Rusted Sky

I remember that either Oxford or Oxford,Too had a map room with cabinets with the maps in large shallow drawers. Bass Pro might have some topo maps and IIRC, there were some in the gift shop at Unicoi. You might also go to the local FBO and get a sectional chart. The scale and details are different, but its something that can be picked up rather than mail ordered.

Sectionals aren't a problem - I can get out-of-date stuff over at the plant from time to time. (Even passed the guys in the Den some of them, along with compasses.)

But you'd think SOMEWHERE in the Atlanta area you could get topo maps on a weekend. What good is living in a major metro area otherwise?

J.

Jerry:

In the age of GPS I'm afraid that finding a paper TOPO map in the scale you're looking for would be like trying to find a new buggy whip in 1912, four years after the first Model T rolled off the assembly line.

Here's what's killing paper maps:

http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?item=27705§ion=10106

with, of course, the software:

http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?item=27525§ion=10050

otpu

Oddly enough, there is an article in todays paper about Bradford Maps. Their business is down 70% in the last 5 years. They have a store in Decatur that they are selling.

Bet there won't be many buyers for it, James.

But John's right - if you can buy something that'll print out the map you want at the scale you want it at - why not go that way?

And 40 years from now - a paper map will be a pricy collectors' item...

Hey, think I should stock up so the little guy will have a fund for HIS kids' education?

J.

Couple of thoughts:

• Different REI's carry different things. There are two REI stores in driving distance of me; one carries topos, and the other doesn't.
  
• USGS will sell you the maps directly (order on the web, recieve by surface mail if you're not in reach of one of their stores). Takes a couple of days, but with some advanced planning it works pretty well
  

Coming from an agency that made gov't maps for DoD the reason for the popularity of printed maps is: color quality, readability, decent paper stock, and low cost as the longer the press run the lower the cost per sheet, while digital is fixed cost per sheet.

Believe me, after looking at this arena, from the inside, nothing beats a laminated printed map. Rain protection, useful in survival situations, never needs a battery, and you can shoot a map and it is still readable...

Thin film, high resolution digital displays will get there (and even hold an image with the power off). But if you need a map that will do just about anything, then printed on tyvek, like the Special Forces require, is a perfect survival utility and we even printed how to make shelters, collect dew, funnel rainwater, make it into a hat... laminated paper does that ok, but nothing beats tyvek. Very few get made, of course, but they are one of the best survival add-ons around... plus there are the maps on them.

Remember, for hard copy to go away, digital must meet all the functional needs of the original material at a lower per unit cost. So far nothing beats an offset press for lowering printing costs. Which is why the Nanosolar folks using roll-to-roll presses (plexo, if memory serves) will make a mint: low cost per unit, higher efficiency per unit surface, and cheap to make.

AJacksonian -

Hmmm. You know, I'm not at all surprised they use Tyvek. It's GOOD stuff, durable as all get-out, and you can print on it too. What's not to like?

J.

First a little nit pick. The maps are "topographical", not "topological". Only thing I've found to correct at an otherwise great site. I had a similar experience while visiting in NW Arkansas a couple years ago. Lewis and Clark Outfitters will sell you a map, but they generate it in the store from computer files, and the quality as well as the cost don't match the old USGS quads. Luckily at home I have pretty complete coverage of the old quad maps. If your area of interest lies within a national forest and you plan ahead, the Forest Service might help with pretty up-to-date 40' contour mapping. Ask for the good stuff that they keep for themselves. By now they might have gone in to producing their own compiled maps on site instead of using the USGS products. It might be just as efficient to go directly to USGS. I wonder if AJacksonian worked for the agency that produced tactical mapping during Vietnam. I saw some that was so current you could read the bomb craters in the imagery and contour lines. That's mapping!

First a little nit pick. The maps are "topographical", not "topological". Only thing I've found to correct at an otherwise great site. I had a similar experience while visiting in NW Arkansas a couple years ago. Lewis and Clark Outfitters will sell you a map, but they generate it in the store from computer files, and the quality as well as the cost don't match the old USGS quads. Luckily at home I have pretty complete coverage of the old quad maps. If your area of interest lies within a national forest and you plan ahead, the Forest Service might help with pretty up-to-date 40' contour mapping. Ask for the good stuff that they keep for themselves. By now they might have gone in to producing their own compiled maps on site instead of using the USGS products. It might be just as efficient to go directly to USGS. I wonder if AJacksonian worked for the agency that produced tactical mapping during Vietnam. I saw some that was so current you could read the bomb craters in the imagery and contour lines. That's mapping! And it was done over 40 years ago.

Crap! Sorry about that double post. Don't know how it happened, except I got busy following some NH election recount news. Multi-tasking?
Some interesting stuff out of NH here and here.

Not a problem with the double posts - I'll prune one for ya. (If you'd like it back, shipping and handling will be extra.)

Yep, you're right on the topological - it should have been topographical. What can I say? I was so bummed out I mixed up my tops.

J.