Reddit mentions: The best altases & maps

> I've come to the conclusion that my minimum requirements are to see the Rings of Saturn and the bands on Jupiter.

Go big.

I've a 50 mm finderscope (an auxiliary "rifle sights" scope that sits on top of a much larger scope) that can "resolve" the rings of Saturn if I put a strong eyepiece in it, but it looks like a little dot crossed out by a very thin thread. And this is a high-quality Stellarvue achromat refractor.

Get the biggest aperture your money can buy. That basically means a dobsonian reflector. Someone suggested a refurbished 6" dob. If that's all you can afford, go for it. You may have to get an extra eyepiece for it, something like a 12 mm or even 8 mm.

The smallest dob that is not a compromise in any way is the Zhumell Z8 - the archetypal 8" dob. If you can afford it, it could be a "forever scope". If you can't afford it, just get the biggest dob you can - it's the architecture that provides the most aperture per dollar. Smart 8 year olds can handle a 6" ... 8" dob; they may need a small stool to step on when the 8" dob is vertical, but that will cease being a problem in a year or so, when the kid gets taller. :)

You can sort-of cheat with a small-ish aperture for the rings of Saturn, but you'll see them small. Jupiter's bands, OTOH, are low-contrast features. You could see them on a sub-100mm scope, but they are not very impressive; you can tell they are there, but that's it. There is no substitute for large aperture in that case. Go BIG.

Aperture is king.

BTW, Saturn goes in hiding for the next several months. But Jupiter is on the rise in the East; very bright and pretty, go outside tonight and look east.

> Everyone is familiar with refractor telescopes.

It's easy to make small-aperture refractors, that's why they are popular. But as soon as aperture goes beyond a certain limit, things get flipped over and reflectors rule the game.

A good 4" (100 mm) refractor is a thousand bucks. A good 4" dob is 1/4 of that price.

> Do you think we would be disappointed with the 80mm refractor when trying to view Saturn & Jupiter?

Yes. Anything is disappointing after looking at big colorful space telescope images. Well, almost anything, except over-24" dobs under dark skies with great seeing. :) If your goal is to blow the kid's mind, go big. Forget anything else, features, bells, whistles - hunt for aperture instead.

Make sure you have at least two eyepieces; one at, let's say, 30x ... 50x magnification (for wide images - large but faint objects like nebulae), another at 120x ... 180x or so (for higher magnification - small objects like planets or double stars). Good dobs usually come with two glasses like that included. You'll figure out later when/if you need a more diverse collection of glass. This assumes you get a reasonable aperture; a tiny 80mm scope will fall apart at 180x.

Magnification is like a car's speed. You don't drive your car all the time at 200 km/h; sometimes you drive slow, when you go to the grocery store; other times you go fast, such as on the freeway. Each situation requires a certain speed. Same with scopes and magnification. Don't fall into the beginner's trap and believe that "more is better" for magnification. It is not. However, more is always better when it comes to aperture.

Get Turn Left At Orion - it's a wonderful book that will teach you where and how to find all sorts of amazing objects on the sky. It's perfect for the kid too - not too complicated, lots of pictures.

Install Stellarium on a laptop or iPhone. It's like a map, but for the sky. You could also get the Pocket Sky Atlas after a few months - it's a bit more technical but it's a real sky map like the ones "real" astronomers use.

Keep your scope collimated for best performance. link1 link2

I've never rented an RV, mainly because of the cost. It seems to be more expensive than staying in hotels. The rental RVs you see most often are from Cruise America.

For Zion, there's 2 must see hikes. The first is Angel's landing. It's a relatively short hike (~5 miles) that will take 3-4 hours. The views are great, but the most impressive part is the trail, which is a true masterpiece in trail cutting. The second is the Narrows. The Narrows is often cited as the best hike in America, which I can not argue with. The Narrows is a thin canyon that is as wide as the river which you can hike ~16 miles up. You can do it as an in and out from the bottom or a through hike from the top. If you do it from the top you will need to get a shuttle and it takes ALL day. Ive done it both ways and from the top is the best way to go if you have the time and stamina. Ive rented equipment (which you will want the special shoes either way) and got a shuttle from Zion Outfitters. If you decide to do the through hike from the top you will need a backcountry permit. Try to reserve it ahead of time, but I did the last minute drawing without a problem. The East Rim and West Rim trails provide more typical hiking. I have not done the West Rim and it needs an overnight. The East Rim trail was great. We hitchhiked from the visitors center to the trail head without any problem (people are friendly in NPs) and then took a shuttle back to our car. National Geographic makes a great trail map if you want to see all the trails. In terms of lodging, there's two campgrounds in the park, lots of hotels in the town of Springdale right outside the park, a lodge in the middle of the park which always seems to be booked, and some BLM land a little to the south.

After Zion, Id go to Bryce Canyon for the morning (early) and do the Fairyland loop (~9 miles, mostly flatish) and check out some of the trails near sunset point. There's a shuttle so you don't need to hike back to your vehicle if you don't want. After a nice morning in Bryce, you'll want to drive east along route 12 (not how google takes you) towards Moab. Route 12 is straight out of a road runner cartoon. Along the way there's 3 places worth stopping that Ive found in order of awesomeness: Goblin Valley, Calf Creek Canyon, and Capital Reef. YOu may want to do the drive from Zion to Moab in 2 days depending on your schedule.

Once in Moab your choices for hiking are endless. Moab has lots of hotels, arches and canyonlands have campgrounds, and there's some awesome BLM sites along the Colorado river along route 128 just north of town. The 2 must hikes are Devil's garden loop in Arches and The Needles in Canyonlands. At some point you need to catch the view from Dead Horse Point or Island in the Sky but there's not much hiking there. If you have the time and resources, Id suggest doing some of the "adventure" activities from the outfitters in Moab. There's white water rafting, fan boat rides, canyoneering, and many other options. Ive always wanted to rent a 4 wheel drive high clearance vehicle and tour the Grand Staircase Escalante (which is being turned over to oil companies thanks to our dear leader).

In terms of timing, it seems like May 15th is a critical date. That is when the north rim of the grand canyon reopens after the winter. How does that line up with your schedule?

After you're done with Moab, you're about equidistant from Las Vegas, Denver, Albuquerque and Salt Lake City airports. If you're heading back to Vegas, Id go through Page AZ and hit The Wave (you need a permit) and north rim of the Grand Canyon. If you're heading to Albuquerque, Id spend a night at the Orvis Hot Springs and do a little hike in Ouray CO before heading to Chaco Culture. If you're heading to Denver, there's a million options along highway 70. If you're heading to SLC, it's mostly salt flats and indian reservations until you get close to Provo but there's lots to do near the metropolitian areas.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions or want more details and please let me know how the trip goes!

Astrophotography is a hobby in its own right.
For the budget you have listed, you would most likely end up buying a mount that is not up to the task.

I would suggest a nice pair of 10x50 binoculars and this book first.

If you are committed to getting a scope, then this is my suggestion assuming the $1000 budget is all inclusive meaning scope, accessories, and books.

1. Get a dobsonian. 8inches F4.5-5 10" or 12" would be nice but would blow your budget for the necessary accessories. Something like this would be a great place to start. Also nice would be the 10" Meade Lightbridge.
   
   2)The skywatcher comes with 2 eyepieces (25mm and 10mm IRC) THe light bridge comes with one. In either case I would invest in a NICE barlow like this one Barlows are an inexpensive way to improve your options. A 24 mm EP in a 2x barlow becomes a 12mm a 10mm becomes a 5mm. Its not as great as discrete eps in those sizes, but it is an economical way to get more versatility out of your existing eyepieces. I also can't talk enough about the Televue Panoptic EPs. They are affordable and incredibly nice. Eyepieces are something that will last through many scopes. I have 10 or so but only ever use about 3 of them.
   Get a Telrad or a Rigel finder. The Skywatcher has a finderscope, the meade has a red dot finder. Personally I hate red dot finders. I think they are complete junk. Telrad is the defacto standard for zero magnification finders, I prefer the rigel for its smaller size and built in pulse circuit. They are both about the same price. You will need to collimate your scope, a cheshire works great, or a laser collimator will do as well. Many folks use a combination of both. I have gone both ways, cheshire is fine, laser is fine, a combination of both is also fine. Accessories can go on forever, the only other must have that I can think of is a redlight flashlight. This is a good one or you can add red film to an existing flashlight you have or you can do what myself and many others have done and get an LED headlamp and replace the white LEDs with red ones.
   
   
2. books
   
   

• Nightwatch
  
• Turn Left at Orion
  
• The Backyard Astronomers Guide
  
• The Pocket Sky Atlas
  
• The Collins Guide to stars and planets as a pocket field guide I prefer this to the petersen field guide.
  
• The Ultimate Messier Object Log Its free! Has Telrad charts for all the Messier objects and you can download a PDF and print it out. A few years ago I printed a portion of the PDF out, laminated it and took it to kinkos and had it spiral bound. FANTASTIC resource and is my goto for finding messier objects.
  
  I would start with the backyard astronomers guide. Buy that first before you buy anything. It has some very good sections on scopes and observing that can help you answer some questions.
  
  

4. find a local club. Join it. ask questions and goto meetings. Check out Cloudynights.com. Remember that this is something you are doing for FUN.
   
   Lastly I always say go with a dobsonian scope. They are easy to setup and use and they force you to learn the sky. Once you are comfortable operating a scope and moving around the night sky, then I would think about investing in an equatorial mount and scope for astrophotography use.
   
   Good luck and Clear Skies!

Getting your first scope is so exciting! I'm very much an amateur and casual observer myself, but my dad and I have been into astronomy for about four years now.

First, I recommend looking into some space/astro societies in your area, there's Tacoma Astronomical Society and Rose City Astronomers in my area for example! Each club has different resources, but they can be super helpful. You can meet locals and see if they have resources you can rent- like telescopes, or books and whatnot. It's saved me a dime or two. Sometimes they have online forums too. I also highly recommend going to star parties, it's where I've learned the most! You can see other people's set ups, ask loads of questions, and get a better sense for what you might want. We did this for about 6 months before getting our first scope, and before that we nabbed a pair of nice binoculars .

Now, you have to consider, when you get a scope you aren't just getting a scope. You're probably getting filters, eye pieces, protective gear, batteries, red lights, etc. etc. and then probably a tool box to carry all of this- which you might want to customize with foam or something to keep everything safe and tidy. It's an Investment. Now, looking at jupiter and saturn won't require much, but eventually you might want to look at the moon (needs filters), or special eyepieces that let have more magnification, or there's even filters that let you see some colors, etc!

I, personally, would highly recommend getting a manual (specifically, Dobsonian *) scope for your first one- not computerized. Learning the sky and it's constellations is part of astronomy, and having to find stuff yourself is really helpful- and rewarding! Plus, computerized scopes require pretty hardy batteries, especially if you want to take it out to darker skies which usually means more rural aka no plugs. They also require certain stars to be be visible to be able to calibrate. Manual scopes require no plugs, no consistent power source, and no learning computer programs-NexStar can be a pain imo, some reading required (plus Jupiter and Saturn are pretty easy to spot with the naked eye anyways). Plus it's fun being able to point out stuff to friends just by knowing where a few stars are. We only got a computerized equatorial mount (meaning it tracks objects) when we wanted to try out long exposure astro- photography. This 8in dob was our first scope, and I still love it- it's the go-to (Craigslist, amazon used, and other shops are worth a gander too).

*I'm 99% sure dobsonian and newtonian telescopes are the same, except for the mounts they're on (newtonian is tripod, dobsonian is a base that can move up down and in a circle)

Also, I consider Sinnott's Sky Atlas a must!

Lmk if you have any questions!

(Edit: sorry if this is repetitive- reddit says there are four comments, but isn't letting see me them atm.)

The Pharaoh Lake Wilderness has two great mountains to climb- Pharaoh Mountain and Treadway Mountain. Both have great views- the views from Pharaoh are a little bit better, but it also attracts a lot more hikers, so the summit can get a little crowded if you're up there on the weekend and it's a nice day.

I'd also recommend checking out the Lake George Wild Forest- some great peaks there with awesome views. The Tongue Mountain Range on the west side of Lake George, and Black Mountain, Sleeping Beauty, and Buck Mountain on the east side especially are all worthwhile hiking destinations. There is also some really pretty small ponds and lakes to explore in the vicinity of Black Mountain and Sleeping Beauty- Lapland Pond, Millman Pond, Fishbrook Pond, and Bumps Pond are all worthwhile destinations. In fact, the network of trails on the east side of Lake George is quite extensive, and it would take probably a solid week to explore all that the area has to offer.

There are also some easier hikes in the High Peaks. Cascade and Porter are 4,000 footers, but they can easily be done in a day by anyone who is in reasonable shape. Some shorter mountains in the High Peaks, but still with spectacular views, include Noonmark, Round, Baxter, and Roostercomb.

What I would do is invest in a couple of hiking maps, and maybe some guidebooks. National Geographic makes a map set that covers the entire park in 5 different maps- one of the five covers the Lake George region, while another covers the High Peaks region. The Adirondack Mountain Club also publishes some great guidebooks- there's one for the Eastern region (including Lake George and Pharaoh Lake), and one for the High Peaks.

Hope that helps!

For some reason, Im drawn to these black trees for some sort of decoration, depending on how tall they are, they could be centerpieces maybe?

I like this wristband bracelet for bridesmaids to wear, if you have some, or even yourself, depending on your dress color.

I like the idea of black candelabras everywhere, I feel like they are very romantic/dark, if done right. Something like this minus the fake spiders, and these Bleeding candle sticks are very cool.

If you're serving punch, an intricate black punch bowl would look great. Maybe a bowl on every other table, since they're little?

Satin flower girl basket, but I think there is a whole set for this, with a guest book and ring pillow. The gems are white, but it looks like you could easily pop them out, and place them with purple.

Instead of having guests sign a guest book, you could frame this Map of Europe and take the glass out and have people sign it. It would look amazing with all the well wishes on it, but still have a neat background to it.

A set of these Apothocary jars, filled with candy or matches, placed at the bar, or around the cake table, just as little accents. And you could wrap them with a band of purple ribbon to help tie your colors together.

And lastly, I always love candles at a wedding I feel like they are the symbol of romance. Lots of candles, everywhere. They give off just the right amount of light.

Good luck, hope Ive helped just a little. <3

Thanks for the contest! I hope to see pics of how the wedding decorations look!!!

I would say that the best thing that you can probably do is to join a local astronomy club. They're more than likely going to have "star parties" where they all bring different telescopes and look at different things in the night sky. It should give you a good taste of what you can see, the pros and cons of different telescopes, and real world experience. You're also going to have a ton of experienced observers who you can ask questions and talk with.

Besides that, I would probably pick up a book called Turn Left at Orion and a star atlas (my personal favorite is Sky and telescope Pocket Sky Atlas). Turn Left at Orion is essentially a beginners guide to amateur astronomy. It tells you what the best things to observe are during different times of the year, descriptions of them, how to find them, and other things. A star atlas is essentially a map of the night sky. I would also look into Stellarium. It's a free program that shows you what your night sky looks like based on your date, time, and where you live. It's pretty much an interactive star atlas. Also, if you have any book money left over, you might consider getting RASC's 2017 Observer's Hand. It tells you, in detail, what important things are going to be going on above our heads in 2017. It also has some nice articles for beginning astronomers, a bunch of nice maps, and a lot of helpful charts. I wouldn't call it a necessity, but it's really nice to have.

I would also recommend joining an online astronomy forum. Cloudy Nights is my favorite. The folks there are all passionate about astronomy, very nice, and very knowledgeable.

Lastly, and this is the most important piece of advice I can give, is to just get out there and start observing. You don't need a telescope or even binoculars. Go out and try to find constellations or try to find where the planets currently are or see if you can see some of the brighter Deep Sky Objects (those are essentially anything that isn't a planet or the moon). The Pleiades and the Orion Nebula are great first things to look for, for instance. Just enjoy being out there under the stars. It's a great feeling.

Clear Skies!

Wow, I have no idea what that scope is, but it seems like a great deal for $50. Grats!

Definitely collimate it while at home. You'll have to recollimate at your destinations, but hopefully it will be minor, and you don't want to waste precious dark sky time learning how to do it or realizing there's a problem.

As far as gear goes, ergonomics are important! You'll need a good chair, preferably one with some height adjustment. Also, I personally like to use an eye patch for extended viewing sessions. Just pick up a cheap one at a dug store.

Print out a sky map for the month you will travel.
http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

Google sky is good, but you should also get a good sky atlas. It's a good investment. Sinnot's Pocket Sky Atlas is excellent:
http://www.amazon.com/Sky-Telescopes-Pocket-Atlas/dp/1931559317

Check the weather report and what the moon will be doing during your trip. And one thing about the desert is that high winds can ruin your viewing (vibrates your scope), so you might want to choose a sheltered camping/viewing spot.

As far as the actual viewing, planets are pretty easy targets in general, even in light polluted places, so I would take advantages of those dark skies to see some DSOs. Then again, it all depends on what the skies will be showing during your trip.

Good luck and have fun!

Bradbury Mountain is a decent day trip from Portland, plus you could stop in Freeport and shop and eat lunch at the (supposedly) haunted Jameson's Tavern. The staff there will show you a book about the haunting if you ask about it. The hike at Bradbury Mountain is easy, they have one easy trail and one more difficult, but it's not really that hard, either way.

The wildlife refuge in Gray is also nice. Only open in the warmer months, of course:

http://www.state.me.us/ifw/education/wildlifepark/

Wolfe's Neck State Park:

http://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/doc/parksearch/details.pl?park_id=31

And Wolfe's Neck Farm:

http://wolfesneckfarm.org/

If you look on this page, there are several places listed, and Tidebrook is not to be missed:

http://freeportconservationtrust.org/areas/freeport-center-trails/

Gilsland Farm, closer to Portland:

http://maineaudubon.org/find-us/gilsland-farm/

Scarborough Marsh, where we have rented canoes and drifted along, seeing birds and such, very peaceful:

http://maineaudubon.org/find-us/scarborough-marsh/

We have also taken day trips to Boothbay, Bailey's Island, Popham Beach, George Reid State Park, and a lot of places in and around Ellsworth along the coast. Deer Island/Stonington is also a great place, if you go up to Ellsworth and then take the road down to there, the views are fantastic.

I agree Western Maine is fantastic, the drive thru Rangeley and Height of Land, while first visiting Smalls Falls is lovely. You can climb up along the falls, as well as dip into the pool at the bottom.

There is also a place just above Paris, where you can sort and sift for tourmalines, Maine's gemstone, on Route 26:

http://digmainegems.com/

If you go a bit South of them, there is a gas station that serves hot and cold sandwiches, which you could then take a couple miles down the road to Snow Falls Gorge:

http://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/eastern-us-snow-falls.html

Other places to consider are The Forks, and Moxie Falls, and there are people who rent and do guides for white water rafting, and perhaps renting a cabin in Belgrade lakes area. We stayed at this place last year, to get away, and it was very quiet, dog friendly, and campfires every night, supper is BYOB:

http://www.whisperwoodlodge.com/

Get you a Maine Gazetteer and just go out and drive around and explore! So much to do and see, especially in the warmer months.

https://www.amazon.com/Maine-Atlas-Gazetteer-Delorme/dp/089933282X

You might need it because cell service is sketchy in a lot of Maine, and well, the GPS always wants you to get on the highway or go the most direct route, but that's not always the most fun, is it? :-)

I am also a not particularly threatening young woman who's done a fair amount of cross-country and weekend trips solo.

First- stay aware of your surroundings, and try to hide expensive stuff either in the trunk or under not-exciting looking things. I keep a lot of my stuff in opaque rubbermaid-esque tubs. (This also helps for organization). I travel with a cooler and prefer to make my own meals- so long as you don't mind picking up ice every once in a while, you can make some pretty robust sandwiches and have good snacks, etc. on the way.

I recommend that you keep a few things with you (some especailly if you're going through the desert)

1. Oil, coolant, etc. This depends on your car- I drive a subaru outback that burns through oil annoyingly quick, and have had to top off low oil numerous times on the road. I keep a funnel and 5 quarts in my care usually. I've never needed coolant, but I've also not done the route you're taking during the summer.
   
   
2. Water jug: (e.g. something like this. Fill it up at rest stops, campsites, etc. Came in handy driving through the desert in Nevada last summer.
   
   
3. Power pack & jumper cables, I have [this one] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N3142JE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Charges via usb so you can make sure its powered up while you're actually driving, or at hotels/motels, etc. This thing has already more than paid for itself in times I've had to jump a vehicle (myslef and others).
   
   
4. Tire repair kit (slime with compressor, for instance), and some basic tools, duct tape etc. I personally am not particularly competent in basic auto repair, but, there are some things that someone else might be able to help you with if they have even the most rudimentary of tools.
   
   
5. Atlas. Most of the trip sounds like it'll be pretty straight forward, but a large chunk of the country also as pretty terrible service. [this one] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0792289897/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1) also has some national park maps and locations of free campgrounds marked.
   
   I've never had any issues travelling solo, stopping at rest stops, truck stops, etc. That said, I recommend avoiding rest stops at night and instead going to well-lit gas stations (Pilot, Flying J's, Love's, other travel Plazas) if you can.
   
   I've also never had issues travelling to weird road side attractions, touristy things, or hiking trails by myself, and would recommend stopping at as many of these things as you can. Travelling solo is awesome because you get to stop exactly where you want for as long as you want to. If you see some random attraction that you want to see on the side of the road, go check it out.
   
   Regarding the move-- depends on how much you're attached to any of your things. When I moved to Houston for an internship, I bought a queen size frame and matress online (13" box spring/memory foam that compacts into a small box for free shipping with prime), and brought only what I could fit in my outback. I took a uhaul back to TN afterwards. Travelling cross-country is way less stressful when you're not worried about people stealing things, so if you can- I'd recommend starting fresh with what you can. Just keep in mind that that can end up being pretty pricy.
   
   Didn't intend for that to be a huge word wall. Hopefully something in that is helpful!

>good books to read

The Backyard Astronomer's Guide is a solid book. Covers all sorts of telescopes, mounts, eyepieces, and cameras. I own a copy.

Turn Left at Orion is a good observational book. I don't own a copy.

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas is indispensable for observing if you don't have an electronic guide (e.g., you're battery is dead.) I own a copy.

​

>a good telescope I could start with that I could do some astrophotography with in the future once I

Generally speaking, every telescope is capable of astrophotography. Almost all are very good for it. The single most important piece of equipment for astrophotography is the mount. The longer the focal length you'll be imaging at, the better mount you'll need and quality mounts are expensive.

You can easily spend $10,000 on a great mount and another $5,000 on scope + accessories, plus another $5,000 on camera and filters. My advice, don't even thing about astrophotography yet.

​

>A friend of mine sold me an old Meade 175C telescope for cheap today and I was able to get it set up.

That's probably good to experiment with. Might be decent for planetary or lunar work (or if you get a proper solar filter, the sun.) You're ability to see faint fuzzies will be severely limited. So, use it, get familiar with it but I would recommend something else as a starter.

It can be tempting to pick up a an all-in-one combo. Mount + scope + eyepieces all together for $299.99, but it's going to be so low quality that you'll not have a great experience and your views will be compromised. It will end up in your garage or in the garbage within a year.

I would highly recommend a shorter focal length refractor and, as tempting as the price is, I would stay away from achromatic refractors. My first was an achro and it's sitting in my closet and hasn't been used in years.

My most used telescope is an 81mm f/6.6 APO refractor. It fits in my photo backpack, sits on a heavy duty photo tripod, and is attached to a lightweight mount designed for telescopes. It's superb for all the the larger objects, lunar/solar work, and the Messier catalog. It's only so/so for planetary work. It's also great for astrophotography and daytime photography.

​

>Unfortunately the skies are too overcast tonight to do anything with it.

This is the problem with astronomy and astrophotography. You can spend $20,000 on gear and only get it out 5 times a year. You get more bang for your buck if you live in the right area and if you permanently mount your equipment at home.

​

>Would I be able to attach my dslr to it or no? I know I have to get a t ring and a few other things to do it, but I guess what I’m asking is, is it worthwhile to try with this older telescope once I learn how to find things or should I save up and get a different one?

Don't bother trying to do astrophotography with that scope. Save up $1,000 and get a good quality APO refractor (Explore Scientific and William Optics both make some good scopes.)

For reference achromatic means it has two lenses which means it only focuses two wavelength of light at the same time (usually red/green.) Then means stars will tend to have purple/blue halos. Tolerable for visual use on galaxies but horrible for planets or any type of photography. An ED APO is often a two lens achromat but uses extra low dispersion glass. Still an achromat but with much less dispersion. Good for visual use, tolerable for intro astrophotography. A 3 lens systems is called apochromatic and gets all the visible spectrum in focus. Excellent for visual use and very good for astrophotography. You can also get a 4 lens refractor which contains a flattener which is excellent for visual and photographic use.

This can be the most discouraging advice to give a newcomer but if you don't get that good scope first, then you're going to buy the cheap option, find you're limited, then by a slightly more expensive option, find you're limited, then buy the good quality option. Now you've got a bunch of junk in your closet (or in the local landfill) taking up space.

Just my $0.02.

I plan my observing sessions using a combination of:

• CalSky - great way to "frame out" the observing session with sunset, astronomical twilight, and the rise/transit/set times of certain objects (like the moon). Also shows iridium flares and ISS passes, which are nice to slip into the observing plan. Not very good for choosing what to observe, though.
  
• Stellarium - for figuring out what's going to be visible at what time of night. I plan to observe 4 objects per hour starting at astronomical twilight. My primary tool as I build out the observing list.
  
• Messier & Caldwell catalogues -- great list of "showpiece" objects that form the "backbone" of my observing list
  
• Sue French's "Deep Sky Wonders" column in Sky & Telescope -- I usually use the previous, current, and next month's issue and cherry-pick a handful of these objects as "challenge" objects.
  
  For each object I choose to observe, I pick the time to observe it (slot it into one of the four slots per hour), trying to observe it when it's near the meridian, if possible. I try to generally bias my observing list with starting in the west and moving east throughout the night, finishing with objects that are just starting to rise at the end of the session.
  
  I also note for each object, the chart number in my Pocket Sky Atlas. The PSA is an excellent first atlas, and is honestly everything you need to avoid looking at a screen out on the observing field. Be sure to make yourself a Telrad overlay with a piece of transparency film -- this makes it MUCH easier to find objects.
  
  Recently, I also added the Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas to my observing kit. It's an expensive chart, but holy cow is it fantastic. It's designed from the ground up as a visual observer's chart. So all of the objects listed are actually visible with your scope. It even marks whether objects are visible in a 4", 8", or 12" scope.
  
  Here's an example of a recent observing list: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PZMu2tcjgdZTZ3wA6SjJPrPdu9LU_nX9
  
  For each object, you'll note some shorthand:
  
  
• Object name, as shown in the charts (sometimes Caldwell objects are only listed as NGC, for example).
  
• In square braces, the constellation, the PSA chart number, and the Interstellarum chart number
  
• Object type/name
  
  Out in the field, I illuminate my table with a dim red light. I use nothing with an LCD/LED display at all. Just a red light, my observing list, and my paper charts. It's really fantastic. I never have any trouble with my night vision getting blown out. And locating objects using a chart is just as easy (I might argue easier) as using a computer. All you really need is some transparency film with scaled Telrad rings (or Rigel rings, if that's what you use) and some scaled circles for your most commonly used eyepieces' TFOV.
  
  Paper charts are a lot easier to get oriented in the sky -- you can pick them up and hold them over your head to orient yourself in the constellation. And the PSA shows just the right number of stars to make star-hopping with a Telrad painless. With a pre-planned observing list, you'll never have FOMO and will be relaxed and entertained the entire observing session. I highly recommend it.

If you're going to go east, which I cannot recommend highly enough, you will need a copy of the Benchmark Oregon Road & Recreation Atlas, which shows the back roads and campgrounds. Do not neglect this. Take Hwy 31 to Paisley, which was once a two-fisted cowboy town complete with its own whorehouse. From Paisley, use your atlas to find the gravel roads through the ZX Ranch, at 1 million acres the largest in the United States. You want to end up at U.S. 395 at Abert Rim. Hang a right and drive past Abert Lake to the town of Lakeview. At the intersection of 395 and Oregon Hwy. 140, in a red brick building that's easy to miss, you will find the Snack Shack, which serves a hamburger as good as any you will eat anywhere in the whole country.

You will now be in the Great Basin, a vast and impossibly romantic steppe (high altitude desert) that comprises most of Nevada and parts of Oregon, California, Utah, and Idaho. All rain and snow that falls there stays there, i.e. does not reach any ocean by way of tribuaries and rivers. It is probably the most remote area in the country outside of Alaska; for example, the visitor's HQ at the Hart Mtn Nat'l Antelope Refuge is farther away from an Interstate than any other spot in the Lower 48. This cattle and cowboy country; Harney County, east of Lakeview, is the ninth largest county in the U.S., and the 8th largest cattle county.

From Lakeview, there are some choices to make. The shortest route would be by way of Plush, a wide spot in the road with a cafe, through the Hart Mtn refuge. Go up to Steens Mtn., which at 9,200 feet is the tallest summit that you can drive to in Oregon and I think the entire Pacific NW. There's a loop road, and some camp grounds. It'll be on your atlas. Take it. Wind your way back to Burns and U.S. 395, then drive north. If you do that, you'll miss a lot but you will have gotten the essential landscapes. You also will have gone through the Malheur Nat'l Wildlife refuge, famous for the variety of birds. It was the first wildlife refuge in the U.S., set aside a little more than 100 years ago by Teddy Roosevelt.

The longer route would be to take Oregon 140 into Nevada (another spectacular drive) all the way to U.S. 95. Hang a left, and drive north. Look for Whitehorse Ranch Rd. and hang a left. Well-maintained gravel road that ends at Oregon Hwy. 205. You can stay on that all the way to Frenchglen, or to that Steen's Loop Road that I mentioned. Find your way to Oregon Hwy. 78 and rejoin U.S. 95. Look for Leslie Gulch Rd., which takes you through spectacular landscapes to the Owyhee reservoir. RV sites. Go back out and drive to Ontario (a true dump of a town) and find U.S. 20.

Take U.S. 20 through more spectacular landscapes to Burns. Hang a right on U.S. 395 and find the town of Seneca. Take Forest Service Rd. 16 to Hwy. 62 and back to Prairie City. Hang a right on U.S. 26, making sure to stop at the top of the hill for a killer view of the Strawberry Mountains that you drove around on 16 and 62. Hang a left at Oregon Hwy. 7 and drive to Baker City, arguably the nicest little town in Eastern Oregon, and with some surprisingly good food.

At Baker City, get on I-84 toward Portland. But do not pass up the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center about 5 miles out. It's definitely worth the two hours. Tells the whole story of the largest mass migration in modern North American history.

You can do the short way in a few days, and the long way in about a week or so. I cannot recommend the long way highly enough, but if the high desert ain't your cup of tea then do the shorter way and take 395 all the way to Pendleton and I-84. Either way, you'll have driven through a region chock full of Western history, which I can talk about if you want. You'll be way out there in the Great Nowhere, but not beyond help if you need it. If you're carrying a cellphone, Verizon's the carrier to have out there. By far the best coverage. But do NOT rely on it and Google maps and/or your vehicle's nav system to the exclusion of that atlas I recommended.

The roads I've mentioned are very good, but don't be foolishly unprepared. Make sure to have good tires and to know how to change one. Carry more water than you think you will need, and keep an eye on the gas gauge because the stations are few and far between. And this is not sandals and shorts country. There are plenty of rattlesnakes out there, so a pair of suede cowboy boots and long pants are essentials. And have a hat and sunglasses and sun screen. Watch where you walk, especially at the Owyhee reservoir.

I haven't listed all the places, but I've hit the highlights. It's a truly spectacular region of America, not well traveled because it's so far away. That's actually the saving grace. There are places out there that, except for the roads, are otherwise unchanged in >100 years. And you'll have a lot of it mostly to yourselves, with the exception of a pickup truck every now and again.

Let's get the first thing straight: there was no assault, and from your description, he was drunk, she was drunk, he made moves on her, she shot him down, and he stopped. That is not sexual assault. Classifying it as such is a way you can justify your negative feelings towards this guy, but you are doing things a disservice by approaching the issue as such.

Next, I can tell you, as a bi man in an open marriage with a bi woman, poly, open arrangements, and other alternatives to monogamy don't work unless both parties are on board. If that is the case, both need to be educated and dedicated: educated on alternatives to monogamy and how to best institute them in the relationship, and dedicated to open communication, honoring the primary partnership, and respecting their partner/s.

In my past experience, it's very difficult to go from mono to poly or open arrangements. There's usually too much past stuff to get through that ends up projected onto the new relationship, and often times, one partner wants it more than the other. For me personally, as someone wo is not poly but is also nonmonogamous, the best relationships I have had have been when the relationship began as an open arrangement.

If you want to begin looking at poly/open/w/e options start reading and researching. Get a couples counselor. Learn how to communicate in new ways. BUT, I have to say, the way that this has been broached in your life is not the best way to get there. Tell her if she is seriously wanting to be poly, you require these things. After a month of research and meeting with a couples counselor, reconvene on the issue. If it's something you both want, then move forward. If not, time to move on.

Required reading:
http://www.amazon.com/Opening-Up-Creating-Sustaining-Relationships/dp/157344295X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310242671&sr=8-1
A great book to get started with, and refer back to.


http://www.amazon.com/Redefining-Our-Relationships-Guidelines-Responsible/dp/1587900157/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310242969&sr=8-1
Great little book.


http://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Polyamory-Becoming-Tribe-Hearts/dp/0738707627/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1310242671&sr=8-5
This book is heavy on the woo woo, new age shit, but these people have a lot of good info, if you can separate it from the enya bullshit.

http://www.amazon.com/Ethical-Slut-Practical-Relationships-Adventures/dp/1587613379/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1310242671&sr=8-8
Basically, the bible of open relationships for newbs.

http://www.amazon.com/Polyamory-Roadmaps-Clueless-Anthony-Ravenscroft/dp/1890109533/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1310242671&sr=8-16
Decent

do not use wal mart parking lots. They have 24hr security an the security will kick you out. Source: big road tripper. I use hospitals when I have to. I try my best though to enjoy my drives over making them into some marathon dash. Ill drive back roads and camp off back country roads dirt where no one goes ever. Also in my past I would recommend getting an "adventure atlas" even if it is just this one: http://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Road-Atlas-Adventure/dp/0792289897 It will have information on camp grounds and specific details on outdoor recreation. This is incredibly valuable. I use maps from http://www.benchmarkmaps.com/ they provide detailed information and can give you a heads up to things you never knew existed. Also use this website before hand: https://roadtrippers.com/welcome?mode=explore

It sounds like your flying into Denver that kinda sucks because after transportation costs and lodging you will spend the most on food. if you drive yourself you can start stockpiling food for the trip now while you still have an income.

Also, in my experience, dont get too carried away in the over all "mission". If you don't make it to SD who cares. Do what you want when you want and be as free as you can. If you stay shackled to some schedule your going to have a bad time. You will be like "but I got to leave my lake camp site so I can drive to my next destination" if you like where you are stay until you are ready to leave. You are at your destination already: freedom from your everyday life. You will enjoy the trip more. Trust me. Try to find places that cater to multiple activities. You actually dont have to drive very far to get to hiking, fishing,and backpacking. you can literally do all of that in the same place generally. Keep that in mind and try to minimize how often you move location.

Im on a massive road trip now, been out 5 weeks. Im in CO and I havent drove more than 75 miles in the past 2 weeks. I have only spent one night in a hotel and ahve done: rock climbing, white water, desert hiking, backpacking, mountaineering and off road jeeping.

Do not fall into the thoughts that you have to move. you dont. everything you want to do can be found easily in the same place out there.

Hi, great that you're taking an interest to get him a book on cartography. I've recently began doing the same, and books are definitely superior over wikipedia etc.

• 'Great Maps' by Jerry Brotton: Very accessible, kind of a coffee table book that you can look into when you have some minutes to spend.
  
  
• 'A history of the world in 12 maps' by Jerry Brotton: Bought this one together with 'Great Maps'. Gives a more academic point of view on maps and on their origins/purposes. Haven't finished it yet though. Kind of unaccessible because there aren't really maps included (some maps, but pictures are way too small). Definitely recommend it, in combo with 'Great Maps'.
  
  
• As /u/churizurd mentioned, Atlas of Remote Islands is pretty fun too. Pricing seems kind of strange on Amazon (1130$ for paperback lolwat)
  
  
• Transit maps of the world is on my wishlist, looks cool

Some good suggestions so far.

I've actually taught with both the [Slocum et al.] (http://www.amazon.com/Thematic-Cartography-Geographic-Visualization-Information/dp/0130351237) and [Tyner] (http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Map-Design-Judith-Tyner/dp/1606235443/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367588286&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=tyner+principles+of+math+design) books. I would say the Slocum book is both dryer and more in depth while Tyner is easier to read, but that comes with it being a bit more cursory.

Honestly, it depends on where you are and what you want to get out of it. With a strong enough GIS background and some core principles already understood (generalization, for example), you might only need something like [Designing Better Maps] (http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Better-Maps-Guide-Users/dp/1589480899/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367588425&sr=1-1&keywords=designing+better+maps). If you truly want to understand things like how color works, why and when to choose various projections, etc., you probably want the Slocum text.

For what it's worth, much of Cindy Brewer's course material from her Intro Cartography class can be found online [here] (http://www.personal.psu.edu/cab38/GEOG321/321_syllabus.html). It's worth a look.

GoTo mounts (counterintuitively) aren't useful until you're somewhat familiar with the sky, but they are absolutely fantastic when trying to share your views with a group.

I'll second the book recommendations above (I own TLAO, and borrowed Night watch). In my opinion, Nightwatch did a better job explaining the hardware, though they're both great.

After going out a few nights, if you enjoy it, I emplore you (and everyone else here for that matter) to pick up Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas. When you outgrow the beginner books, and get fed up picking random objects from the GoTo, this thing is absolutely brilliant.

You use one of these (download the TIFF file) and a compass. There are better ones out there (this is a really good one of the same location), but the USGS map does the job just fine. See the Wikipedia page on topo maps. It allows you to determine location (by finding the direction of multiple known locations, like radio antennas, buildings, or mountains, and tracing them back to their intersection) and terrain (how steep inclines are, water, elevation, the easiest routes, etc), in addition to the usual roads, buildings, etc.

Topo maps are a ton of fun to use, especially if you have to figure out exactly where you are (perhaps this could be implemented in a game by only displaying the correct quadrangle (or an equivalent) and it requires you to figure it out for yourself. I really want to play an ES game with a mod that does this now, I might have to start learning how to do it (and figuring out how to make the required maps).

The 3D map (I haven't seen it in use) sounds like it's just a more user-friendly (though less directly informative) way of doing the same thing as a topo map. Topo maps are fun, and not too difficult to learn, but few people know how to read them, and fewer know how to use them properly; to be fair, it's no longer a required skill given the pervasiveness of GPS and turn-by-turn directions (which I have no problem using), but it's invaluable if you ever need it, and helpful even when you don't.

Others have already mentioned it but join an astronomy club and download Stellarium. Here's a couple book suggestions:
Turn Left at Orion will get you familiar with some of the more interesting objects to look at in the night's sky. This is definitely a good place to start. You also want to pick up a star atlas to help you navigate the sky and find some of the dimmer objects in the sky. A favorite is Sky and Telescope's Pocket Star Atlas. Another favorite for new astronomers is Nightwatch which will educate you a bit more about astronomical bodies and the night sky.

I recommend you start by reading everything at www.morethantwo.org

Then maybe read this http://www.amazon.com/Polyamory-Roadmaps-Clueless-Anthony-Ravenscroft/dp/1890109533/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382175373&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=polyamory+a+guide+book+for+the+clueless+and+hopeful

Then find a local poly group in your area, keep in mind a lot of the poly groups are not mixers or cruising sites they are places for people to talk and learn about the community.

Join Ok Cupid. Make a profile. Answer the poly friendly questions in an honest manner. (you may find that you're more or less poly prone than you think.)

Get this plugin It will show you how people answered their poly friendly questions at a glance. (sadly only on chrome browser) https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/okcupid-for-non-mainstrea/cgdblghohnaeeejaoincmbcdkdnodkei?hl=en

From there its up to you and your ability to make a connection with some one. Good luck!

Nightwatch is a pretty good book for beginner level that I find is better for those that don't have a telescope or binoculars. Helps give you the basics.


Turn Left At Orion is another good book for beginners, but it is better if you have a telescope or pair of binoculars to get the full use out of this book. It is probably the most detailed beginner book IMO.


Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas is a very good star map to use, though it is only that.......star maps. So it is good to use once you learned the basics.

We have a wildflower guide and a copy hiking books (that I don't find that useful), but I ABSOLUTELY recommend getting the Trails Illustrated maps for the area:

https://smile.amazon.com/Brasstown-Chattooga-Chattahoochee-Geographic-Illustrated/dp/1566954673/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1566954673&pd_rd_r=1NG4PG5T88JR4D8D4ZNY&pd_rd_w=4WY37&pd_rd_wg=AUcqB&psc=1&refRID=1NG4PG5T88JR4D8D4ZNY&dpID=51MopJ4-QUL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=detail

I have 2 for north GA (the one I linked for for the eastern half of north GA), one for western NC, another for the Smokies, and also one for the Mount Mitchell area.

Other than good maps, I find "thru-hiking guides (AWOL AT; Bartram; Benton MacKayte; etc) to be the best collection of useful hiker info, elevation profiles, and information that is relevant for hikers.

FWIW, I have a collection of some past trips (in GA and NC) with pics, etc:
https://rmignatius.wordpress.com/adventures/

Late to this dance but I have two cents. The Madison is long, and the type of camping might help make suggestions. As mentioned Ennis or W. Yellowstone may be your bases of operation (groceries and what not). I personally recommend the Madison between Hebgen Lake and Ennis Lake. That is a long stretch of water with some super productive fishing lately, although it has been getting warmer and the fishing is getting slower in the afternoon. Below the damn on Hebgen all the way to Quake lake is quality there is a couple camp grounds right there near Beaver ck. Below Quake lake toward Ennis at Gold Butte there is a campground and again at Ruby Ck. these mentioned are all quality fishing accesses with camping facilities. There are many many more as you work down the maddy, most of the fishing access are at or near a campground. I would start high (Hebgen) and work your way down stream to Ennis camping at multiple spots. Buy a http://www.amazon.com/dp/0899333397/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=12503023067&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=973034872824961472&hvpone=17.05&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_1it1skj9ql_b

This is a handy map reference that will steer you around and let you leave the beaten path with some confidence. Hint: checkout Wade and Cliff lake right in the area I suggested. Happy hunting.

It's an amazing park. You'll have a great time, weather permitting. But warning -- it was a pretty late year in terms of snow, and you should be keeping a very careful eye on how much snow is on the ground. Local ranger stations are your friend. They do pick up their phone -- look up the phone number on the Forest Service website.

A first tip: Buy the Tom Harrison map. By far the best topo map of the area on the market. https://www.amazon.com/Desolation-Wilderness-Trail-Map-Waterproof/dp/1877689610

In terms of routes:
I assume the Echo Lake ferry isn't going to be running yet. But I'd still consider starting at Echo Lake trailhead, then hiking around the lake towards Lake Aloha, along the Pacific Crest Trail. From there, you can cross-country (legally) towards Lake of the Woods, or work your way further towards Susie Lake. Past Susie Lake, it depends on the snow conditions and your energy levels.

I've done a few trips from that side, they've all been great. Aloha Lake is magical.

You can also start at the north side of the park, but I don't know those routes as well in terms of what'll be great early-season. I've always wanted to start at Fallen Leaf Lake, but haven't yet.

The High Peaks are spread over a fairly broad area. Trails are usually marked, but I'd say going up without a map and a compass (and the knowledge of how to use them) is asking for trouble in a pretty serious way.
If you don't want to spring for a proper trail map, you maybe can make do with the resources on Alltrails.com, though I'm not a user myself and can't vouch personally. I'll link the one I use in the High Peaks.
https://www.amazon.com/Lake-Placid-High-Peaks-Illustrated/dp/156695357X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495934139&sr=8-1&keywords=high+peaks+map

Stay safe, have fun, good luck!

I have the same scope and I use the Telrad as well as the 8x50 included with the scope.

If you can't see any constellations with the naked eye, and you don't plan on doing to darker sites, then the Telrad won't be very useful to you. If the constellations are visible but you can't make out what ones they are, the best advice I can give you is to purchase a star chart like this and use it in conjunction with monthly star charts you can print off. those will help you identify the major constellations visible to you on that particular night and the Telrad can help you move from star to star until you find what you need.

Bear can is a food container. REI rents them cheap, they're about $60 to buy (ymmv). A small container is fine for up to 5-6 days solo trekking, depending on what you bring for food.

Apparently you can get your Desolation permits online? Another Redditor had a link.I typically hit the Ranger station on I-50 near Pollack Pines. Do be sure to get a permit. You'll dodge a fine if you're caught by a ranger, and even if you don't get caught you're helping to fund the colossal amount of work required to keep wilderness spaces like this wild.

Your route looks great! 25 miles is a good distance for 3-day solo. Once you get over by Lake Aloha, it's very exposed, and it's easy to explore off-trail all over the place. Make sure to get a map -- Tom Harrison has a great map of the area. Armed with a good map, you can explore to your heart's content. I like to hit camp early, set up shop, and then go for 2-4 mile wanders up to whatever tall thing is nearby. With your route, you could make Aloha (or around it) the first night, leave your pack and tent there and day hike your second day, and then pack up and out day 3. I've never had anyone mess with my stuff backpacking, even leaving things for multiple days in medium-traffic areas (day hikers are another story).

Since it's your first trip out, let me point out some essentials -- things I didn't know when I started in the Sierra.

• You need sunscreen. And a hat. There are very few trees in some areas, and that sun doesn't fuck around at 8,000'. Skin cancer sucks. Add chapstick to that list, something with sun protection.
  
  
• You should probably not drink the water in the Desolation Wilderness. There is high enough traffic that the chance of contamination is moderate, and giardia is shittier than you can imagine. Aquamira water treatment is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to go. Amazon has it for like $12. It doesn't leave a flavor in your water, unlike Iodine and many other tablets and treatments. My wife and I use a ceramic filter, which gets any gunk out of the water too, but that's not really an issue in Desolation. There's a fuckload of lakes. It's really pretty.
  
  
• On that note, you won't need to carry more than 2 liters of water at any time. There's lots of places to refill.
  
  
• Your first aid kit needs bandaids, triple antibiotic ointment, Ibuprofin, athletic tape, a small roll of duct tape, gauze, and ACE bandage wrap. This is by no means a complete list -- we bring substantially more on longer trips. I'd call this a minimum. I never have any luck with Moleskin for blisters, but I've found athletic tape often does a good job for me.
  
  
• You probably won't need bugspray this time of year, except by Lake of the Woods (which is why I don't camp there). If I turn out to be wrong, I'm sorry :P. Poison oak also doesn't grow above 5,000ft, so no worries there.
  
  
• I know it's gross, but get yourself a little trowel, TP, and hand sani. Bury human waste 100' from water or trails, at least 6" down. PLEASE pack your TP out in a ziplock. Pro tip -- a pinch of baking soda in your shitty TP bag will do wonders to eliminate the smell. Toilet paper takes decades to decompose when buried in the Sierra, since there's so little rainfall. Animals dig it up, and it ends up all over the trail. When I hike, I don't want my sunset views ruined when I accidentally sit in turd-covered paper. In return, I hike my paper out too. Please help Desolation stay desolate. You get to keep the moral high ground when you stumble across someone else's poo-sheets!
  
  Have fun and be safe! There's a decent chance you'll have cell reception some of the time, so you'll be fine even if something dumb happens. If you have questions, I spend too much time on Reddit. Cheers!

By far my favorite area of the sky to explore with binoculars is Sagittarius, as another commenter said below.

Buy yourself a good sky atlas (the de facto standard for my club is http://www.amazon.com/Sky-Telescopes-Pocket-Atlas/dp/1931559317) and get to know how the charts map to the sky. That book is good because it holds up to the elements, is spiral-bound, and if you hold it at arm's length, the distance scale should be about the same as what you see in the sky.

Cruise around the sky and find some of the easier objects and that will give you a good feel for star-hopping and what you can expect to see from your equipment.

Clear skies!

If you ask for GPS, rental car companies will give it to you, but expect them to charge you a ton of money ($5-20 per day). Use a smartphone and save the money. Also find a mount that makes your phone easy to use in any car and is easy to travel with (I like Tetrax).

Also, if for some reason google maps doesn't work out, don't be afraid to go analog.

The best way I've found to discover good National Forest areas is with a Delorme Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer

Even with all the great resources online it's easy to page through the maps and look for the "dark green areas" which are National Forest.

I believe REI still sells the Atlas as well.

Just finished taking a cartography course actually and our book was "Thematic Cartography and Geographic Visualization". It's pretty good, just dry. This is the 2nd edition and it's very cheap on Amazon, though there is a 3rd addition as well.

Another extremely useful book all about GIS, geodatabases, etc. is "Modeling Our World: The ESRI Guide to Geodatabase Concepts". This was the textbook for another GIS course I just completed. It's fantastically easy to read and has tons of visuals in it. It's way more interesting/dynamic than traditional textbooks.

Aldaron, 2016-10-25:

> We are using mostly Colin McEvedy's and Richard Jones's "Atlas of World Population History". It might be a little outdated, but it gives cohesive data for every region of the world, which is far more important than the possible "errors of calculus". Also, the most glaring difference to other more modern authors is the America's and we have increased the given values by this book by a large ammount. ;-)

Aldaron, 2016-12-22:

> > The "Atlas of World Population History" by McEvedy and Jones puts the population of the Aztec and Inca empires in the end of the 15th century at a total of 8-9 mln (divided equally between the two). The total population of bith the americas in the same period is estimated to have been 14 mln.

> What I have done is rather easy: I have just used the data in the book for America to take the proportional part and addapt it to the consensuated 54 (IIRC) million people for all America.

> In other words, if Aztec and Inca empire were 8 million over 14 in McEvedy (or 57%), in 2.0 Aztec and Inca empire are 30 million together, or around 15 million each (do note these numbers are by heart and could be wrong, but are around these ones).

Human ability to reproduce may not really be the limiting factor to consider. How well agricultural practices were able to support a given population and that rapid of a growth rate, for example, might be more informative. And were there even 19.3 million people in 2300-1800 BCE?

There should also be some evidence of an origination point where these 19 million Noachian people originated and immigrated outward from--hypothetically some indication of higher densities of population during that era from which individuals and groups began to steadily move away from, toward better prospects and less competitive environments.

(EDIT: McEvendy and Jones, authors of the Atlas of World Population History, estimate 27 million people in 2000 BCE.)

Get a copy of the maine atlas and gazetteer. It has a lot of points of interest and campgrounds of different types (developed, primitive, lean-to, etc.). It also has most of the larger trails in the state and info about where the gates are, impasses, etc. Camping locations are everywhere, though i usually find a nice secluded spot on the map away from any marked points of interest or developed camp grounds and drive in, find a spot and set up. More times than not, i'll end up in a great spot and not see another person the whole trip.

Here's the trail: https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/351-kingston-peak. Trails Offroad is an awesome resource. I also picked up a copy of this earlier this summer which has been super helpful picking out trails as well: https://www.amazon.com/Colorado-Trails-Front-Range-Region/dp/1930193505/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=colorado+trails&qid=1570566916&sr=8-6

My favorite State maps are by Benchmark. They make really nice large format road atlases that have a fantastic level of detail in terms of features and tiny local roads (even logging roads where I am in PNW). They are easily findable on Amazon.

https://www.benchmarkmaps.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Benchmark-Road-Recreation-Atlas/dp/0929591607/

I just moved here, and

this book

has been a tremendous help. It seems like a good resource for solo trips and outlines everything in amazing detail from road markers, to difficulty scales to trail history. I highly recommend it.

go for it! I used this map; it's 24"x36" but they have larger sizes too. And if you're only interested in Europe, they have a Europe specific map. I would watch a few videos about modge podge if you haven't done it before because it can get messy, especially when dealing with larger prints. Also, make sure your cork board isn't too thick for the frame; I think I used 1/4" thick cork board. This was the original inspiration for my map

That's a great book. English link. I've enjoyed flipping through it but nearly all of the islands listed were inaccessible (except maybe with a yacht or special expedition). Good for daydreaming!

First, don't use the freecampsites website. It will take you place people already are at and many which have "become a problem" and are now illegal. I've checked some of the places I've had unexpected run ins with cops. Many are listed as great spots on that site.

Read this and go explore:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/fishlake/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5121831
The best place to camp is the one you found yourself. The West is full of an unbelievable amount of public lands.

I strongly recommend maps. These:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0929591208/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
Or these:
https://www.amazon.com/Montana-Atlas-Gazetteer-Delorme/dp/0899333397/ref=pd_sim_14_11?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RE0TC48TPVXWDQ1QPFC4
I think I prefer the Delorme.

Hard copy maps in this day and age! Land ownership from public to private doesn't change often. These maps lay out land ownership much better than digital sources I have used.

Other than getting out there (I learned firsthand that FS-601 is gawd awful this past summer on a camping trip to the Flattops -- had to turn tail at a creek crossing/mud pit), I study maps quite a bit. Pick a cool place you'd like to visit, and plan your route, rather than outsourcing your brain to Google :)

And buy a good road atlas! I recommend the DeLorme one.

Two strong recommendations:

Use hikingupward.com to select a hike. You can sort hikes by a bunch of different factors like length, solitude, views, etc.

I highly recommend this National Geographic trail map. It is made of a tough materials and my experience has shown it to be accurate over the course of 20 - 30 hikes in SNP.

Enjoy your time there! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Best Option

Second Best Option

I used the second one for a long time. I've gone through probably 5-6 of those. Picked up the first one a few years ago and I like it much better.

They're also wireless and don't need batteries.

• Turn Left at Orion book
  
  
• You can print out free skymaps at Skymaps.com. They create a new one every month, have different versions for different viewing latitudes, and show where the planets are as well.
  
  
• Free Stellarium software
  
  
• A $12 Planisphere
  
  
• Nightwatch book
  
  
• Pocket Sky Atlas
  
  
• Astronomy Picture of the Day website
  
  Also, maybe some 10x70 or 15x70 binoculars from Orion or Celestron (less than $100).
  

If you need some help, there's a planetarium program called Stellarium that shows you most objects in the night sky. You can put information like your telescope and eyepiece to simulate your field of view and magnification.

You can also buy a sky atlas, such as the Sky and Telescope's Pocket Atlas. I've used the Pocket Atlas to find the crab nebula and some small galaxies with my 10 inch dobsonian, so it really helps.

Yes, the DeLorme challenges are based on the state map books DeLorme published (such as this one for California).

However, you don't really need a copy of the atlas to do the challenge - which is good, because Garmin (the GPSr maker) just purchased DeLorme, and said the atlases will no longer be published in print form.

The challenge is to find at least one cache for each "page" of the atlas. Specific details vary by state - in some cases, a page might be optional (because there aren't caches there). Sometimes, if a page has a smaller inset map, you'll be required to find a cache in the main area and in the inset; in other cases, finding something in either is sufficient.

The easiest way to check these is to use a challenge checker at Project-GC (search for "California Delorme" or similar), or use the statistics functions at mygeocachingprofile.com. Either one will generate a map showing what areas you have/haven't found.

I've been working on my state (Virginia) for about a year - along with the City and County challenges - and I'm finally at the point that 3 cache trips should finish it off. It takes a decent amount of trip pre-planning to pull these off... but some folks (myself included) find it fun to work towards.

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas is great if you're just looking to identify constellations. Turn Left at Orion is geared towards people with/wanting telescopes but is great for showing you how to navigate your way around the night sky.

TrailsIllustrated maps are copyrighted and I hope folks respect that by not posting copies here. In my opinion they're well worth the price.

AllTrails.com offers a subscription service where you can view these maps online, print portions at home, etc. I've never used it so I can't vouch for it other than to say it's there.

Amazon also has low-res previews of the map here that may or may not be helpful.

yeah with a little bit of curiosity (and many repeated visits) you learn some spots to get alternate views and/or a bit of privacy.

as for maps, i don't think nynj trail conference has done anything for the adirondacks. for the high peaks area the two main maps i know of are the nat geo and the one put out by ADK.

personally, i find the nat geo map a little easier to read. i prefer the older version of the adk map to the current, though the new one is made of a better material. the ADK map has a few things the nat geo one doesn't, namely some of the bigger herd paths and camping/lean-to sites.

I think I will end up doing something similar. I am looking at getting the National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps for the regions I like to backpack in. They are waterproof and tear resistant and supposedly have great detail. Do you have any experience with them?

I grew up in Colorado. The single biggest things I have seen people who move here struggle with are the altitude and sudden weather changes. Altitude sickness is covered in most basic first aid guides; water is key. Both CU and CSU have some online guides. Also, I have seen some cloud identification pamphlets that are useful.

I own this Gazetteer, and have used it a ton. Hope this helps and welcome to Colorado!

Any outdoor recreation shops will have all the maps you need: REI, Diamond Brand, Frugal Backpacker, a lot of the bike stores, etc. This is the best map you can get for finding trails, planning routes, etc. Although it's not the most detailed map as far as Topography goes, find one of the more specific USFS maps for this.

http://smile.amazon.com/Pisgah-District-National-Geographic-Illustrated/dp/1566953324/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457370678&sr=8-1&keywords=natgeo+pisgah+map

I think the National Geographic trail maps are far better. They're also made out of a tougher material that seems like it would be water-resistant.

A gazatteer is very useful:

https://www.amazon.com/Colorado-Benchmark-Road-Recreation-Atlas/dp/0929591127/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527736942&sr=8-1&keywords=colorado+gazetteer

Otherwise I check out areas that look interesting on google maps, see where the roads go, look for trails or trailheads marked. Switch to aerial view and see if there are trails, etc. It not super easy but with some determination it's not hard by any means.

I would highly suggest getting a map so you can see if there are trails there or not instead of just hoping. It's hard to give advice when you're not even sure what you're trying to plan.

The National Geographic maps are the standard for the area. #746 Saranac/Paul Smiths covers the area between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. You can see on the map there is 1 trail that covers part of the distance between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, the Jackrabbit Ski Trail. However, since it is a ski trail, I can't vouch for it's hikability (maybe someone else here can). There would also still be road walking/running you would have to do between the two towns.

The town of Lake Placid and south of there, including the High Peaks Region is covered in map #742 Lake Placid/High Peaks

I will say there are plenty of options for other trails if you were to do more of a "basecamp" thing, especially if you're not planning to actually camp but would prefer to stay at a hotel or something in town. You could just stay town, drive to a trailhead in the morning, do your hike, and then drive back to your lodging place in town. I have done this type of trip numerous times and always enjoy it

I can indeed. I did the experiment myself a few months ago as a part of my course so I have the activity handbook. I'll go back and read it again tomorrow my time to refresh my memory and post some details at some point tomorrow. If you don't have one, try to get a star atlas. Stellarium is useful but I find using a book easier.

I use this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Telescopes-Pocket-Atlas/dp/1931559317/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1520534912&sr=8-2&keywords=pocket+star+atlas


Will post details of the experiment tomorrow. Am just going out for dinner.

I believe in being helpful first and critical second. So first some resources on poly since that seems to be the direction you want to explore. You're going to want to read these in particular the parts about open honest communication, taking a good long hard look at your feelings and analyzing them, and enthusiastic consent.

https://www.morethantwo.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Polyamory-Roadmaps-Clueless-Anthony-Ravenscroft/dp/1890109533

Second you might not be poly. A therapist might be a good start for you and your partner to work through and figure out why you are doing what you are doing.

Now critisism.

You might be poly. But that will never be an excuse for your cheating or your lying. I've never known poly to cure people of their dishonesty or low character. Something to keep in mind about poly communities the grape vine tends to talk a lot more due to the whole open honest communication thing. That usually means that when some one is caught lying and sneaking around it isn't just one or two people that find out, you can find your self on the outs with most of your community in a matter of minutes ruining the trust and friendship of a lot of people. Cheating can happen in poly just as in mono relationships. The fallout tends to be much worse due to the number of people involved. So while you try to figure out if you are poly also sort out your character as well.

You would like one of my favorite books:

Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot On and Never Will.

Glad to help. I also use the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer to get even more detail on rivers and small county roads that don't always show up on larger maps. It has helped me out when getting lost and I have no cell/gps service. If you have these two books, you're pretty much set for Colorado.

This is a great guide for CO.

https://www.amazon.com/Colorado-Gazetteer-DeLorme-Mapping-Company/dp/0899332889

I suggest http://www.amazon.com/Polyamory-Roadmaps-Clueless-Anthony-Ravenscroft/dp/1890109533 .

It's a lot better humored and less prescriptive than the other classic books on the subject.

If you live in the west, there is a lot of public lands. Forest Service, BLM etc.

If you aren't very experienced camping and would like to camp, but also be near a bathroom in the morning, find an established campground, then look on a map like a Benchmark Map or a gazetteer or even google earth for dispersed camping near a campground.


It's usually a rare occurrence that I haven't been able to find out of the way dispersed camping near established campgrounds.

There's a beautiful little book about tiny random islands and their stories. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/014311820X

I just read a lot.

Here are some examples.

http://www.worldtravelguide.net/holidays/editorial-feature/feature/20-islands-you-never-knew-existed

https://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Remote-Islands-Fifty-Never/dp/014311820X
(some are accessible but this woman is too lazy to go to there. Others are off limits.)

There is this island in the Andamans which is deliberately kept off-limits, although I think if the need arises the natives will be wiped out within 24 hrs.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2015/09/28/will-the-worlds-most-dangerous-island-become-a-human-zoo-the-shocking-future-of-north-sentinel/#476117a46034

(the natives think they are keeping the outsiders off; in reality they will be human zoo animals to wealthy outsiders who feel like seeing them from the air)

OK, so the next step are the state-by-state books. That's kind of expensive and for a coast-to-coast tour, you'd probably need to carry a dozen to show all the detail you want. https://www.amazon.com/Colorado-Gazetteer-DeLorme-Mapping-Company/dp/0899332889

https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Road-Atlas-Adventure/dp/0792289897

This is my favorite, nation wide and lists an order of magnitude more camp sites than a McNally RV Atlas.

I think Sky and Telescope's pocket atlas is a good resource.

This is one of my favorites: http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Remote-Islands-Judith-Schalansky/dp/014311820X

I highly recommend Judith Schalansky's Atlas of Remote Islands: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/014311820X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491902409&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=atlas+of+remote+islands

In Maine, we have public reserved land where you can camp for a much lower rate. Take a peek at your state's official site as they'll probably list something similar.

We also have the Maine Atlas and Gazeteer that has primitive camp sites on it. (if you check some of the images, you'll see how the sites are shown.) I see Florida has one too by the same name, but I don't know if it's the same as Maine's.

The drawback is that you'll be competing with everyone else who's like you and trying to find a quick place to setup, but who knows, it may work or at least get you going in the right direction.

National Geographic has an illustrated map that you could cut out.

$6 on Amazon. Lake Placid, High Peaks: Adirondack Park (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map) https://www.amazon.com/dp/156695357X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9UYqDb133XPDA

You may want two copies as some of them are on the backside.you might even need a second map.

This map links up with a guide for the high peaks by the Adirondak Mountain Club(?) or something like that.

There's also other maps by the AMC(?) but they are likely more technical.

Edit: it's the ADK not AMC.

OnX is either phone or GPS based maps. You can get 1 time purchase GPS or a subscription. If that's too expensive now a Gazeteer is a brand of paper maps with ownership info.

Mossberg 500 series is the basic and cheap but good pump shotgun. Remington 870 is another decent one (I own one and no major issues) but quality control has been down lately.

Edit: California gazetteer: California Atlas & Gazetteer https://www.amazon.com/dp/0899333834/

just about any state you want ....

https://www.amazon.com/California-Road-Recreation-Atlas-Benchmark/dp/0929591496/ref=sr_1_45?ie=UTF8&qid=1486500907&sr=8-45&keywords=map+atlas+usa

https://www.amazon.com/California-Atlas-Gazetteer-Delorme/dp/0899333834/ref=pd_sim_14_60?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BZFWVQPP8M10HWEC13BK

have a mind to download or print? ....

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUUnNwTE00WXlLMkE/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUbUZ4WlBDNnpsc2c/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUZkZtX3d1aS1Ybjg/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUdGY0ZUtEbFY1MlpjS2JQWHU3Y0lsYWZqMHBJ/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6-eYcf1HwPUOFFSQVdhd0hiVm8/view

http://www.abandonedrails.com/

http://trains.rockycrater.org/pfmsig/atlas.php

You should all buy a copy of Atlas of Remote Islands.

Also, purchase one of these immediately. Colorado has a ton of stash public water, this will help you find it, along with places to camp and hike and off-road.

This is what you want...

This is from national geographic trail map http://www.amazon.com/Pisgah-District-National-Geographic-Illustrated/dp/1566953324

To follow up on my earlier comment: in the atlas I referenced, a 5-degree FOV is nearly identical to the diameter of a quarter - so if you go this route, use a quarter to form your circle of wire.

Also -- from my suburban neighborhood (orange according to your map, but probably more likely yellow at the small scale), last year I was able to barely see the Leo Triplet with my 8" Dob so it is possible under your conditions. Just don't expect more than a fuzzy blip for the non-Messier member.

This island is featured in the book "Atlas of Remote Islands" by Judith Schalansky

I had made a companion "book" to it via the Wikipedia service:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Xefer/Books/RemoteIsland

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0792289897/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1