If you have a university nearby, ask (or look at their website) to see if they have a map library. All the universities I've attended have a full set of USGS quads for their state and some coverage of adjacent states. They generally don't let you check maps out, but they usually have xerox machines handy (bring lots of quarters).

I carry 3 VFR charts in my BOB and those 3 charts cover an area from just west of Houston to just east of New Orleans and north to the Arkansas/Missouri border. This allows me plenty of options to avoid problem areas.

Thanks.

In the bad old days (pre-retirement) I had semi-access to a copier about four feet wide, with paper that fed off of a roll. So if I could buy, beg, borrow, or steal a topo I could make a bunch of copies of it. Black and white, but for free who cares...

I grew up learning how to read maps. (Amazing but true: there are a large number of people who are incapable of reading a highway map, let alone a topo. I've met a lot of them.) For me, navigating by map and compass seems so ordinary and simple, I can't imagine not being able to!

For me, the advent of GPS technology wasn't all that earth-shattering. What I use it for is to provide me a means to plot my exact location on my map, and then it gets shut off. The more important thing, to me, is the little UTM grid tool! How did I do without that for so long?!?

I've not really found a use for the breadcrumb and map features on a GPS; perhaps I'm missing something? It just seems easier to look at my map to see where I've been!

The major downfall I see with the map-enabled GPS is the lack of context. Yes, you can zoom in to take a look at map detail, but the small screen means that you can't see the layout of the land; you can't see the ridge between you and the destination, and it's difficult to derive meaningful distance references. I can look at a quad, and tell "that's about an hour walk", but with a GPS, that ability is lost. Without knowing the scale at which the zoom is displayed, and without being able to see the likely path, I can understand how people equipped only with a GPS are able to get lost.

Regarding DeLorme atlases, my experience with the Oregon edition is that it's terribly inaccurate, showing roads that aren't there and sometimes not showing roads that are. I've found the Benchmark atlas, at least for this state, to be better in that regard. It's also a much better choice for non-map-savvy people (like my wife), because it shows terrain features in shaded relief which is much clearer than the DeLorme.

-=[ Grant ]=-

A guy in my SAR team turned me on to a company online that scales the map to your printer. Ok, let me explain; the name of the companyt is called maptech.com (I have no affiliation with them, other than using them for SAR), and they have scanned every topo map available in the US into a DB. Now, normally, when you print a topo out, it isnt to correct scale. Unless, of course, you fiddle with the printer properties. Well, this program will print out the topo to the exact scale thats on the map. So, you can pull it off your printer, & take it right into the field. Again, I have only used them with SAR, and they worked great. I am heistant about forking over $100 for a program right now. So, this may wait, for me anyway, for a while.

A map ( even a simple non-topo one) with a compas are great tools for getting un-lost. I always pick up the free one at the ranger station when I go hiking.

Teacher

Forgive my ignorance but where can you buy these VFR maps?

Here is one source. If you do a google search for "aeronautical charts" you will find a lot more sources. I once got a two sided one that covered all of California for FREE. I just don't remember exactly where I got it. Large scale to be sure, but it was FREE. You could also go to any decent sized airport's operations building, or possibly a aviation supply type store...

http://libremap.org/data/

Every topo of every state right at your fingertips.

Check out MyTopo. I got some custom topos from them for the places I hike most frequently. UTM grid, lat/lon ticks, then scaled/centered/shaded to my preferences.

The cost adds up if you want lots of maps, but how else are you going to print 24"x36" (or whatever) on your home computer on waterproof paper?