topo8 accuracy?

[RBlaine]

I went backpacking in Inyo National Forrest - near Mt Whitney about 10 days ago and because of the high snowfall this past winter, there was tons of snow at the 10000ft+ elevations.
So I really needed an accurate map to find my way since the trails were in some cases not visable[for .5 mile or more]. Anyway, I found the map to in error by over 100 yards at times. Siberian pass was nowhere near what the map showed.

I should have loaded my usga quad map to my gps!

[TotemLake]

I would never trust the posted trails on any map unless I knew it was being updated by local users. The trail you were following was established back in the 60's and hand surveyed and is a generalized line with little detal. Since then trail maintenance and reroutes will have made a mess of the original path. Even the USGA quad can be in large error. Always look for user provided trails that you can import as a GPX and then export to your GPS.

[John Moran_2]

I spent a few days at the Whitney Portal car campground at 8,000 feet in the dry month of May 2009. The second morning I tried to quietly take an early morning two mile day hike up the trail using the PN-40 with Topo8 Maps. I was trying not to disturb the people who ran the store and the grill.

No luck. The trail on the PN-40 showed as going right by their quarters, and I stomped around for several minutes before realizing that the big log structure down below, the one with all the welcome and warning signs on, it hid the start of the 2009 trail. I only went up two miles at the most, but the dry trail had obviously been changed, and the gps in my vest pocket did not permit retracing even my original tracks accurately with the satellite signals bouncing off the side of the mountains.

[GPS-Hermit]

Always be prepared to find inaccurates of great detail on any map -especially Delorme - it is amazing what is wrong and the info for trails and roads may or may not be even there at all. I still see roads and trail that have not been present for 50 years. Be especially carefull where bridges cross streams, try and use a satelite image to verify the bridges are there and useable.

Mainly you are responsible for getting out there and you are responsible for believing anyone is right! Always have a back up plan! In West Virginia the whole mountain can slide in and take out a trail or bridge and noone knows it but You when you get there - so mark and report what you find. Twice I have found trails blocked badly that I knew well - forced me to go back a long way! Those times I believed myself and was wrong. Be carefull - things change!