When was the last time you planned a backpacking trip without a computer, phone, or GPS unit? Think hard. Unless you're a dedicated old-schooler, it probably wasn't recently. If your map skills are ...

In the second half of the 20th century, the foundation of the U.S. Geological Survey’s national map series was the handcrafted 7.5-minute topographic map. Times change, budgets get squeezed and ...