Why do I need maps for geocaching?

[+RTechS]

I'm sure this is a dumb question, esp. to you experienced cachers...but I've heard talk about "maps" since I've started, have listened to many geocaching podcasts where the subject is mentioned, and I still do not have a clear understanding as to how/why I need a map.

 

I cache w/ an android/smartphone, I do have my sights on the Monterra at some point, but not for $600...

 

I do have limited caching experience, half of my finds have been urban, the other half rural. I assume maps are generally useful for the topographical terrain? I can see how that would be useful if you are caching away from home, or are in an unfamiliar area.

 

Can you guys explain in layman's terms why maps are beneficial, and are they really necessary?

[+ngrrfan]

I'm sure this is a dumb question, esp. to you experienced cachers...but I've heard talk about "maps" since I've started, have listened to many geocaching podcasts where the subject is mentioned, and I still do not have a clear understanding as to how/why I need a map.

{snip}

Can you guys explain in layman's terms why maps are beneficial, and are they really necessary?

 

Maps let you see that the cache is on the other side of the creek and that there is a bridge about .2 miles away ON THE PATH. Other wise you would end up heading straight for the cache and wondering how to cross the 100 ft chasm the creek is in.

 

Maps also let you see that there is really a street nearby the cache that puts you much closer to the cache than the .5 mile walk from where you are.

[+coachstahly]

Your comment about topographical information is pretty much spot on and, for me, the most important one. Necessary? Not really, You can get from point A to point B without a highly detailed map, but you might have to work harder than necessary only to realize that you could have gone down to a creek bed, along a ridgeline or on a trail that might have added .25 mile to the hike but was much easier than the 4-5 up and down ridges you had to traverse to get there. In unfamiliar locations, they certainly help but in urban/suburban locations, your phone should be fine, as well as provide you with the information you need to get from point A to point B. They're certainly best used in areas with noticeable elevation changes or on longer hikes where the direct approach might entail more work than looking at the map to see if there are trails, flatter terrain options, or water features to avoid on the way to where you're heading.

[+GrayHawk613]

Yeah. Maps are very nice. I geocache with a Nuvi which only has CityNavigator maps so it's hard caching for me.

 

Hey! We posted at the same time!

Edited December 12, 2014 by GrayHawk613

[+SwineFlew]

Maps take alot of guess work out. In my early years of caching... I drove up on people private driveways.

 

So...I will say maps are a MUST. Its worth it.

[+RTechS]

Great answers, guys - I knew I could get a good explanation on here.

 

I was looking in the Google Play store and I see that the "US Topo Maps Free" is a highly rated app. Anyone have any experience with this one? Does this app, or do the topo maps in general have *very* detailed information, such as a small foot bridge, a culvert, etc.?

[+Student Camper]

You correct, They are generally useful for the topographical terrain and would be useful if you are caching away from home, or are in an unfamiliar area.

You can Geocache without maps or terrain, that is obvious, but I began with a GPSr and I would be at a disadvantage without that extra information at times to the point of being completely lost were it not available.

 

Most GPSr units will come with a basemap which is, as it says, a world wide map giving basic information, useful? yes, but better than no map at all and upgrades are available at small cost.

 

If you get a GPSr with decent features, I don,t think you will look back, I use an Etrex 30 and it doe's me very well.

[+wmpastor]

I've heard talk about "maps" since I've started, have listened to many geocaching podcasts where the subject is mentioned, and I still do not have a clear understanding as to how/why I need a map.

 

The comments so far sum it up. Urban/suburban caches generally only need a street map, and maybe not even that. Topo is good in the woods, etc. Even in a hilly city park a topo map would have helped me once.

 

Earlier this year there was a thread that would have highlighted the benefits of maps. This guy's strategy was to get to the right longitude and then cross over to the right latitude - without maps.

 

That's a thread i'll remember 25 years from now. That thread was locked - as many memorable threads are.

[+JL_HSTRE]

Even in "flat" FL I find the topographic and trail maps on my GPS (free from the internet) to be VERY helpful sometimes. If you only cache in urban areas or small parks then they might not be so useful.

[+niraD]

There are caches hidden in the baylands around here where you can be within 100ft of a cache, it's inaccessible because you're on the wrong levee. Maps are really useful for avoiding situations like that.

[vagabond]

My first gpsr was a lowrance global map 212 it didn't have maps the first

cache I did I crossed a creek about 4 times and hiked about 3 miles, I could have come in from a different direction and only walked about a 1/2 mile :lol:

[+Viajero Perdido]

At the risk of being repetitive, have a look at Locus Map (free or pro) on the Play Store. It's a pretty amazing map app, perhaps the best, and it has caching functions too, so I find it nothing short of amazing for my purposes. Works brilliantly both online and offline.

 

The app has access to a head-spinning variety of maps, even more if you run and install the Locus Map Tweak companion app.

 

https://play.google....locus.pro&hl=en

 

Notice the rating...

[+terratin]

Maps are nice here (Open street map) for desert tracks. That way you can see you need to drive a detour of 5km around a big sabkha clockwise as there's only more sabkha (salty mud that can look dry but often isn't) the other way around. Sometimes you can see those places you should not be driving over on google maps, but often not.

[+Viajero Perdido]

It's worth noting there are multiple sources of good satellite maps nowadays (not just Google), and a good mapping app will have access to several. I often use the Esri satellite maps, which are also available on the GC.com website maps on the "Leaflet" side.

[+redsox_mark]

For me, if I'm hiking on trails, a map of some sort is essential. A GPS map isn't mandatory, I can make do with a paper map. But now I have a local "topo" map on my GPS which matches the paper maps I use and like, and that is so nice, as I can clearly see where I am and the best routes to take.

[+RTechS]

At the risk of being repetitive, have a look at Locus Map (free or pro) on the Play Store. It's a pretty amazing map app, perhaps the best, and it has caching functions too, so I find it nothing short of amazing for my purposes. Works brilliantly both online and offline.

 

The app has access to a head-spinning variety of maps, even more if you run and install the Locus Map Tweak companion app.

 

https://play.google....locus.pro&hl=en

 

Notice the rating...

 

I'll check that one out, and othersd mentioned as well. I have been playing with the US Topo Maps Free and already I notice that the app is limited in that it will only zoom in so close and I still am not able to read road names or even see that much detail without using a magnifying glass, and it certainly will not give up close detail such as a small bridge.

 

Is this just a characteristic of this particular app, or do all the topo map apps function in the same manner?

 

The small screen/display is one of the reason I have been holding out on purchasing a GPS, and have actually been considering caching with something like a 10" tablet!

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

I think we have learned quite a bit by caching with just the compass on the Garmin. I've noticed my skills of getting out of bad situations when not caching are enhanced. There were two situations when we needed a map and didn't have one. The first was getting back to the car after finding a small series in a hilly wooded area in West Virginia. A trail map would have been great and saved some serious vertical mistakes. The second one was when we tried to get to the Ape cache in Sao Paulo. We didn't load the series of caches leading to the cache and never found the "unpaved road" leading to the Ape.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

Maps may also provide better trail information than a smartphone map or similar.

 

Our DEM has paper maps for the Wildlife Management Areas which include fairly decent trails. I also have paper maps (which are actually a type of plastic so they are waterproof) that has very detailed trail maps. When I am heading into one of these WMAs, I will plot the caches on the map in pencil (which erases easily) so I know what trail to take. Some areas have a multiple of trails, and a wrong turn could lead you in the total opposite direction.

[Mr.Yuck]

I'm sure this is a dumb question, esp. to you experienced cachers...but I've heard talk about "maps" since I've started, have listened to many geocaching podcasts where the subject is mentioned, and I still do not have a clear understanding as to how/why I need a map.

{snip}

Can you guys explain in layman's terms why maps are beneficial, and are they really necessary?

 

Maps let you see that the cache is on the other side of the creek and that there is a bridge about .2 miles away ON THE PATH. Other wise you would end up heading straight for the cache and wondering how to cross the 100 ft chasm the creek is in.

 

 

On a recent 16 cache outing (extremely rare for me these days), my party used the maps several times to determine which side of the creek certain caches were on.

 

As far as the OP, and hearing talk about maps, and hearing about them on Geocaching Podcasts, I think many of the references may be to cache maps, i.e. The "Geocaching.com map" (as linked to on any cache page), which of course is a Google map which shows nearby caches, and you can zoom out and pan around. Very helpful for planning purposes.

[+hzoi]

I still do not have a clear understanding as to how/why I need a map.

 

I would think this question would answer itself, but ok, let me show off my awesome MS Paint skills and I'll illustrate.

 

Most folks find this:

 

 

a lot more useful than this:

 

[+JohnCNA]

Since you cache with a smartphone, you should already have live map display built in to whatever app you're using. I believe they all will give you the choice between map view and satellite view. Getting far enough out in the boonies where you can't get data access on your phone would require downloading maps ahead of time as some of the other responders have indicated.

[+captnemo]

A GPSr will take you to GZ but a map will show you how to get there.

 

I was driving north on a dirt road, looking for a road to the west to get to the cache, no map. Found a road west took it and drove within 1/4 mile of the cache but couldn't get there as there was a mountain in the way.

 

Went back to the north/south rd. continued on for about a mile and another road, took it and drove within 200 feet of the cache. The wrong road showed it a shorter route then the right one.

 

I now use a GPSr, a map and a compass.

[+lamoracke]

Definitely addicted to my maps, it makes getting around so much easier, especially detailed ones. I do not use my topographical ones that often unless hiking up a mountain, but detailed maps help so much in making a better guess which way to get access to a cache. The next huge step upward for me was adding trails. We have NW Trails in our area which folks have submitted trail information and they can get imported with my road maps when I do my download. Oh man, how much easier it is to get around huge trail systems with that. Also really helps me to figure out where to access a park in rural and urban areas as often the parks only have one way in and its a way you may not think s obvious just by driving directions.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I have been playing with the US Topo Maps Free and already I notice that the app is limited in that it will only zoom in so close and I still am not able to read road names or even see that much detail without using a magnifying glass, and it certainly will not give up close detail such as a small bridge.

 

Is this just a characteristic of this particular app, or do all the topo map apps function in the same manner?

Without looking at those maps myself, I'd guess they've been scanned from paper versions. Most maps in my experience are either vector maps, or tile maps generated from vector data. Which means that the more zoom, the more detail you see. And labels such as road names will always be drawn in a consistent size, rather than getting bigger and fuzzier as you get closer.

 

Off the top of my head, Thunderforest OpenCycleMap and Thunderforest Landscape (available as GC.com maps under "Leaflet") are good options with topo contours; they're based on OpenStreetMap data.

 

OpenCycleMap is my favourite BTW (it's well presented, and pleasing to the eye), and it's among the default choices in Locus.

 

PS, even with vector maps, on a high-res screen an app may draw labels too small to be readable. That's another potential issue. Locus has a "scaled resolution" option for that, plus a magnifier.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Viajero Perdido

[+Twentse Mug]

One thing I would like to add that maps are not only useful in finding caches but also in hiding caches. Many devices use Openstreetmap. It can be useful to know that your waypoint or cache is on a certain side of the path or road. It may help avoiding accidents such as unnecessarily crossing busy roads.

[+Ladybug Kids]

Maps greatly increase cache-hunting efficiency.

 

1. Using Northwest Trails overlaid on Garmin TOPO on my Oregon, I can quickly ascertain the best route to find a cache or caches. The maps help me avoid cliffs, swamps, and other terrain features that are unpleasant or difficult to navigate.

 

2. Using City Navigator with the caches loaded as points of interest (POIs) on my Nuvi during road trips, I get a heads up display while driving so I'm actually looking at the road instead of trying to read the fine print on my hand-held. The Nuvi gets me close enough to walk and then I switch to my Oregon to make the actual find. This approach makes it easy to do things such as lay out a 700-mile, 23-county cache run across east Texas. There's no way I could pull that off without GPS-based maps without spending hours plotting things on a paper map.

 

3. I can plan trips or review routes taken on my desktop monitor, so I know well in advance routes I'm going to take and hazards I may encounter. You can also do this with GoogleMaps or GoogleEarth.

[+-CJ-]

To me geocaching is just a part of a hike/walk. Maps are useful for general orienteering and may suggest you some places you may wish to visit nearby even if there are no caches. Many maps contain various POIs, bus stops, railway stations, tons of useful data. It's usual that you can choose better way to/from a cache (e.g. through a nice park, not along a street). I cannot imagine myself getting outdoors without a map.