free printable USGS topo maps

got this shared to me on the dreaded farce book - and as its little use to me directly - thought of you chaps :

link

does exactly what it says in the thread title

free print ready USGS topo map sections

direct link to map launcher

enjoy

a reply to: ignorant_ape

Thanks. I wonder how many people can actually read a map or fix their position on one using a compass. They used to teach that stuff in Scouting.

What are all those 'squiggly' lines? Whats 'declination'? Where does it say, 'You are Here'?

lol

a reply to: ignorant_ape

Man thats awesome! To bad there isnt a list of Canada topo maps

a reply to: ignorant_ape

Useful thread. Ii wanted free topo maps for a while.

a reply to: intrptr

Whats 'declination'?

I was a boy scout... we did not learn that. My father was one hell of a scout leader, my younger brother was/is eagle scout...
I learned topo maps in high school but short of googling it

what is declination?

note to edit... my father was not my scout leader

You can do the same thing from the national parks website:

NPS Topo Downloads

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: ignorant_ape

Thanks. I wonder how many people can actually read a map or fix their position on one using a compass. They used to teach that stuff in Scouting.

What are all those 'squiggly' lines? Whats 'declination'? Where does it say, 'You are Here'?

lol

I can read a map and can navigate without a compass. Things like where the sun is and moss on trees. And those squiggly lives are elevation. The tighter together they are, the steeper the hill.

Cant see that it got answered so here goes. Declination is the difference between magnetic north and true north. The magnetic pole moves slightly so depending when a given topo was last updated, there could be a discrepancy between the published declination and current declination.

originally posted by: eql612
Cant see that it got answered so here goes. Declination is the difference between magnetic north and true north. The magnetic pole moves slightly so depending when a given topo was last updated, there could be a discrepancy between the published declination and current declination.

Oh, yeah, forgot that one. Magnetic North moves all the time. Even airports have to make adjustments occasionally.

www.thecompassstore.com...

a reply to: tinner07

The difference & direction between true north (represented as a star), grid north (abbreviated as "GN"), and magnetic north (abbreviated as "MN"). Magnetic declination is the number of degrees and direction between true north and magnetic north.

True North is different from Magnetic North, must be accounted for when using a map and compass.

a reply to: intrptr

here in the UK the scouts and the DoE award program do teach land navigation - but far too few of the " general pubic " bother

its " hot topic " in the outdoor community as MRTs [ mountain rescue teams ] are facing an growing number of call outs each year - many of which are utterly preventable and boil down to :

lost with no clue , no light , no map , no compass , inadequate clothing for weather , inadequate rations

classic example

i see it every time i go fell walking - people who think that the most important bit of kit to have is thier " wand of narcissus " [ selfie stick ]

a couple of years ago - i did a winter ascent of a famous UK peak - and put a vid of it online - and one of the comments was " what do you need all that gear for " - unbleavable - as by the time i reached 800m i had viz = ZERO 60 kph winds across the plateau and -1 celcius absolute temp

ok - rant over - but the issue is a peeve of mine - and its only a matter of time before such utter inneptitude kills someone

a reply to: Macenroe82

I think you might be able to get those from landsat. I will try and find the link.

a reply to: Macenroe82

cartography for canukistan ? :

its free

there are more out there of various quality - creative googling helps

a reply to: ignorant_ape

Thanks for sharing... TOPO maps are a great resource....

Nice for finding the best route of travel from point A to point B ... most of the time, that won't be a straight line

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
a reply to: intrptr


... - and its only a matter of time before such utter inneptitude kills someone

Only a matter of time????? Ummmm....

I grew up in mountains of Wyoming and was involved in SAR while there, and I can tell you stories of many dozens of people who succumbed to the elements from just such lack of skills. I also participated in Orienteering activities as a hobby for many years. Map and compass skills are critical to success. I actually prefer map and compass over a GPS because it causes one to understand all the nuances of the terrain between them and their objective, something which can be easily overlooked with modern GPS's. Now days I do carry a GPS, but it's really only my backup.

Whenever I spend time out in the mountains it always amazes me how 'at risk' people and even entire families are when they come to these places so unprepared for a seemingly "fun" vacation / outing. You can spot them from a long way off. All their new shiny gear, fresh from the REI store down the mountain in town, and they think they're ready for anything. You can only try to help so many, and many of them even resent any attempt at guidance. Nope, they "got this!" in all the best 'Bushcraft' bravado they can muster. It's scary sometimes, especially when I see folks with little kids heading out like that. All it's going to take is just a tiny excursion off-trail, maybe to fetch a wayward kid, and a light dusting of snow (which can and does happen any time of year) and they're hopelessly turned around. As the sun wanes, shadows change and temp start to drop, that "fun" vacation can turn into a horror show in less than a couple hours.

The ones I get the biggest kick out of are the really uppity and defensive folks who emphatically defend their 'alpine' prowess by proudly producing a compass (but no map). "Okey-dokey...suit yourself!" Oh, the stories I could tell are nearly endless. Always fun to send those folks off with the "Okay well, not really too many bears out this year, so no worries there..." (and then over my shoulder as I walk off) "...but keep an eye out for the cougars, lots of cubs out this year!" Look back a few hundred yards down the trail and they're stopped, dead in their tracks, scanning the trees!

I can remember a time when even I got pretty badly turned around once, and I knew what I was doing too. It's not a matter of "if", but rather "when" you will get lost at some point in the wild. Sure, I wasn't turned around for long, but it was long enough to get my attention. There were no trails where I was and yes it was dusk and snowing heavily. I was in heavy timber on a mountainside. Finding my way had two solutions, the 'easy' way and the 'hard' way. The easy way was finding my original path, and the hard way was down the mountain to a river and back up the river into the valley where camp was (several miles out of my way). And I doubted myself the entire way back (the short way). Lesson learned.

At any rate...nice link, OP! Those maps (some of them anyway) can actually be loaded into a GPS, which is really helpful.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

hey - appologies i should have been clearer that i was addressing UK situation only

i know that other countries rescue services face various problems too - but here is getting out of hand

to quote the " similar articles " links from a source i cite up thread :

Two rescues for Coniston team as walkers get lost on fells
Two walkers rescued after getting lost on Old Man of Coniston
Walker stretchered from Coniston Fells after ankle injury
Night rescue for walkers stuck on crag on Raven Tor, Coniston
Old Man of Coniston couple rescued after getting lost in mist

thats 6 rescues` and only one of them " Walker stretchered from Coniston Fells after ankle injury " was IMHO not due to under equiped idiocy

i dont have the details - as its not a team i have any involment with - but i give the walker who broke his ankle the " benefit of doubt " - that it was just an incident of crap happens

all the rest were utterly preventable - by head torch , compass , map and some bloody common sense

i firmly believe that MRT call outs in the UK could easily be cut in half if people had £20 quids` worth of kit and 4 hours training

and rant over

as for GPS - i absolutly agree - on land i only use mine to confirm my NGR if i am uncetrtain or am zero vis . the number of people that hold it like its thier guide to the next waypoint is frightening

though i must confess - i do abuse GPS navigation when on the water - but still have chart compass and backup - and keep a " bailout bearing " updated in my head