The Golden Age Of Maps, Ctd

A reader shakes his head:

I can easily argue with your snickering reader who claims that paper topographic maps are good only as “wall decorations,” having “been rendered essentially useless by the Internet.” By the Internet? He clearly doesn’t get out much, at least he doesn’t get out in wild places, either on foot or in a canoe. I just spent four wonderful days backpacking with my sons in the woods of north-central Pennsylvania. We carried everything we needed on our backs. I can assure your overly connected reader that the paper topo maps we used (30 years old) are still terrifically useful technology. They helped us to figure out where we were and where we should camp, and allowed us to find alternate trails when high water made certain areas impassable. And they are lightweight to boot, which is important when every ounce must be carried. All the cell phones and tablets in the world would have been dead weight in our packs – essentially useless.

Your reader forgets that there are still large swaths of the continent where cell service is sketchy to non-existent. I’ve taken extended wilderness trips in northern Minnesota, the Adirondacks, Georgian Bay in Ontario, and the mountains of New Mexico – no cell phone service in any of these places. Furthermore there are no electric outlets at night for that convenient re-charge. When exploring wild places, I think I’ll hang on to my topo maps for now, thanks.

Previous Dish on the debate here and here.