Half Mile's PCT Maps

Perhaps one of the greatest contibutions to PCT hikers on a budget is Half-Mile's set of PCT maps. Created with GPS data gathered by Half Mile and other hikers from 2007-2009, Half-Mile's PCT maps are available to print for free. You can view and print the maps from this page (below), or you can visit Half-Mile's website to download them as .zip files and learn more about the maps.

Pros

Half-Mile's PCT maps include elevation profiles as well as waypoints every half mile. All maps are in 1:31,680 scale (1 inch equals 1/2 mile) - a good scale for hikers and backpackers. The maps show resupply points, water sources, points of interest, etc. You get all the important information and no fluff. Furthermore, if you can find inexpensive printing services (see "Tips on Printing" below), printing your own maps may be the least expensive choice for hikers on a budget. At $0.10 per page, printing your own maps only costs about $38.

Cons

If you cannot find an inexpensive printing service then printing your own maps can actually be pretty expensive. You'll be printing about 380 pages. At $0.89 per page that's almost $340! Keep this in mind when deciding whether or not printing your own maps is the right option for you.

Tips on Printing

For best quality print these maps from Adobe Reader. Use the highest quality print setting available on the printer. Choose a good quality 8.5 x 11 printing paper (but you may want to stay away from glossy paper, photopaper, or waterproof paper as that will be unnecessarily costly). Standard office printing paper works fine. Print a test map to see the quality. You may want to play with the printer settings to see which settings give you the best results. To make your maps lighter and easier to keep track of you can print dual-sided pages.

To keep your cost down you'll probably want to avoid print shops that charge around $0.89 per page. Ask for bulk rates. Printing at home can be much cheaper - even when you consider the cost of replacing your color ink cartridge a couple of times. Many colleges have cheap color printing rates for students (around $0.10 per page). If you're not a student, perhaps you know one that will print them for you. There are also inexpensive printing services online. They'll print the maps and send them to you. The cheapest we are aware of is LazerQuick.com. Lazerquick's price is $75 (plus Shipping) for 2-sided color printing of all the Half Mile maps of the PCT. The LazerQuick in Portland, Oregon is familiar with these maps, and already has the .pdf's on file at the store. Their email address is center48@lazerquick.com, and their phone number is 503-228-6306. The .pdf's at the Portland LazerQuick are stored in 3 pdf files:

  • Southern California - 152 pages (Campo to Tuolumne Meadows)
  • Northern California - 129 pages (Tuolumne Meadows to near Ashland Oregon)
  • Oregon/Washington - 177 page (near Ashland Oregon to Manning Park Canada)

    • A few blank pages have been inserted into these files so that PCT sections always start on a new page and horizontal pages are rotated appropriately depending of if they are odd or even.

    Below are all the maps for the PCT.

    California

    Note: The map files are large and may take up to a minute to laod.

  • California Section A Map: Mexican Border to Warner Springs, CA
  • California Section B Map: Warner Springs to Interstate 10
  • California Section C Map: Interstate 10 to Interstate 15
  • California Section D Map: Interstate 15 to Agua Dulce
  • California Section E Map: Agua Dulce to Highway 58
  • California Section F Map: Highway 58 to Highway 178
  • California Section G Map: Walker Pass to near Mt. Whitney
  • California Section H Map Part 1 0f 2: Near Mt. Whitney to Tuolumne Meadow
  • California Section H Map Part 2 of 2: Near Mt. Whitney to Tuolumne Meadow
  • California Section I Map: Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass
  • California Section J Map: Sonora Pass to Echo Lake
  • California Section K Map: Echo Lake to Hwy 80 near Truckee
  • California Section L Map: Hwy 80 near Truckee to Hwy 49 near Sierra City
  • California Section M Map: Hwy 49 near Sierra City to Hwy 70/Belden
  • California Section N Map: Hwy 70, Beldon to Burney Falls State Park
  • California Section O Map: Burney Falls State Park to Interstate 5 near Dunsmuir
  • California Section P Map: Interstate 5 near Dunsmuir to Etna Summit
  • California Section Q Map: Etna Summit to Seiad Valley
  • California Section R Map: Seiad Valley, CA to Interstate 5 near Ashland, OR

    • Oregon

    Note: The map files are large and may take up to a minute to laod.

  • Oregon Section A Map: Oregon Section A is the same as California Section R
  • Oregon Section B Map: Interstate 5 (near Ashland, OR) to Hwy 140 (near Fish Lake
  • Oregon Section C Map: Hwy 140 (near Fish Lake) to Hwy 138
  • Oregon Section D Map: Highway 138 to Highway 58 (near Willamette Pass)
  • Oregon Section E Map: Highway 58 (near Willamette Pass) to Highway 242 (near McKenzie Pass>
  • Oregon Section F Map: Highway 242 (near McKenzie Pass) to Highway 35 (near Barlow Pass)
  • Oregon Section G Map: Highway 35 (near Barlow Pass) to Cascade Locks

    • Washington

    Note: The map files are large and may take up to a minute to laod.

  • Washington Section H Map: Cascade Locks, OR to Highway 12 (near White Pass)
  • Washington Section I Map: Highway 12 (near White Pass]) to Highway 90 (Snoqualmie Pass)
  • Washington Section J Map: Highway 90 (Snoqualmie Pass) to Highway 2 (Stevens Pass)
  • Washington Section K Map Part 1 of 2: Highway 2 (Stevens Pass) to Highway 20 (Rainy Pass)
  • Washington Section K Map Part 2 of 2: Highway 2 (Stevens Pass) to Highway 20 (Rainy Pass)
  • Washington Section L Map: Highway 20 (Rainy Pass) to Manning Park Canada