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Captain Trips
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Captain Trips
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 2:02 pm 
Before leaving to Entiat Meadows, I bought a REI National Geo shaded topo map because as everyone knows, shaded contours are cool. Wrong ! The resolution of the contour elevations was poor, the trails that were printed on the map were hard to follow and other trails didn't show up at all. Of course, this map was cropped to include my entire route whereas the Green trails maps required two sheets. Also the UTM grid I specified didn't cover the entire map, one axis was labeled while the other showed another measurement. Imagine if Greentrails used their map technology and offered the cropping of the REI Geo maps. drock

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Randy
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 4:37 pm 
I like it for keeping track of all my trips. After each outing I draw in the route and add notes and highlights as needed. It covers the entire state on multiple levels, so I'm not limited in that respect. For field use I just go buy the necessary quad, can't beat it IMO. If I'm in a bind I will sometimes print a map from the "Seattle North" Topo! series, but not from the state series because of the diminished resolution issue.

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Tom
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 4:43 pm 
Actually, you can have them print the maps with varying levels of shaded relief or without the shaded relief at all. It's no different from the Topo! maps you would print at home via the Topo! software. The advantage I see is that it's printed on a high quality color printer on larger paper and laminated. You also have the option to print at the 1:24000 scale (meaning less will get printed on the map). I think it might be useful for some people, but I find printing out the maps on normal paper in B&W works just as well and is a lot cheaper. Speaking of REI, I went over there looking for some fleece pants today. Got to love those "co-op" prices - $60 for what essentially amounts to a pair of sweats? rant.gif down.gif mad.gif

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Allison
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 5:09 pm 
nononono....the CO-OP is in CANADA, and it's called MEC! REI is just a silly place with overpriced stuff made in sweatshops. Oh, right and a climbing rock, and a Mt. Bike trail, and a bunch of other useless stuff. But....if you must have something from Hikey Town, think if you know any employees. They get a pretty deep discount, especially on REI Brand stuff.

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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MtnGoat
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 5:45 pm 
what's wrong with sweatshops? depends on how they are organized, IMO. It's rediculous to expect to pay people US wages when a local wage of a dollar a day is great. As long as they are not coerced into working, or staying, and are not placed in immediate danger due to really sh##ty conditions, cheap labor is all a lot of folks have to offer at the beginning, it's their only natural personal capital. So by buying at REI you offer some otherwise starving folks to work. Their choices are often not between a sweatshop and a lifetime of high wages down the street, but a sweatshop or *nothing*. End of digression. I'm sure you're thrilled! huh.gif

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
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cookiejar
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cookiejar
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 5:49 pm 
The key to REI is to let others subsidize your purchases. Example: Three weeks ago I bought a Gore-Tex jacket for $11. (Three previous price reductions + Labor Day Sale + 1 Day 60% off everything with a price ending with .45 in the "Attic"). Actually bought 3 jackets it was such a good deal and gave two away as gifts.

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Captain Trips
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Captain Trips
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 7:08 pm 
I didn't mean to sound so negative on the original posting. Tom is right about the comparison with the Topo program and yes the waterproof paper is very practical. I do have Topo program at home, without the shading, and admittedly, the maps in the program are often old but I tend to use them for general sourcing of peaks and other interesting features. What about a joke ? An old scotsman crawls into the local doctor's office, smelling of death and looking worse. " Doc, I'm in terrible shape, is there anything you can do fer me 'ealth " The good doctor took a deep breath and said " A fine mud bath three times a day" " Will that cure me Doc ? " " No but you will get used to a bed of dirt " drock

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Hiker Boy
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 7:59 pm 
Personally I used a Green Trail map this weekend and although it was pretty, found myself questioning it's accuracy. The contour lines and elevations seemed to be off. The National Geo map I have for the Oly's seems quite accurate. I use TOPO for the Mt. Baker and North Cascades area, the maps are a bit old.

Honey Badger Don't Care!
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Erik the Nav
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Erik the Nav
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 8:51 pm 
major thread drift follows: So, this summer, I finally break down and buy a filter/pump unit, and I'm looking at the two packages at REI, one just the filter, the other one includes a platypus bag (bad luck before, but maybe I'll try them again, I'm thinking), and little bottle of some fancy named virus-cide w/ the filter brand name on it. Being a good little shopper, I check the prices for these items separately and see just what a bargain I'd get on the package (not much as it turns out). While checking, I look at the virus treatment (add to water after filtering) and discover that it is.. a 3.5% solution of chlorine in water. A small bottle at that. List price? $7.95. You can buy a freakin' lot of bleach for $7.95. So, for quite a while I was pretty cranky at REI pullin' this kind of crap. Then it dawned on me: the maroon that spends $7.95 on some heavily thinned bleach is subsidising my purchases at REI. So now I'm -- ambivalent about it. Especially since I don't see my purchases being that heavily subsidized. While I'm piling on, I tend to think of REI as the place to go when I need to grab something quick. Latest item: new headlamp, finally LEDs. Nope, sold out. Bootlaces? Crappy selection, not the mondo laces I've seen around and wanted. Maps this year I've struck out over and over again, out of stock. WTF? Jeez. It has saved me some money, at least.

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polarbear
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 9:07 pm 
Sounds like cookiejar could give Tom a run for his money bargain hunting-wise. I have one shaded top of the SCL area. I have yet to get to the part where I actually need it shakehead.gif but it's a pretty neat map. Most of the trail is shady but not necessarily where the map is shaded. What gives? wink.gif

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Sore Feet
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PostWed Sep 25, 2002 10:32 pm 
I've never been too impressed with the paper maps that Nat'l Geo. puts out, but I love the Topo software. Shading or no. One paper map (with shading) that I won't go anywhere without (at least in the area it covers) is the Earthwalk Press map of Rainier (waterproof of course). May not be the most accurate in terms of trail location, but it is covering a pretty large area, so inaccuracy is allowable. All the maintained trails in the park are marked, campsites, lookouts, and the contours are pretty damn accurate from my experience. I have yet to do major off-trail in Rainier, so that'll be the real test for this one.

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