Is there a best red-lining map?

[shamples]

Wondering what everyone uses as a red line map of the White Mountains?

Is there an obvious best one? I have a bunch of maps but none seem to be perfect so I may be missing a good map I need to run out and buy.

Preferably, I would like the map to display on a wall so to be one-sided and display all the trails in the Whites. So many maps are broken down into sections.

I will probably never red line 100% but I enjoy keeping track of where I have traveled and seeing it all displayed, plus it urges me to seek out some lesser trails and peaks I would have never thought of back when I started hiking.

 

[RoySwkr]

Preferably, I would like the map to display on a wall so to be one-sided and display all the trails in the Whites. So many maps are broken down into sections.

It may seem obvious but shouldn't you use the map(s) you are completing the trails on? Any other map may show the trails differently or not at all.

Of course if you are doing a book such as the AMC White Mountain Guide there is no map that shows all the trails correctly (including theirs), the best you can do is draw some trails yourself on something that at least shows the whole area.

Maybe that's why spreadsheets are popular

 

[dug]

I have used an old Delorme map, as at the time I started it was the only one I could find that had all the WMNF on it. It's not perfect, as there are some discrepencies, but I've stuck to using this map when redlining.

 

[hikerbrian]

I've never seen one with everything on one side. Would love to know if one exists. My buddy had one this past weekend though that was double-sided - perhaps you could buy two of them and hang them side by side, one showing the front, the other showing the back?

 

[DSettahr]

You're never going to find a single map that shows every trail. They just don't exist. Even professional maps, like the ones made by the AMC, ADK, and National Geographic, tend to be filled with errors.

The best red-lining map is the one that you choose to work on for yourself.

 

[Early Bird]

Here is what I have found most useful for tracking red-lining. If you click the White Mountain read-lining link you will get a spreadsheet that is lined up with the 28th AMC edition of the WM hiking guide.
Hope it is helpful to you!
http://www.48x12.com/red-lining/rules.html

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Preferably, I would like the map to display on a wall so to be one-sided and display all the trails in the Whites.

I will probably never red line 100% but I enjoy keeping track of where I have traveled and seeing it all displayed ...

If you click the White Mountain read-lining link you will get a spreadsheet ...

Displaying a spreadsheet on a wall is not as satisfying as displaying a map

 

[dug]

Not sure if Delorme still makes their map. You can try to look around for it. It was wall-sized, maybe 30" x 36", and had all the trails on one side (with descriptions on the other). It was the only one I could find about 15 years ago that I could mount on the wall, had the entire National Forest on there, and was reasonably accurate. But, since it only had to be accurate for what I was going to use it for, it's fine.

 

[Becca M]

Here's a bad idea...(But this *is* what I do)... it's extremely confusing and NOT suitable for display purposes but 1) it is cheap and 2) it is portable:

I use old tyvex copies that I bought specifically to go with my old 26th edition before I upgraded to the tyvek maps with the mileage. Red sharpie doesn't bleed too much thru the other side. Lost one of the maps so I keep a lacy falling-apart paper map of maps 5&6 in a ziploc bag when needed. Red sharpie REALLY bleeds thru that one. It works for now until I get close.

Another down-side: the overlap in trails requires making sure you redline any overlap on all the maps. Keeps it fun!!!!

 

[peakbagger]

I believe AMC produced a map a few years ago that covered the same area as the Delorme map that incidentally used a USGS sectional series map as a base.

 

[blacknblue]

Not sure if Delorme still makes their map. You can try to look around for it. It was wall-sized, maybe 30" x 36", and had all the trails on one side (with descriptions on the other). It was the only one I could find about 15 years ago that I could mount on the wall, had the entire National Forest on there, and was reasonably accurate. But, since it only had to be accurate for what I was going to use it for, it's fine.

It's no longer being published, but there is a map that came out about a year ago that I use for redlining. It is pretty darn good, and has (nearly?) every trail in the WMNF. Works really well for my single-sided, big-picture needs. I don't have it with me, so I don't have the name/publisher with me, but I bought mine at Mountain Wanderer a year ago. I'm sure REI, EMS, etc. would have them.

 

[Mike P.]

Count me as a DeLorme user

 

[Red Oak]

It's no longer being published, but there is a map that came out about a year ago that I use for redlining. It is pretty darn good, and has (nearly?) every trail in the WMNF. Works really well for my single-sided, big-picture needs. I don't have it with me, so I don't have the name/publisher with me, but I bought mine at Mountain Wanderer a year ago. I'm sure REI, EMS, etc. would have them.

I bet you are talking about the Map adventures map.The best out right now imho.The map adventures map is very good but is sparse in some areas such as the region above twin mountain[jefferson area].The Delorme was the best,I am very lucky to have two of those.I find using the amc maps and the map adventures maps together the best bet.However for me nothing beats a quad map.When I go up to the Longfellow mountains in Maine,I use the amc map,a copy of the google map and the matc map[awsome map!]
comment;I understand the science behind the term "redlining",but it seems that redlining is just hiking.Could the term just be a reactionary term to peakbagging?Good thread here..I love maps!

 

[sierra]

Not sure if Delorme still makes their map. You can try to look around for it. It was wall-sized, maybe 30" x 36", and had all the trails on one side (with descriptions on the other). It was the only one I could find about 15 years ago that I could mount on the wall, had the entire National Forest on there, and was reasonably accurate. But, since it only had to be accurate for what I was going to use it for, it's fine.

My sister just found the Delorme map online, maybe at amazon but Im not sure, when I see her I'll find out, it is, I think the best redlining map.

 

[Stan]

Add me to the DeLorme list. My map dates to 1992 and where a change in trails, discrepancy or bushwhack, I've just filled it in to a close approximation of the route. When we were peakbagging, I wrote in trail description references from various guide books (50 Hikes etc.) in a three letter/digit code to supplement the AMC guidebook for convenient trail, historical, botanical and geological embellishments. Even with the plethora of information available on the web today, much of it redundant and some of it unreliable, I find this old system works nicely ... but I digress. One thing I really like about this map is the pale yellow background which allows the redlining (actually bright orange) to stand out.

 

[Trail Bandit]

It seems to me that when you set out to RED LINE the WMNF trails, you should carry a decent GPS receiver and collect a track for all the trails. It isn't all that hard to then put together an accurate map of where everything is and share the information with the rest of us. The streams, water bodies, roads, and and National Forest / State Park /State Forest boundaries can be downloaded from NHGRANIT web site. If you then want to print the map you can use something called "Paper Tyger Super White" which is two sheets of very thin paper bonded to a very thin sheet of mylar. It doesn't turn to mush when wet, and your red ink won't bleed through. You could also post a GPS track file here so we can all go find that obscure trail you found.
If everybody had a GPS with a track of where they had been on it, the poor NH Fish and Game rescue teams would be out of the "find the lost hiker" business and could focus in those that really need to be rescued.

 

[David Metsky]

It seems to me that when you set out to RED LINE the WMNF trails, you should carry a decent GPS receiver and collect a track for all the trails. It isn't all that hard to then put together an accurate map of where everything is and share the information with the rest of us. The streams, water bodies, roads, and and National Forest / State Park /State Forest boundaries can be downloaded from NHGRANIT web site. If you then want to print the map you can use something called "Paper Tyger Super White" which is two sheets of very thin paper bonded to a very thin sheet of mylar. It doesn't turn to mush when wet, and your red ink won't bleed through. You could also post a GPS track file here so we can all go find that obscure trail you found.
If everybody had a GPS with a track of where they had been on it, the poor NH Fish and Game rescue teams would be out of the "find the lost hiker" business and could focus in those that really need to be rescued.

Or, you could draw a line on a map with a red marker and call it a day.

 

[DougPaul]

If everybody had a GPS with a track of where they had been on it, the poor NH Fish and Game rescue teams would be out of the "find the lost hiker" business and could focus in those that really need to be rescued.

Tracks are available for most of the current WMNF trails--see http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38643 These were very helpful when Becca and I skied the all but abandoned Shoal Pond Trail in Feb 2011.

And even without prior tracks of one's intended route, one can always backtrack along one's incoming track to exit.

Doug

 

[RoySwkr]

It seems to me that when you set out to RED LINE the WMNF trails, you should carry a decent GPS receiver and collect a track for all the trails. It isn't all that hard to then put together an accurate map of where everything is and share the information with the rest of us.

Even if you gave me your old GPS and computer with mapping software so I could do this, I doubt I have your talent in producing maps

I have never engaged in red-lining (which is what drag racers do when they over-rev their engines) but I used to keep track of my trail-bagging with a list on lined paper back in the 70s before PCs were invented. It got me up to about 80% before I decided the rest were mostly too far away or uninteresting.

The streams, water bodies, roads, and and National Forest / State Park /State Forest boundaries can be downloaded from NHGRANIT web site.

That is what they did with the first set of AMC GPS maps and it was a bad idea, the streams didn't match up with where the crossings were on the trail for instance. Rather you need to plot a feature in your track log to make sure the maps line up.