I was driving to work the other day I noticed the power lines that ran along side the road and the area that had been cleared underneath them. So I got to wondering if these "trails" would provide a feasable get out of town route. Aside from downed power lines, the chances for which are probably less significant here than in other places, as we have very low earthquake risk and tornadoes are pretty infrequent, are there drawbacks to this that I have not thought of? Also, is there a place to get a map that shows these clearings? The topo and road maps that I have don't. I have this funny feeling that if I were to call up the power company and ask for a map of their powerline network, (I live just outside of DC) I'd be arrested before I hung up the phone <img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Thanks in advance,
Chris.

You have a couple of options. Some of the "custom printed" topo maps do indeed have the high voltage power lines and/or gas lines marked on them (that information is in the DMA data base). Another option is to buy overhead photos of the areas that you are interested in. You can get them scaled/centered to match topos and these days they cost about the same.

In many places around here (NH, USA) these power lines are maintained as snow-mobile / Dirt-bike trails. The local clubs often have maps of the lines and great information on the tough spots on these trails that you might have trouble with in a sedan (like all of it) If you have a good 4X4 or a ATV then these are essentially open highways that will not be over congested. The are not much use in an urban area. For urban alternative roadways you might want to consider the rail lines. These also run just about everywhere and are easily accessible. Some of the draw-backs of rail-lines is having to get over to allow a train to pass and the legality of using them. Some of the advantages of rail-lines is that they are guaranteed to go through without obstacles (other than the trains) . If you are going to plan on the rail lines then find out what frequency they communicate on and listen in also get as much scheduling information as you can. Don't go into rail tunnels! There is no way to pass a train in a tunnel!

In some parts of the country, the power company does not own the land that the lines run along, they just rent or lease it. You might risk scaring a land owner if you go barreling through during bad times. Just something to consider.

Good point!

You might even do worse than scare them....depending on how bad the times are they may not appreciate the intruder.

I know I've chased off some folks who thought that they had the right to be on the power line that runs across my property (it's leased to the power company--nobody else).

So it's probably a good idea to at least concider whose land you are crossing or at least how close you might be to houses/barns/etc.

I dont know about power lines but the Rails-to-Trails org provies maps that cover converted railroad lines. These trails are great on a mountain bike or ATV. You might get a good SUV or even a car down some in a true emergency (you do not want to practice this before hand).

Many of these trail go surprisingly deep into many large cities.

http://www.railtrails.org/

http://www.traillink.com/

Thank all of you for your input.

Chris.