BWCA Folding maps... Boundary Waters Trip Planning Forum
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schweady
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02/02/2021 02:58PM  
...plotting out each corner and edge to maximize visible information, while ensuring that it will fit 'just-so' in the map case. Deciding how the front and back will appear to allow a quick flip over enroute, marking up campsites and fishing spots. Made especially exciting when plotting out a trip that begins at an entry point I've never seen before...

Just one of the tiny little things that make my open water trip planning a joy during these winter days.

What's your minor detail that gets you going while planning the next adventure?


 
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MikeinMpls
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02/02/2021 03:10PM  
Folding maps is one of mine. I am meticulous about folding maps, too much so. I have a double-sided map case, so I put one brand (McKenzie, Voyageur, or Fisher) on one side, and another brand on the other. Wedged between them is the permit, a pen, and any notes regarding special sites, fishing, camping sites, etc.

In the pack goes another map(s) of the areas adjacent to the maps I have in the maps case. I have this in case a re-route is necessary.

Mike
02/02/2021 03:38PM  
Well, the first thing that gets me going is getting the permit and route planning. I got the permit the 27th and the final map I needed a couple of days after.

I do most of the things you and Mike do with the maps in the map case. I carry my permit, pen, notebook there too.
andym
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02/02/2021 04:21PM  
Both my wife and I have our maps folded to make them work each day. Her folds are much neater and nicer than mine. We have McKenzie's on both sides so we can flip over the case during a long day and keep on moving. Other maps are stored either inside or another map case in a different canoe or a pack for reference if needed.

The night before our first trip, she spent a lot of time putting lat-lon labels onto her McKenzie maps because she really loves lat-lon.
02/02/2021 07:17PM  
Folding maps is great trip preparation! It's also a ritual I due each morning over coffee on trips. I almost lost my map case on a solo trip, and started taking pictures of my maps on my phone just in case. I also carry the Crismar Quetico map and Nat Geo BWCA maps in my pack. I have never needed to use them for navigation, but they are a great resource during the trip for planning future trips.

Another trip preparation activity that I do is re-reading my trip diary. It brings back lots of memories, and reminds me of all the crap I used to bring!
straighthairedcurly
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02/02/2021 07:48PM  
I have to admit I have never pre-folded my maps for a trip. It never even crossed my mind. I just fold them each morning of the trip (or in the tent the night before).

But my obsessive prep is around food. I love researching and planning different meals (especially for my solo since my son just wants the same meals every year for our family trips). Then I love inventorying my ingredients, making lists of missing ingredients, then ordering. Over spring break, I will start drying and assembling the meals.
cyclones30
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02/02/2021 08:57PM  
I'll have the first map I need folded the right way in my CCS thwart bag at least by the night before the trip. The rest are just folded regularly behind it. And the rest of the trip I just fold and rearrange when needed. If it's mid-lake or at night or whenever, no special ritual or exact science. Fold it so it looks decent and fits in the sleeve and go.
TipsyPaddler
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02/03/2021 08:03AM  
Once I settle on the EP, likely route(s), and number of people going I start reviewing and tweaking the gear list based on previous year’s lessons, sold equipment, new equipment, etc. Number #2 is probably annotating my maps with useful info—camp site ratings, sights to check out, and details from other trip reports.
02/03/2021 08:13AM  
I also fold my maps ahead of time. The one pet peeve I have about maps though is people writing on them. I hate it when people start adding notes to my maps or start tracing routes. I get that some of those notes might be nice to have later, like where the good fishing spots are, but adding them before going on the trip makes no sense. Your plan should be simple enough that you don't need notes and fishing spots are the sort of thing to make note of after you catch fish there.
Savage Voyageur
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02/03/2021 08:52AM  
I have that same map case, and I like it. Put some Armor All on it to clean and protect the vinyl. I like folding them with the day’s paddle on one side and if I need another map for that day on the other side. Before the days of GPSs’ and moving maps I had my map case in front of me when paddling. So simple to just use a GPS with Topographic moving maps loaded on it. I consider my maps and compass as a backup nowadays. My map case usually stays the whole trip in the bottom of my Duluth pack.
straighthairedcurly
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02/03/2021 06:24PM  
A1t2o: "I also fold my maps ahead of time. The one pet peeve I have about maps though is people writing on them. I hate it when people start adding notes to my maps or start tracing routes. I get that some of those notes might be nice to have later, like where the good fishing spots are, but adding them before going on the trip makes no sense. Your plan should be simple enough that you don't need notes and fishing spots are the sort of thing to make note of after you catch fish there. "


I totally agree! I even hate drawing on my maps during or after I am done. I might circle a campsite just to indicate where we stayed, but nothing else. I am considering doing electronic versions after the fact where I can add notes.
schweady
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02/03/2021 06:26PM  
The only maps I wish I hadn't marked up are those in the Fisher map booklet I bought following our 1978 trip. So easy to keep a digital record now, and that collection of old maps would have looked a lot better left alone.

It's certainly not bad to have fishing spots marked ahead... ask my bow partner. I told him to "get ready, we're coming up on a spot I have marked." He was mid-sentence with, "Why is it we think that just because we caught one here last... Ooh! Got one!"
 
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