1845 map I'd never (includes our stomping grounds)

This is a forum for trip reports that pre-date the Portland Hikers forum, trail photos from pre-digital era, or any other discussions that focus on trail history.
Post Reply

payslee

Re: 1845 map I'd never (includes our stomping grounds)

Post by payslee » April 3rd, 2014, 10:09 am

Nice find! I like how the Deschutes goes all the way down to the Klamath Mountains. That would be super convenient.

-payslee

User avatar
Grannyhiker
Posts: 4598
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Gateway to the Columbia Gorge

Re: 1845 map I'd never (includes our stomping grounds)

Post by Grannyhiker » April 3rd, 2014, 11:19 am

At least it's better than no map at all, which is what would have been available 10 years earlier! While modern technology has (probably) made life safer, it has taken most of the adventure out of exploration!

User avatar
Chase
Posts: 1265
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: 1845 map I'd never (includes our stomping grounds)

Post by Chase » April 3rd, 2014, 12:15 pm

Grannyhiker wrote:At least it's better than no map at all, which is what would have been available 10 years earlier! While modern technology has (probably) made life safer, it has taken most of the adventure out of exploration!
The blank spaces leave the most to the imagination. I like to romanticize it, but the reality is that there was, is, and probably always will be a heavy cost to exploration.
As a child I used to often have this thought while out in the woods in Upstate New York: I wonder if there is a spot among these trees that has never been seen by a person, never stepped upon, and I'm the first person to experience it.
Now my adult-self quietly answers, Nope.

User avatar
sgyoung
Posts: 393
Joined: November 3rd, 2013, 7:30 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: 1845 map I'd never (includes our stomping grounds)

Post by sgyoung » April 13th, 2014, 1:08 pm

Thanks for posting this. I saw an article about the NY library releasing this digital collection of maps and was excited to check it out. Your link confirms my fear that I will lose many hours looking through the collection.
Chase wrote:The blank spaces leave the most to the imagination. I like to romanticize it, but the reality is that there was, is, and probably always will be a heavy cost to exploration.
As a child I used to often have this thought while out in the woods in Upstate New York: I wonder if there is a spot among these trees that has never been seen by a person, never stepped upon, and I'm the first person to experience it.
Now my adult-self quietly answers, Nope.
This really resonates with me. I used to have the same thoughts, albeit in a more abstract way since I grew up in suburban New Jersey and had little experience in the woods. Nevertheless, I found the idea of there being remote, untouched, and unseen places on the planet very compelling. I don't think I even entertained discovering them; the prospect that such places existed was cool in its own right. I'm content now to settle for places that merely new for me :)

Post Reply