Hiking Maps in Russia

General posts about Eastern Europe and NOT directly related to Francis Tapon's upcoming book, "The Hidden Europe."
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FrancisTapon
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Hiking Maps in Russia

Post by FrancisTapon » Mon Sep 29, 2008 11:35 pm

Hi Francis,

I am Xavier. I've been quite interested in your adventures recently, that I have been following through your website. Very inspiring..
I'm really looking forward to read your next book about Eastern Europe!

I actually started to write this email a few days ago... but I got tired of trying to make good sentences, so I put this mail aside... Yeah, you guessed it, English is not my mother tongue, and I'm note quite confident with it yet. Although I'm working on it! ;)
(quite hard though, .... As most of the Frenchs... I'm bad in foreign languages too... ;)

Anyway...

I just saw that you opened a new thread about Russia... Great. Actually my mail was about that:

Actually, I hope to go there next summer... and I would really love to go for a hiking trip in Siberia (Sayan mountains). Hopefully, it will work out. I don't really know if you were planning to go that far east but at least, I was wondering if you were planning to go hiking... ?

Because I was starting to wonder about the russian hiking maps... I know by experience that sometimes, it can get very tricky to find them in some areas...
If ever you happen to care about that too, Can you please give me some feedback about this issue? it would be super cool! :)

I just found some free digital maps on the web... from the website www.mapstor.com .... => It forwards you to this link http://maps.poehali.org/en/... where you can find digital hiking maps from Russia (and other Eastern european countries). Maybe you already know the link... Otherwise, maybe it will interest you...
I was wondering though about the accuracy of those maps... 'cause they seem to be quite old (military maps).
Same! if ever you happen to use them, it would be nice to have some feedback about it! :)

Thanks a lot.


Otherwise, I was finally thinking to order your book and DVD from the internet. Is is still possible? or do I have to wait until you're back home? How much would it cost me to receive them in Ireland?

Ok, that's about it for now.
Sorry for my english. I know how exhausting it can be to read my mails :) ....

Take care and have fun!

Sincerely,


Xavier
Bonjour Xavier,

Merci pour ton email! Although I can write in French, for the sake of others who might read this, I'll stick to English.

Thank you for sharing the great tips of those websites. Although they are old military maps, it's save to assume that the lower the trail (in elevation), the more likely it is still there. The trails that may have disappeared are the high mountain trails. However, vegetation grows slowly in Siberia, so although some trails may be a bit overgrown in parts, they are probably passable.

When you go to Russia have 2-3 hiking options available in the Sayan mountains. When you get there, ask the locals which of your routes are viable. Unfortunately, I suspect that less than 10% of the population there speaks a foreign language. So use a free translation service, like Babelfish, and print out a few key phrases, like, "Is this trail/road open?" or "Is there water?" or "Do you like communism?" ;)

Have all those phrases on a piece of waterproof piece of paper and point to those phrases wherever it is appropriate. Although it's heavy for backpacker, you can carry a Russian phrasebook, which will give you something to read at night when you're camping. :)

I won't go to the Sayans on this trip. I only have two weeks on my visa. I hope to go to the Ural Mountains, but I'm not sure if I will have the time.

Finally, yes, you can order my book/DVD via my website. Orders ship whether I am home or not. I always sign a bunch of copies before I leave, so there should be autographed copies available.

Shipping costs outside of the USA (including Mexico and Canada) is $11 for just the book and $15 for the book and DVD. Thank you for your interest! :)

Bon Voyage,
- Francis Tapon
http://FrancisTapon.com

waluyo
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Post by waluyo » Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:51 am

Hi Francis!
Thanks for you super fast reply!

Indeed, printing already-made-sentences is a good idea! However, the last time I was in Russia, I took a phrase book, and I figured ou that it is quite useless in big towns, since the people are always in a hurry and are not really willing to take some time for you... :? (and if by chance you manage to say a whole sentence right, anyway, you're not able to understand a word of the answer.... :D)
But I hope that in the countryside (where I haven't been yet), people will be more relaxed, it will be different, and that I will be able to use that phrase book.


Francis, if you want, I have other links in my pocket ;)
Here they are: (but maybe those links would find a better place in a new thread...)
in our national "hiking light forum", I started to gather information about maps which can be downloaded from the internet (for free). Here are a few links:

- maps of the Hight Tatras, (where you have been already):
http://www.mapytatr.net/PRODUKTY/MAPY_T ... wys_ii.htm
http://www.mapytatr.net/PRODUKTY/MAPY_T ... n_mapa.htm

- http://www.avijacijabezgranica.com/karte
the file "CG" is for Montenegro
HR => Croatia
SLO => Slovenia

- in France (well it's not Eastern Europe, but it is still an interesting link, I promise!), the hiking maps (cartes IGN) are very easy to find and you can find it in very various places... but you can save money and plan your trip with www.geoportail.fr ! (make sure you untick the satellite layer, and tick the map layer (carte IGN))
it requires a lot of time though... to match the different "screenprints" to be able to print a proper map.

All those links are free and hopefully, it will help some people to discover a hidden Europe... ;)
This list is to be completed... and I would be very happy to see new references!

Sincerely,

Xavier
Xav'

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Topo maps for Eastern Europe

Post by FrancisTapon » Tue Sep 30, 2008 4:47 am

Xav: Thank you for the excellent links! I hope others find them useful!

I agree with what you say about the phrasebooks. They work best when you spend 5 minutes to find the phrase and THEN you stop someone and then point to the phrase. If you stop them first, they won't have the patience to wait for you while you flip through the phrasebook. I'm sure you know this, of course.

Part of printing custom phrases is that as a backpacker, you might have questions that a common phrasebook won't address. To get around the problem of not understanding their responses, just ask questions that have a YES/NO response. ;)

Thanks for the info!
- Francis Tapon
http://FrancisTapon.com

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