Topo Maps

[+ZackJones]

Greetings,

 

I understand what topo maps are and have used some of the old Delorme topo software in the past to see the elevation changes in bicycle routes I've done, etc but why would one use them for Geocaching?

 

Perhaps because I haven't tried any of the 5/5 caches I don't see the benefit of using it. Would you mind explainng how using topo software helps you find caches?

 

Thanks!

 

Zack

[+º]

Sometimes the direct way between two points isn't the best ...

[+JeepCachr]

The first cache I did was a steep 500 foot climb then back down to the cache. Then when we left it was back up and down. Looking at a topo later showed that I could have gone about .25 mile farther and gone around the hill with almost no elevation change. Topo's also usually show water in more detail than street maps do and its always nice to be on the same side of the water as the cache is.

[+Renegade Knight]

By looking at all the caches in my area I can plan a route. By looking at the 1:24000 topo I can tell which are hikers, which are casual hikers, and which are park and bags even if they are remote. It help with the planning of a cache day. Plus as someone pointed out, how to get to the cache may not be obviouse at all. Trails can be fairly convoluted. Especially when old connections between them have been blocked off.

[+Couparangus]

I'm with RK, the topo maps can be good references before heading out. But I can't think of a time where I thought "Gee, I should've brought my topo maps with me!" when caching.

 

Finding the "easy" way to a cache may not be a fun as going the hard way either and you may miss out on sights that the cache hider had intended to show you.

 

Cheers!

Coupar-Angus

[Neo_Geo]

When getting under thick canopy and your reception is less than optimal, you can look at the shape of the contour lines on the maps and compare them to the shape of the surrounding terrain. It's almost like cheating!

[+tirediron]

I mostly use them for pre-planning my routes (Nothing like an hour of bushwhacking only to find a well marked, groomed trail a hundred feet away... ) But I also keep them on my Palm as well... I don't always approach the 'cache from where I thought I would, so I find having them with me, and being able to re-plan on the fly is very handy...

[+Sparky-Watts]

The detailed water holes and streams would be a benefit for me, but in Kansas, topo maps have two levels: flat and flatter......

[dave and jaime]

Greetings,

 

I understand what topo maps are and have used some of the old Delorme topo software in the past to see the elevation changes in bicycle routes I've done, etc but why would one use them for Geocaching?

 

Perhaps because I haven't tried any of the 5/5 caches I don't see the benefit of using it. Would you mind explainng how using topo software helps you find caches?

 

Thanks!

 

Zack

it has absolutely nothing to do with the activity of geocaching---rather using good topo maps is something that everyone should do when they enter the outdoors. in addition to knowing the area, better is to have at least a partial copy of the relevant map, persons in the outdoors should also be able to navigate by either using natures 'signs', the celestial bodies and always carry a simple wrist watch and know how to use it.

[+ZackJones]

Thanks for all of the replies, a topo program does sound interesting. Would someone mind emailing or posting a topo map of this cache: Snake In The Cache

 

Take a look at the routes I took going in and coming out

 

Thanks!

 

Zack

[+Alan2]

Besides helping you get to the cache by hiking on the right side of the stream, a topo map is, well, another map. And for map freaks like me, having another map is sheer delight. I mean, let's face it, look at all those squiggly lines, those neat colors, which way the stream is running, the declination offset, the scale, the grid lines, the... well you get the picture.

[gm100guy]

I use my topo map for planning most times I do a cache. If it is urban I use my S&T instead.

 

But the best part is after the hunt and downloading my crazy track to the cache and back. I then can see where I should have gone and not where I went out of my way.