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[pct-l] Forest Service PCT maps



Greetings from a longtime list lurker and section hiker.

The maps referenced in Tom's posting can be obtained at
http://www.naturenw.org/ which is a clearinghouse of state and federal
outdoor agencies information, run, I believe, but a department of the state
of Oregon. You'll also find all the pertinent forest maps for region six
(Oregon and Washington). Very handy to be able to buy them all over the web
in one fell swoop.

 I just purchased the PCT Oregon South and Central maps and would want to
remind y'all of one caveat: These were published in 1982. The scale (an
inch to a mile or 15 minute) is great, but a lot has changed in 20 years.
For example, there is at least one section of the southern Oregon map where
the trail is still marked as "proposed" prior to the I-5 crossing. I'm
going to refer to these maps in my planning, but when it comes to what's
actually in my pack, I'm going primarily with Topo! custom maps (with Tom
Reynolds' and others' excellent route overlays) and secondarily with the
general FS maps.

I can't say enough about how much Tom Reynolds' outstanding trace of the CA
route and the Topo! mapping program it goes on both helped me this past
year. With an inexpensive GPS device (I used the most basic, basic Garmin
Etrex) there was absolutely never any question exactly where I was. The two
technologies complemented each other perfectly. Simple, elegant, precise.
Thank you, Tom.

DP



>Message: 1
>Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2003 11:00:39 -0700
>From: "Tom B." <tomsmail123@msn.com>
>Subject: [pct-l] Forest Service Maps of PCT
>To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
>Message-ID: <BAY4-DAV71iRi3yk7Ma00002913@hotmail.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>The USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, has special trail maps
>available for the Pacific Crest Trail through the states of Washington and
>Oregon. The trail in Washington is divided into two maps (northern and
>southern portions) and the trail in Oregon is divided into three maps
>(northern, central, and southern portions). They were compiled from USDA
>Forest Service, Primary Series quadrangle maps. They show a fairly broad
>area along the trail (1" = 1 mile) and include photos and descriptions of
>significant features. They do not provide as much detail of the trail
>itself as the guide book maps, but are inexpensive and good for planning
>purposes or as a supplement to the guide books. The maps can sometimes be
>found at retail stores like REI, but are also available directly from the
>Forest Service. I did not find them listed at the National Forest Service
>Store (http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/nationalforeststore/) , but
>Willamette National Forest does have them listed
>  on their order form at
>http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/willamette/general/mapsbrochures/wnf_maps.html .
>
>I contacted the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, to see if
>they produced a similar map for the California portion of the PCT. The
>following is their reply: "I received your inquiry about Pacific Crest
>Trail maps in California. We're familiar with the USFS Pacific Northwest
>Region's 5 PCT maps and have wanted to continue the series into California
>for more than 15 years. The good news is that we started doing so this
>year. The bad news is that we've just started.  We are working with the
>PCT Association and starting a replacement series of 20-24 trail segment
>maps to cover California, each covering from 45-90 miles of the trail.
>The first map to be produced will be the southernmost, basically San Diego
>County - available Feb 2004.  Next map to be produced has not been
>determined.  The long range plan is to continue this series back into
>Oregon and Washington as those maps become dated.  I have enclosed an
>attachment that shows 20 draft trail segments (it will pr
> obably be modified to 24 segments.)"
>
>It looks like they plan to produce five maps for California, each covering
>four trail segments.
>
>Tom B.
David Plotnikoff
Columnist/Asst. Business Editor
San Jose Mercury News
plotnikoff@sjmercury.com
voice: (408) 920-5867