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Clockwise from upper left: Yogi's Trail Guide pages,
BCS map book, and Ley maps.

The CDT is not well-blazed like the Appalachian Trail nor well-signed like the Pacific Crest Trail.  It is newer and lacks consensus on a "correct" route, so hikers must make many of their own decisions and be prepared to navigate relatively unmarked trails of varying conditions (and states of existence).  Fortunately, there are many excellent resources put together by those who have gone before.

Jonathan Ley has assembled maps covering the entire trail and common alternates, which he gives to hikers on a CD to print themselves.  Most map pages also include notes on trail conditions, the merits of alternates, water sources, etc.  I chose to print the maps as 11x17 for better readability, although many choose 8.5x11.

A recent addition to CDT map options are the Bear Creek Survey map books that cover the Continental Divide Trail Society 'official' route.  The majority of this route overlaps with the Ley maps, but does miss a few common alternates.  The advantage of the BCS maps is a more accurately plotted trail line and a labeled GPS grid.  I have spent several hours annotating both the BCS and Ley maps so I can easily reference between them on the trail.  I do not know which I will use primarily.

I am carrying a Garmin eTrex 20 GPS with a 100k base map, based on a recommendation from StarMan.  His website also includes GPS waypoints for the trail, including alternates, and water sources in key areas.  The GPS is also loaded with waypoints of the BCS route.  To conserve batteries, the GPS will only be used to check my location in cases of uncertainty.  I should be able to "stay found" with maps and compass most of the time.

Yogi's CDT Handbook is an invaluable resource for pre-trail planning and on-trail logistics.  I will be carrying the Town Guide in sections in order to plan my time between resupply.  The Planning Guide includes advice from several recent CDT thru-hikers and was very helpful in making gear and route decisions.

I will be carrying a week or two of maps at a time.  New batches will be included in resupply boxes (more on that in a future post), limiting unnecessary weight.  Once I have hiked past maps, I plan to use the back of some to journal and the rest to start my Bushbuddy stove.