Wasted $90 on a "pro" route map for the Pacific Crest Trail and it was useless

Bought this fancy waterproof map set from some company online for a section hike near Kennedy Meadows. Paid $90 thinking it'd have detailed campsite info and water sources. Got to the trail and half the springs marked on the map were dry. The campsite locations were off by almost a mile in two spots. Could've just used the Guthook app on my phone for free. Anyone else overpay for a map that let you down?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith6845d ago

That reminds me of a section I did in the Sierras a couple years back. Bought a so-called "ultralight" map set that was supposed to be this gold standard for the JMT and it was basically unusable. The scale was way too small to actually read any trail features, and like yours the water sources were outdated by a couple seasons. What ended up saving me was talking to a few rangers at the visitor center before I started. They had these cheap little hand drawn maps with current water conditions and blowdowns that were way more useful than anything I paid for. Also started carrying a small notebook and just writing down coordinates from the Halfmile app for critical spots. That combo cost me maybe 15 bucks total and worked way better than the expensive paper maps. Your mileage may vary but I think sometimes the simple stuff wins out.

seth6835d ago

I mean I used to be one of those people who swore by paper maps and thought digital stuff was cheating or whatever. I even got made fun of by my hiking buddies for carrying a whole ziploc of folded maps and a compass I barely knew how to use. But man, hearing about the ranger hand drawn maps and the Halfmile combo kind of makes me realize I was probably just being stubborn. I went through three different water sources last year that were marked on my "reliable" paper map but were totally dry, and I just kept thinking it was bad luck or something. Maybe it's time I finally admit the free apps are just way more updated and practical for the kind of hiking most of us are actually doing out there.