AAA becasue all i have to do is call and they send me maps. then i sit and pour over the map and look for an area that has what im looking for in a backpacking trip. then try to get the topo map.
yes i have MANY maps of the places i plan on visiting when i retire!!


thank god im not alone.

stands and says
"Hi im a map whore
ive been reading maps for about 3 years now and cant seem to stop."
(sits back down and lights a smoke and drinks a cup of coffee and thanks god that, thats over with)
everyone applauds”

“skullcap - You aare definitely not alone.

But I no longer need a map of GSMNP and do not carry one while backpacking. And I'll be there soon and be enjoying it until Nov. I am at home there when I am deep in the woods in my little tent with a warm sleeping bag. It is more comfortable and relaxing than being in my Florida trailer.”

“Bit and skully y'all have no idea how true that is with Treebait and I.

We once drove up on friday dayhiked on saturday and drove home again on sunday on a whim.”

“Called the fool and the company,
On his own where he'd rather be.
Where he ought to be, he sees what you can't see, can't you see that?

Maybe he's caught in the legend,
maybe he's caught in the mood.
Maybe these maps and legends
have been misunderstood.

Down the way the road's divided,
Paint me the places you have seen.
Those who know what I don't know
refer to the yellow, red and green

Maybe he's caught in the legend,
maybe he's caught in the mood.
Maybe these maps and legends
have been misunderstood.

He's not to be reached, he's to be reached. (4 times)

The map that you painted didn't seem real.
He just sings whatever he's seen
Point to the legend, point to the east,
Point to the yellow, red and green

Maybe he's caught in the legend,
maybe he's caught in the mood.
Maybe these maps and legends
have been misunderstood,
been misunderstood. (maps and legends)

(maps and legends) Is he to be reached? He's not to be reached.
(maps and legends) Is he to be reached? He's not to be reached.
(maps and legends) Is he to be reached? He's not to be reached anymore.”

“What bloody talent.”

“You need a license to draw maps?

Who knew?

I have Terrain Navigator and Streets loaded on my laptop. I like to drive around with my GPS attached so I can tell exactly where I am. Transfering waypoints and routes is also a favorite past time. I make custom maps and I don't even have a license.”

“you outlaw you!!
your the jessy james of backpacking”

“HPM picked up the Trails Illustrated set of maps for ALL the national parks on sale recently. Pretty cool.”

“He's dangerous. A loner. A rebel. A rogue cartographer. Who knows what kind of havoc this will wreak on the maps of the world!”

“The Trails Illustrated maps really don't show much detail. It was useless for bushwacking last Sunday. All it really showed was downhill, and I sure didn't need a map for that!”

“ban kleetn!

for being a map hater!!


you map hater”

“I like to get maps to where ever I travel! Also to every National Forest or/ NP I go to, I collect the patches for that area.

Then when my kids grow up they have the chance to follow my foot steps. I even collect their own patches to where they go as well.”

“I gotta have a map of where I'm going. Not just any map, a USGS Quad showing the most accurate topographic features compared to any other map. I always scan the map to get to know the trail and surrounding terrain prior to a trip, and I'm always following where I am on the map throughout the hike...they are indespensible!!!”

“Just don't follow the topo if you find yourself on the Blackbird Knob Trail on the Dolly Sods. The map has the trail on the wrong side of the hill!”

“I'm always finding wrong trails when I hike them. Frankly, the map doesn't show trails parallelling the west side of Red Creek (but if you hike it you'll find trails...and the BEST campsites).

Check out my first Dolly Sod report.

I did make it back there last year and hiked almost allthe trails in one weekend (set up camp and dayhiked). I posted a trip report, but it somehow got lost in the TT engine.”

“Yeah, I recall a path along the west side of the creek where the BKT crosses it.

Here's a website for a Sods map updated by GPS plots and probably the most accurate trail map extent.”

“One of the best parts of hiking the CDT was looking at the maps and saying, "we can go here or we can go there, or maybe over there." There were so many possibilities, looking at the maps, and we had the freedom to choose whichever route we wanted, as long as we kept heading south. It was terrific. Going through the Great Basin in Wyoming, through New Mexico, and in the Winds this was especially true. On occasion we would reach a junction and get out the maps and say, "Okay, do we follow the divide along here, or follow the trail down there." Freedom - and infinite possibilities.”

“Are you sure your "Passion" for maps hasnt gone too far? Are you keeping them under your pillow with the twinkies? Are you lining your tin foil hat with a map because they have mystical powers? Did you have an intimate relation with it last night? Do you like your maps better then your S.O.?

just a thought ;?”

“Hey DOM, don't talk about my maps that way, and why would you say such a perverted thing in the first place?”

“"I gotta have a map of where I'm going. Not just any map, a USGS Quad showing the most accurate topographic features compared to any other map. I always scan the map to get to know the trail and surrounding terrain prior to a trip, and I'm always following where I am on the map throughout the hike...they are indespensible!!!"
Buddur
02:09:56 PM
08/07/02




Oh good. I thought that was also an obsession unique to me. I feel much better now.”

“DOM,

thats pretty funny!

but im not telling”

“Having USGS Quads was not enough for me. I can get USGS quads for free. Instead I decided to pay for a program that allows me to print my own USGS quads with my own trails, waypoints, notes, etc.”

“any way to preserve map o'choice on trail (no deet, check)
i look/fold at it so much they wear quik (b/4 done hikin).
right now band to hand for constant ref. and ball into storage to keep lines random”

“I have Maptech software. I purchased it with the Isle Royale National Park CD and it cost $20. To purchase two maps, it would have cost $15. I wanted to get one for a friend so I figured I would get the software and send maps to my friend. You can do soooo many neat things with the software. But, map freak that I am, I still ended up buying the weather proof topo from the park headquarters. :)”

“Yah, map software is great for planning, but unless you've got a large-scale plotter, you still need a paper map to use on the trail. Unless you're toting that laptop with you, of course.

A couple of years and the handhelds will be useful enough to do stuff like that.”

“we need more satellites. long live gps.”

“I LOVE MAPS!!! I look at them before, during and after trips...... when I'm already thinking, geez, I could go here... or there....

In my area, good ole Ioway, I like to find old maps to look for old, long abandonned railroad beds and former roads for nice hikes or bike rides.

I have Streets 8. Not bad. And I LOVE MY GPS, TOO!!”

“i wanna get one of those map holders that strap onto the back of yer pack or whereever you want & then garfums skitter juice wont fawk up the spot he has gotten us lost in. also it would save me all the hassell of getting it out of his pack & unfolding & refoldin it.”

“Hello, My name is Shawn,

and . . .


I'm a map-aholic.”

“
"Yah, map software is great for planning, but unless you've got a large-scale plotter, you still need a paper map to use on the trail. Unless you're toting that laptop with you, of course.

A couple of years and the handhelds will be useful enough to do stuff like that."
bitpusher
09:34:22 PM
08/07/02


I print 8x11 from topozone and make a "trip tic" like AAA. Disposable, cheap, easy fold and I don't mind if I mark it up.”