Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Where can I get 15 minute quad maps?

On a recent question that I posted about Gambler's Special peak, Bob R mentioned that he allows only 15 minute quadrangle topo maps in his house. Where on Earth can they be found? From what I've read and heard they've been out of print since the late 1950's. There is a store here in Bakersfield, CA where I get all my 7.5 minute quads. A couple of months ago I asked them if they had any 15 minute quads and they took an old stack of about 50, none of which were areas that I hike in, many were multiple copies of the same section, and they also said that they couldn't get any more. Who can tell me where these maps can be found or ordered. I would greatly appreciate that info.

Rafael...

If you go to www.topozone.com they have an option for printing maps at the 1:50,000 scale, which is roughly a 15 minute map if I remember correctly. Not positive, but pretty sure. Also, at the local REI (here in Los Angeles) they have a National Geographic Map Station where you can hone in on the area that you want and choose the scale that you prefer (1:24,000 or 1:50,000 or 1:100,000 etc.). Maps are printed on waterproof paper and cost $10.

Gusto

I've got the entire Sierra set from north of Yosemite to Whitney. I purchased most of them, ahem, 30 years ago. I would have liked the 7.5 when I was trying Mt Conness a few weeks back.

I did not realize that they were out of print.

My old 15 minute quads for the Sierra are 1:62,500. My Alaska maps are 1:63,360.

You can order directly from the USGS. You can go on line and see what's available. This address lets you plug in the lat/long numbers and it'll tell you everything available within the coordinates you enter. You can also call them at 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747).

Tom Harrison has most maps us outdoor types would want. They're on waterproof paper, have shaded relief, among other cool features. He has many that are 1:63,360. You can check them out at http://www.tomharrisonmaps.com/

The last complete new editions for the 15-minute series anywhere in the country were published in the mid-1960s, and for the Sierra Nevada many date from the late 1950s with limited revisions in the early 1960s, though most of the backcountry trail features are still accurate. The USGS discontinued the sale of 15-minute maps around 15 years ago, about the time that the 7.5-minute series was completed for all of the 48 lower states.

Some alternatives at that scale:
1. Software mapping programs such as TOPO! let you make printouts at a custom scale.
2. Wilderness Press sells their own updated versions of several selected Sierra Nevada 15' maps. Some of them are out of print including the Mt. Whitney one.
3. A 2 map set covering the entire backcountry for the John Muir and SEKI parks was published in 1992 by the managing agencies and is still in print. They are 1:63,360 and based on the 15-minute maps with additional recreation and administrative information overlaid.

The Tom Harrison are in different scales, but have excellent up-to-date information due to their frequent revision. Most of them give trail mileages.

I will see him tomorrow hiking Morris - Jenkins - Owens - sure you don't want to join - I have his e-mail addy at home = or send e-mail to turtle lady - she will give it to you

There is a website with free (downloadable) california State topo maps of different sizes - NOT including 15 min. With the right software though, you could size your own.

http://www.klofas.com/topo/

It is interesting to check out. It is of dubious value unless you have access to software like photoshop or illustrator. Then there's the question of how to print it out. A color inkjet plotter works great, if you have access to one.

But you never know, so I thought I'd just put it out there

You can now download all the 7.5min topo maps (as <em>big</em> .tiff files) courtesy of the <a href="http://libremap.org/">Libre Map Project.</a>

I just ordered 24k USGS 7.5 min quad from

http://mapsport.com/index.php?cPath=120

for ex, Mt Ritter quad was $6.95 shipped.