For wading and casting along summer brooks, I have a favorite fly rod; there’s a bass-casting pole I’m very biased toward, too, and of course I have a special deer rifle and preferred goose gun. Truth be told, for each and every season I seem to have a pet piece of gear or two that accompanies me for a month or so until the next fin, feather or fur foray begins. It suddenly occurred to me late last fall, in the predawn gloom as I used a flashlight to peruse a map in an attempt to locate a road where hunting partners were waiting, that there was in fact one piece of gear that accompanied me on all of my woods and waters ventures.

This epiphany struck as a well-worn page of my Delorme’s Maine Atlas and Gazetteer finally gave up the ghost and separated from my bedraggled copy. I finally found my friends, we enjoyed a successful hunt and the next day I purchased another Gazetteer, somewhere between my 20th and 25th copy. I’ve depended on this unique book of maps for more than 30 years, both personally and professionally. It has helped me locate angling, gunning and boating locales over the shortest routes with the fewest detours and deep woods travel surprises.

For better than three decades, I’ve written “The County” column for Maine’s most read outdoor publication, The Maine Sportsman. Very much a “where to” publication, every writer uses the map and grid system of Delorme’s Atlas as the gold standard to direct local and nonresident outdoorsmen to specific regions for cast, blast, paddle and drive ventures. For many years Delorme’s large book of cartography has been a source to simplify travel, add security to remote trips afoot or afloat and to increase sportsmen’s success in and enjoyment of regional woods and waters.

Back when

More than 30 years ago, upon returning from Vietnam, a young Dave Delorme soon reverted back to his Maine roots of outdoor recreation. What soon became evident to him was a major lack of dependable and detailed mapping of highways, secondary roads and woods roads. Dave learned that the state actually published a fairly comprehensive highway atlas, and that these Pine Tree road charts were in the public domain, meaning the maps were available for use by one and all.

Dave formulated a unique idea for the state maps. He set up shop on his kitchen table, copied each page and made changes and addendums, and added a listing of boat launch sites, parks, nature preserves, campgrounds and other locations of interest to travel- and recreation-oriented readers. A new cover with a $4 tag dressed up the 1976 introductory issue, which Dave then began selling from his vehicle to markets and stores throughout the state. It wasn’t long before cartography specialists were hired and computers entered the picture to store and produce more info and yield precision maps with accuracy, detail and complexities never before available.

Year after year, more information was added to the Atlas, including several city and town street maps, ski areas, a mileage chart and museums. There are listings of historic sites and even historic lighthouses and forts, and lists of airports, airfields and charter fly-in services. For the explorers there are rafting and canoeing waterway suggestions and a compilation of hiking trails and scenic waterfalls to check out. Not only was the Atlas and Gazetteer expanding year by year, but so were its regions of coverage. By 1999 all 50 states were represented by a Delorme publication. Regardless of how far from home a sportsman traveled to enjoy the outdoors, an Atlas was available to help designate a route and find the right location to fish or hunt.

More mapping

Unwilling to rest on their laurels, Dave and his ever-expanding Delorme company recognized the growing importance of computers and began experimenting with CD-ROM technology in 1985. These early beginnings into the digital mapping process led to many discoveries regarding storing, collecting and retrieving data and earned a number of patents that revolutionized how maps are currently created. Soon, contracts with big industry, huge utility companies, the Pentagon and foreign governments followed.

By 1991, Delorme’s Street Atlas USA, the first consumer CD-ROM mapping product, hit the market. A year later Map ‘N’ Go, the first mapping product able to generate automatic routing, hit the scene to rave reviews. By 1995 Delorme introduced its first global positioning system product, a receiver for satellite-distributed signals that skyrocketed into use for traveling remote roads and pinpointing locations for woods- and waters-oriented outdoorsmen.

With laptop computer sales skyrocketing in the 1990s, Delorme offered another breakthrough in 1996, the first laptop-compatible GPS setup. X-Map, a hand-held street atlas, and Topo USA, which provides aerial and satellite imagery with routing and editing capabilities, came next. Travelers could now transfer maps to their portable media players and iPods for easy access when exploring new areas, be it city streets or remote logging roads.

Enter Earthmate

Last year, this Maine-based company that began with a simple set of maps and a vision for the future introduced the Earthmate GPS PN-20. This handheld personal navigation system is capable of displaying all of Delorme’s software maps and aerial data packets; in other words this tiny unit can guide a person unerringly from point A to point B, be it mid-city or dense fir forest.

I have to admit I’m no high-tech wizard, yet I have figured out how to use many of the Earthmate’s useful outdoor-oriented capabilities thanks to easy-to-understand instructions and tutorials. There are dozens of facets I’ve yet to explore, and I must admit some of the PN-20’s features remind me of elaborate magic tricks, but boy is it a wonderful, dependable travel mate for exploring new territories – urban, rural or remote.

With the bright yellow and black Earthmate and its simple, precise directions comes a set of DVDs that provide topo maps for every state. These load onto a chip that goes into the PN-20. Also included is the newest version of Topo USA 7.0, a complete set of U.S. topo and street maps. Other possible downloads include NOAA nautical charts, high-resolution urban imagery, color satellite imagery and USGU 75-min quadmap.

There are four million points of interest available; hotels, hospitals, police stations, restaurants, historic sites and much more. So when you bury that 2/0 treble hook in your hand while fishing, your buddy can get you to the nearest ER, then find a great rib and chicken joint for supper and sympathy by just pressing a couple of buttons and following the on-screen guide of the Earthmate. Of special interest to outdoorsmen will be the 35,000 boat ramps, campgrounds and fishing and hunting locales pinpointed in the Earthmate GPS system. When you’re far from home visiting relatives and have just got to get away for a morning of trout fishing or turkey hunting yet you aren’t familiar with the local hot spots, just fire up the PN-20 and follow its directions to some nearby cast and blast relief, regardless of what state you’re vacationing in.

When a particular area of a large lake proves productive, I just punch in a waypoint for that exact spot, and whether it’s next week or next spring, my Earthmate will guide me back to the hot spots. Suppose you finally get drawn for a moose permit but it’s in a zone you’re totally unfamiliar with. Use the Earthmate to drive the quickest route and locate a hotel and sporting goods store, then go scouting and establish waypoints when you spot moose. Just retrieve those waypoints early opening morning and the Delorme PN-20 will guide you back to the best sites despite the predawn darkness.

Hikers, ATV riders and snowsledders who avoid trails to ride cross country and deep woods campers and boaters exploring new waterways will find Earthmate an essential piece of gear yielding peace of mind and security. Best of all, regardless of how many waypoints were explored during favorite recreations, once back home these key waypoints can be transferred to your desktop or laptop computer. Then fire up Topo USA, overlay the map on top of your waypoint and get a complete overview of the surrounding territory. Perhaps there’s a closer access road, a lake or stream near the campsite or a bog where more moose will be found – all important info for the next trip which would be unavailable except for Maine’s own Delorme.

I’m still trying to figure out and understand all the options of my Earthmate PN-20, and just in case, I always have a copy of my Atlas and Gazetteer in my truck. By the time I do get everything sorted out, Delorme will probably have a new unit that will do everything but drive me and paddle the canoe – I can’t wait!

Every bookstore and supermarket carries Delorme map books and they sell for about 20 bucks. Basic Earthmate PN-20 kits retail for $399 and the Web site, www.delorme.com, will provide lots of extra info, or to order by phone or ask questions, call 1-800-561-5105. Regardless of what your favorite outdoor pastime is, or where you explore in Maine or any other state, Delorme maps and the Earthmate are pieces of gear that fit into and support any outdoor adventure.

bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com