Newbie Questions
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:34 am
Hello all, I've done some searching on the posts here and am sure that these questions and answers have been posted a hundred times, so heres 101.
I would say I am a level 2.5 backpacker. I do at least a couple trips a year. I'm going to do at leat 5 trips this season if it kills me though. I am planning a short 3 day warm up trip in the Domeland Wilderness in early May. It seems like a good pick because it gets so hot there in the summer, and the higher ups are still under alot of snow. My trips are always focused around fly fishing. I will be staging a car at Long Valley campground on the bottom end and hiking in from Kennedy meadows. So here we go.
1. Maps-In researching trail maps I have completely overwhelmed myself. In the past I have relied on the old Delorme for the big picture and GPS once I'm there. It has served me well to an extent, bu I sure have underestimated distance and elevation on a few trips and it sure is painful. What would you reccomend for the best all around mapping resource, be it hard copy and or digital? Is buying software pack from a place like National Geographics maps program worthwhile, or just use googlemaps? Are online subscriptions i.e. trails .com worth having?
2. Out of the way places. In planning this trip I have spoken to a few locals, mainly the bar tender at the Kern River Brewing Co. Grant, the guy knows everything about anywhere you can hike to in the Sierras. He spoke of an old cabin and some indian pictographs in the basin. He gave me directions, but I dont trust myself. The locations are not on any maps I can find. What resources, if any, do you use to locate these historic but obscure locations?
Thanks in advance for your feedback and advice.
I would say I am a level 2.5 backpacker. I do at least a couple trips a year. I'm going to do at leat 5 trips this season if it kills me though. I am planning a short 3 day warm up trip in the Domeland Wilderness in early May. It seems like a good pick because it gets so hot there in the summer, and the higher ups are still under alot of snow. My trips are always focused around fly fishing. I will be staging a car at Long Valley campground on the bottom end and hiking in from Kennedy meadows. So here we go.
1. Maps-In researching trail maps I have completely overwhelmed myself. In the past I have relied on the old Delorme for the big picture and GPS once I'm there. It has served me well to an extent, bu I sure have underestimated distance and elevation on a few trips and it sure is painful. What would you reccomend for the best all around mapping resource, be it hard copy and or digital? Is buying software pack from a place like National Geographics maps program worthwhile, or just use googlemaps? Are online subscriptions i.e. trails .com worth having?
2. Out of the way places. In planning this trip I have spoken to a few locals, mainly the bar tender at the Kern River Brewing Co. Grant, the guy knows everything about anywhere you can hike to in the Sierras. He spoke of an old cabin and some indian pictographs in the basin. He gave me directions, but I dont trust myself. The locations are not on any maps I can find. What resources, if any, do you use to locate these historic but obscure locations?
Thanks in advance for your feedback and advice.