High Sierra Topix

Usually carry a Tom Harrison when covering longer distances, but for x-country I feel the detail in them is just too shallow so I'll usually print my own from maps downloaded from USGS. I always love carrying the large scale Tom Harrison's regardless, love spreading it out on a trip and studying the nooks and crannies, identifying peaks and valleys that would take dozens of 7.5: USGS maps to identify.

Been mentioned before, but the Lassen and Plumas NF web sites have topo quads online. pdf files. 8.5x11 so you can print on your home printer (tip: use photo paper for a cleaner image).

From the individual forest web site go to the Maps & Publications section, then Print Quad Maps

These quads have been made for every California NF, but only these two have put them online for public downloading (I haven't checked every NF in a while, if someone finds other forests have done so please post back here).

Tom Harrison maps all the way. NG maps are hard to read and often leave out important details. The one I bought last year for Mt. Rainieer left out a part of a trail that connects from Crystal Lake to the PCT, an important deail. Even the NPS pamphlets they pass out at the gate showed the connection. Funny, an organization that basically invented the concept of modern maps is such a failure when it comes to current implementation.

Ikan Mas wrote:Tom Harrison maps all the way. NG maps are hard to read and often leave out important details. The one I bought last year for Mt. Rainieer left out a part of a trail that connects from Crystal Lake to the PCT, an important deail. Even the NPS pamphlets they pass out at the gate showed the connection. Funny, an organization that basically invented the concept of modern maps is such a failure when it comes to current implementation.

Very true about the accuracy of USGS quads. I'm not quite sure how old that trail segment is, but something I always check is to see what year a particular quad was last updated. In TOPO! you can simply right mouse click on the display and select properties to see the year.

Harrison maps are choice. I'm just too cheap to buy them.

I guess i just got sold on the NG maps because they cover all areas of the country and one map, unlike the USGS quads, covers the entire area that i'm hiking. For my next trip, which is in the sierras, I'll have to check out those tom harrison maps.

Someone might be able to correct me here, but I 'think' the NG maps are nothing more than cleaned up USGS maps that are stitched together to be seamless. As far as I know, USGS quads have full coverage of the USA. TH maps are a bit different, as I believe he creates most of the features found on the maps from scratch.

All maps, regardless of source, are only as accurate as the last update.

The problem with NG maps, or any seamless map set, is the marginal information is removed. So you have no idea when the map was last updated (and which features were updated), which may be a different date from just a few miles away.

I like the marginal information on my maps. Too much valuable information there to just cut off and discard.

dave54 wrote:All maps, regardless of source, are only as accurate as the last update.

The problem with NG maps, or any seamless map set, is the marginal information is removed. So you have no idea when the map was last updated (and which features were updated), which may be a different date from just a few miles away.

I like the marginal information on my maps. Too much valuable information there to just cut off and discard.

I don't have one of the newer versions of NG TOPO! but on the version I have, you can right-mouse-click anywhere on the map display and bring up "About This Map" from the menu for some of the marginal info. It doesn't provide you with everything hard copy margins contain, but it does at least provide the quad name, map version, year of last update and elevation source/vertical precision info.

Mike M. wrote:By the way, there was a post here (it was moved to the gear board) that talked about a great deal for TOPO! customers to upgrade to new state maps. The idea was that owners of Wildflower Productions TOPO! regional series maps could upgrade to a National Geographic TOPO state series map for only $19.95, plus shipping. When I called, National Geographic told me it wasn't true, the offer did not exist. I wonder if the original poster can shed some light on this. (I posted this on the gear board too but it is not as active as this board.)

Mike

Mike, that was me who posted about TOPO! Wildflower and the great deal on newer software. As I posted on the original thread, the deal was as I noted... If you were a former TOPO! Wildflower customer who'd picked up the Regional Series CD's (there were several, each for a different area of, in my case, California), then I was told, over the phone, by the NatGeo rep who'd responded to my initial inquiry and told me to call him, that there was a standing offer, still on the books, as it were, that you were eligible to purchase the newer version, one State Series TOPO! package, for $19.95 + S&H.

Kevin Lance was the guy's name, and he was a department supervisor who'd informed me this was the deal offered several years back when they stopped offering the Wildflower version, and began offering the newer version. He also informed me the offer was still valid, as the "upgrade" offer was never rescinded. I use quote marks because he was insistent that the new TOPO! 4 version was NOT an upgrade, that it was an entirely new version of TOPO! (accounting for why you could not simply go to the NatGeo site and download - free - the new improved version), but that it was a simple matter.

Check out that prior thread, as I noted his contact info. there.

similar topics on this board in the past

7.5m USGS topos because I'm off trail often so need more accuracy than 15m
offtrail my map is often handing from a string on my chest strap right in front of me
where i can use it continually
these days will often print out maps from libremap project and enhance them
or fromacme especially for short spur of the moment trips.