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Garmin eTrex Legend® Cx
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If you're going to explore, you need a map, and the best maps are U.S. Geological Survey maps.
For most of the sites here, we've included a link to click on for a map. That link used to take you to a site called TopoZone, where you could view USGS maps for free, if you're connected to the Internet. From there, you could zoom in or out, pan to different areas, or look up something totally different. Next thing you know, it's 2 am, the dishes aren't done, the dog hasn't been fed, and, well, you know how it goes.
Unfortunately, TopoZone was purchased by some company who thought it would be better to charge for looking at their maps, so now I'm going to see if I can switch over to MapTech.
If you want all the USGS maps at your fingertips ever when you don't have an internet connection, I suggest the National Geographic TOPO! program. It's won awards. You've got virtually all the USGS maps for your state, and some nice National Geographic maps for larger areas. Nice printing, lousy 3-D rendering, but what the heck.
When we started exploring, we went out with the DeLorme Atlases thinking we had some accurate information. WRONG. DeLorme atlases are- at least- crude guesses on where roads might go, should go, or look like they might be going. They are totally useless for actual off-pavement adventuring, and if you use them you will die. Of course, that's just, uh, Luis's opinion.
Although we include the traditional degrees of latitude and longitude, we've found that using the UTM coordinates is much more handy in the field, due to the fact that it divides the map into 1,000 meters square. No more trying to convert minutes and seconds into distance. (All USGS maps are marked with both systems.) The coordinates
39° 50' 56"N, 118° 12' 53"W
translate into
UTM 11 396074E 4411472N
which looks more complex but it's not. We're in Zone 11, so we can toss that number. You're left with two other numbers, one for "longitude" and the other for "latitudes," which UTM'ers call an "easting" and a "northing." They're your position within the Zone, and are just the measurement in meters.
OK, so what's worse, the metric system or figuring minutes and seconds? Hey, you're going to have to buck up if you want to be an explorer.
One would assume that if one was going to travel in the desert wastes, one would have a basic understanding of map reading. When we say map reading, we mean, figuring out which way is north, calculating where you are, and what all those squiggly lines and numbers mean. A good map is essential to finding your away around and not getting lost. By far, maps from the U.S. Geological Survey are the best, but if you can't read them they'll be next to useless, unless you use them to keep warm by burning them.
Finding where you are on the map is a simple process once you've mastered using a G.P.S. unit, although I hear you can do it with a compass and other crude tools.
At left, we've illustrated how the map translates to the real thing, by using a satellite photo superimposed on a map of the area. Both map and photo were provided by the U.S.G.S. Clicking on it will load the enlarged version.
Note on the image at left how lines translate into canyons, ridges, and washes.
We suggest you do not travel without a current map, and knowing how to use it. Beware- some USGS maps have not been updated in twenty or thirty years- it only take a few hours to change a road into a washed-out wreck of a canyon. If you can inquire locally, use that info to supplement your map.
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