Get the best maps you can. The DeLorme atlases are OK, they work, but they don't have the fine detail of the USGS maps (but both are often a bit long in the tooth). For the critical areas, I like having the USGSes, and a chopped DeLorme for the less critical areas in BoB. But if you can afford it, USGSes for the whole thing- a map case made of PVC is bulky, but bugging out by car it is manageable.

By chopped, I mean cover and touristy stuff, gone. Remove the portions of the book you won't need. Fold them consistantly, and put them in something like an AlkoSak or similiar waterproof bag. I"ve got the top half of Vermont in package not a lot bigger than a deck of playing cards after that. It's a good place to put things like photocopies of your liscence, birth certificate and passport, and some cash, along with a spare compass.

Of course, never trust ONE map. DeLorme, USGS, USFS, local parks and recreation agencies, aeronautical and coastal charts, they all end up in my collection along with aerial and satellite photos. Better than just a map is to drive your major routes, best is to drive them all, and bestest is to walk them, learn where the short cuts are, where the river fords are, that kind of thing.

EDIT: "Bestest" is hyperbole, I know quite well it isn't a word. :P

Interesting article on the current and future look of maps in the latest edition of Backpacker magazine. If I call, two of the guys on the Q&A were with Google Maps and USGS and how thats blending everything together physically. Also a good article on a author creating his own maps with infinite deal and then the website prints them out at like $13 bucks a pop. Ideal for what he called, "Locatypograghy"

Krista ... we've got that same NC atlas that we use when we camp/hike all around table rock, tryon, black mtn, etc. It works just fine.

If you go the software route and decide to print your own be sure to print to waterproof paper. I like the rite anywhere brand and it is not that expensive.

David,

Recommend you check out the 8.6 upgrade to Terrain Nav. It's a nice improvement though the print options take a bit getting used to.

Let me know if you need any help.

Blake

Go to the Flight Service desk at your local airport and ask to see a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) chart for your area. They may fit your needs quite well. I carry a few of them to cover the western rivers and all the areas between them and my home. I like the scale.

http://libremap.org/

I download my quads, add UTM grid if necessary, crop my area to hike/backpack, print on regular paper. 1:50K is a good size to me.

But they are 50 years old data, isn't they?

On at least USGS quads, the data are older than that. They are still very useful. Aerial photos came into mapping big time with the advent of WWII, and maps made since that time need updating of their cultural features, but the terrain remains constant.

The current maps for the California Channel Islands date from 1943, when the US military thought it might be useful to obtain accurate maps of coastal regions, and the topography is right on. I used those maps intensively for fifteen years - they were fully satisfactory.