BajaNomad - Old news on the ALMANAC (see other thread)

Old news on the ALMANAC (see other thread)

David K - 7-1-2008 at 09:17 AM

3-7-09 EDIT: The updated thread on the 2009 Almanac is here: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=36515

=====================================================

The Baja California Almanac is perhaps the most valuable tool to off highway exploration and travel on the peninsula. The last edition, now long out of print, was produced in 2003.
The web site is http://www.baja-almanac.com

We have heard rumors for months (or years?) about a revised Almanac in the works from publisher Landon Crumpton... Finally something to share...

I recently received some good news (or should I say some hope) that there will be a new edition of the Baja Almanac topo map book... Before sharing this email from a Baja friend, I did contact the person in San Diego mentioned in the email, who confirmed that it was what he understood to be the facts and thought it was fine to share this news with the Nomads:

"Now to bring you up to date with Landon and his plans for the updated BAJA ALMANAC...
Landon was here at my house on April 3rd and personally showed me the new slicks and computerized updates for what was ready to go to print for a New/Updated Baja Almanac. Looked good and he is planning to come out with both guns on this one...was making a final run into a few areas he wanted to perfect some updates and changes in before sending everything off to the printer...he was very jazzed about the new Almanac when he was down here before returning home to go to print. His hopes are to have the the new publication produced and out by late September or October. The good news is... the NEW ALMANAC will be retailing for $20 USD, as opposed to the past retail price of $25. Looked good to me and he is enlarging it slightly in size to really emphasize more detail for the off-road traveler to take advantage of the changes he has recorded. I'm jazzed with what he showed me...FYI, he is also moving his base of operation to San Diego from Las Vegas. Contact *** ****** in San Diego for updates on how things are going...according to Landon, *** will be kept abreast of how things are progressing."

[Edited on 7-1-2008 by David K]

Go newer thread...

[Edited on 2-27-2009 by David K]

[Edited on 3-7-2009 by David K]

bajalou - 7-1-2008 at 10:11 AM

Good news

Hook - 7-1-2008 at 10:39 AM

I guess we can look forward to Landon registering on Nomads when the books come out, just like another recently re-published Baja author, and then putting it in the "news" section. :rolleyes:

Or will he just rely on you, David, to promote sales? Congrats on your upcoming free copy.

I am guessing "pre-sales" of the almanac are just around the corner, if Landon resorts to past practices.............won't get fooled again.

You cant buy exposure like this.......................uh, actually, I guess one could. Seems that paid ads ARE possible on Nomads.

Pimpin' and a pumpin'................will it ever end?

DO THE RIGHT THING, LANDON. BUY AD SPACE ON NOMADS.

As much as some of us use it as a social crutch, it IS still a business by all outward appearances.

David K - 7-1-2008 at 06:41 PM

Nobody asked me to post anything Hook. I don't get free Almanacs... I don't know Landon... It is good news and people who love to explore Baja are anxious to get ANY news on the next Almanac.

Since the source was good (I know personally) and I checked with the second person that was mentioned (who I also know personally), I thought it was a pretty good thing to share.

Not sure why you think it is anything but a bit of news on a book we all want.... geeze! :rolleyes:

Udo - 7-1-2008 at 07:12 PM

I agree with David regarding a book that will be useful to all of us Nomads. We'll probably be quoting from it later this year anyway.
I, for one, look forward to when the book comes out, and if I didn't hear about it from the Nomads, I probably would have found out through Discover Baja or the Vagabundos Del Mar.
My book will probably be out in about four years, because I don't have all the facts down yet.
What is it going to be about? Part of it will include the food of Baja, but most will be about the long careful planning that is involved in figuring out how and where to retire in Baja (with my apologies to Shari who is now a Baja citizen and runs a business, can't get more ideal than that!).
Again...congratulations to Shari!

Neal Johns - 7-1-2008 at 08:12 PM

Wahoo! There are never enough maps of Baja. Thanks for the info, David. My several versions of the Almanac are showing signs of drool wear.
Neal

Ken Cooke - 7-2-2008 at 05:29 PM

Actually, David sleeps beside his Almanac nightly! :lol:

Here, he just woke up, and is on his way to breakfast with Angel.

bacquito - 7-2-2008 at 06:55 PM

I'll look forward to more information. Thanks David for sharing the news.

spike - 7-4-2008 at 10:31 AM

Thanks, for the good news, David. Made my day!
Mike

David K - 7-4-2008 at 07:42 PM

De nada Mike... I hope it does happen... as I love maps! It's like having a window into Baja from where ever you are... almost like Baja Nomad!!!

Corky1 - 8-14-2008 at 09:04 PM

David,
Any up dated info here???
Thanks,

Corky :?:

rpleger - 8-14-2008 at 09:41 PM

I need a new one as mine went down the river in the great Mulegé flood...
Thanks for the news...

Good news. Thanks David

thebajarunner - 8-14-2008 at 10:12 PM

Do I remember correctly that someone, somewhere, out there in cyberspace, was offering their old edition for about $250 US?

Guess that tempers the good news, now my old one is no longer a part of my retirement....

(and David, you are doing a good job of ignoring the riff-raff and their endless snide commentary, keep it up amigo)

David K - 8-15-2008 at 06:30 PM

Gracias Dick... I plan on doing the same thing as I have here since Doug made this forum in 2002: Sharing Baja info and promoting friendships!

woody with a view - 8-15-2008 at 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Gracias Dick... I plan on doing the same thing as I have here since Doug made this forum in 2002: Sharing Baja info and promoting friendships!

hey DK

please refrain from referencing the "areas that shall not be named"

PLEEEZE!

the season is coming, don't 'cha know.....and the saints of the sacred spots prefer anonominity, brah!

CaboRon - 8-15-2008 at 06:56 PM

I would like to announce the upcomming sale of my new book.

"Sacred/Secret surf spots of the Baja Pacific Coast"

Information gathered over years of befriending surfers ...

My Ho-Dad persona was never discovered.

I am offering a special pre-sale deal ......

You may stop publication by purchasing the galleys for one hundred thousand dollars US...

CaboRon

woody with a view - 8-15-2008 at 07:00 PM

oh ron, you won't be the last to sell out for a few thousand.....there is a difference between publishing a verbal account and a MAP. please don't mistake one for the other.....and may your literary experience be a short one.....

:!:

CaboRon - 8-15-2008 at 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
oh ron, you won't be the last to sell out for a few thousand.....there is a difference between publishing a verbal account and a MAP. please don't mistake one for the other.....and may your literary experience be a short one.....

:!:

Darn Woody,

I forgot to put the smiley face on my post.

Here it is ....

HA HA HA

amir - 8-15-2008 at 08:29 PM

Quote:

[IMG] http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z260/Ronlitz/unnamed.gif[/IMG]

... wish I had a smiley for "YOU'RE HILARIOUS, CABRON"

--Amir

danamite - 10-14-2008 at 12:29 PM

AND it's mid OCTOBER 2008 & still no word on the official site. We are all still awaiting... and hoping.

>> "His hopes are to have the the new publication produced and out by late September or October."

So sad.
Someone should buy the copyright to this Baja map book & get it in the hand of a real publisher.

DanaMite
Total Escape - California, Off the Beaten Path
http://www.totalescape.com

Where I've been
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danamite/sets/

CaboRon - 10-14-2008 at 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by danamite
AND it's mid OCTOBER 2008 & still no word on the official site. We are all still awaiting... and hoping.

>> "His hopes are to have the the new publication produced and out by late September or October."

So sad.
Someone should buy the copyright to this Baja map book & get it in the hand of a real publisher.

DanaMite
Total Escape - California, Off the Beaten Path
http://www.totalescape.com

Where I've been
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danamite/sets/

Been hearing about this for over a year ....

No longer believe it will happen :lol:

burnrope - 10-15-2008 at 12:30 PM

I would routinely see used Baja Almancs for around $500.00 on E-Bay. All of these rumors have driven the price down to around $20.00.

Hook - 10-15-2008 at 03:07 PM

Probably not enough advance "deposits" yet, if this follows the usual course.

Time to beat the bushes harder, David.

Today's email...

David K - 10-15-2008 at 03:44 PM

With all this time, it should be a great edition! Nobody is taking advance deposits for it Hook, as far as I have heard...

I am trying to reach Landon directly so I can report back to you all, first hand. Until I do, please welcome any info. I can get that I believe to be valid...

Anyway, I received this today from a person I contacted who knows Landon (Baja Almanac publisher):

"I saw Landon 1 month - he said before Xmas, but who knows-still doing computer work on it."

chino - 10-15-2008 at 09:29 PM

I have felt stingy in the past not loaning "my" almanac to a good friend, now with hind sight I feel wise for not loaning it, it also has made a great journal over the years and some of the writings are not for anyone else.
I will probably get two when they do resurface.

Ken Cooke - 10-15-2008 at 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chino
I have felt stingy in the past not loaning "my" almanac to a good friend, now with hind sight I feel wise for not loaning it.

If I loan something out, I expect it will be damaged, but returned - at best. Lost, or the 'friend' disappears off the face of the earth w/my Almanac at worst.

burnrope - 2-26-2009 at 07:47 PM

Isn't bumping great?

rockman - 3-6-2009 at 10:54 PM

Will the new edition improve the accuracy of the Latitude/longitude tics ?

In previous editions, some page's tics were off by up to 0.6 km.
This is more obvious if one tries to splice some adjacent map pages - either the trails or the tics may not line up.

Also, it would be helpful if the Almanacs had a publication date, or, better yet, a revision date on each map sheet.

David K - 3-7-2009 at 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rockman
Will the new edition improve the accuracy of the Latitude/longitude tics ?

In previous editions, some page's tics were off by up to 0.6 km.
This is more obvious if one tries to splice some adjacent map pages - either the trails or the tics may not line up.

Also, it would be helpful if the Almanacs had a publication date, or, better yet, a revision date on each map sheet.

Hi Norm... who knows for sure?

Are you changing your GPS map datum to NAD27 Mexico when using the Almanac

Or is the off scale just when you are piecing together pages?

I did a lot of that when working on the recent El Camino Real posts here on Nomad (did you see them?)... Some of the non matching of ticks and roads/ arroyos could have to do with the fact that the world is round and maps are flat...

The better thread on the Almanac is here: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=36515

rockman - 3-7-2009 at 12:45 PM

Hi DK;
These problems are not related to datum or projection.

Take a pair of fine dividers and compare the distance between latitude tics. They should be identical, but in many cases, they are not. For example, on maps 13, 18 and some others, compare the distance between the bottom 2 tics and the top 2 tics; they are different by over 2mm, which is half a km at that scale.

Look at the left (west) edge of map 25, and note that the state boundary (28*N) is nearly 4mm (0.9 km) north of the 28*N tic mark.
Also, you can compare the INEGI maps and find location differences.

These errors were not a problem until the common use of GPS, but now in some areas, the difference can put you on the wrong side of a hill.

You probably have noted that the Almanac maps, although close, are not exactly 1:250,000. You'll see this if you try to overlay an INEGI geologic map over an Almanac map. The Almanacs (and their info source) are undated, and the exact scale of the maps is not stated.

The recent National Geographic maps of Baja have a lot of detail, and more updated roads and trails. Like the Almanac, it is a good planning tool, but since each state is on one piece of paper, one does not have to go from page to page. I find the NG maps to be better than the AAA/ACSC Baja maps. Some of us have tried to inform AAA of the many errors on their maps, but the AAA offices are unable to tell us who to contact, and lack the interest to pursue it.

A few years ago, I wrote a letter to the publisher detailing some of the problems, but I never got a reply.

[Edited on 3-7-2009 by rockman]

David K - 3-7-2009 at 04:42 PM

The new Nat'l Geo maps are beautiful..but many serious errors as well... the same found on the Almanac which tells me they both originated with Mexican topos...

On the Nat'l. Geo maps: Mision San Pedro Martir is shown by San Telmo, a auto road is using 'your' hiking trail to Santa Maria mission... an auto road shown between San Francisco de la Sierra and Santa Marta... etc.

The AAA maps got much better the last couple of editions when they began using GPS technology in locating the roads correctly.

At least the Almanac is checked and revised by Landon... and he has really been working on field research for this new edition... if it ever gets published!

The previous edition was printed in 2003... the ones (Norte and Sur) before 1998 or '99 (I think). I would love to see the BIG Baja Atlas redone, that was Landon's first map book... from '86 and '91, I think.

[Edited on 3-7-2009 by David K]

TMW - 3-8-2009 at 11:35 AM

If accuracy is what you want put Google Earth on a laptop and take it with you.

burnrope - 4-24-2009 at 02:23 PM

I've got that bumping feeling again.

Baja Bucko - 4-24-2009 at 08:21 PM

I agree with Davo here...I recently took a look at the Nat Geo maps and just in one gander saw a road going to a place that in real life...has no road to it cuz I was just there on a mule. So I said to myself-if the only thing I look at is wrong what other things are in error?????? Nope, didn't buy it.

David K - 4-25-2009 at 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Baja Bucko
I agree with Davo here...I recently took a look at the Nat Geo maps and just in one gander saw a road going to a place that in real life...has no road to it cuz I was just there on a mule. So I said to myself-if the only thing I look at is wrong what other things are in error?????? Nope, didn't buy it.

Many maps have mistakes... we just hope they are as few as possible. Sometimes a map will have a mistake on purpose as a copyright protection... If that mistake appears on another map, then it will be known where the info originated!

The Baja Almanac has mistakes, but it is the best we have for a detailed Baja topo road/ trail map. The mistakes are not Landon's fault, but are the same that is on the base topo maps he uses, from the Mexican government.

Some of those errors include:

showing an auto road between San Francisco de la Sierra and Santa Marta;

the road to San Juan de Dios from Hwy. 1 is misaligned,

as is the road south of Las Flores;

between San Agustin and Cataviña the old Baja road is shown as paved Hwy. 1 when the highway is 1-2 miles south/west and parallel to the old road;

the correct names of Bahia San Luis Gonzaga and Ensenada de San Francisquito are reversed;

Arroyo el Volcan and Arroyo Zamora are reversed;

an auto road is shown going to Los Dolores...

Stuff like that! :smug:

burnrope - 5-1-2009 at 10:33 AM

That's great news that it's at the printers.

David K - 5-1-2009 at 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by burnrope
That's great news that it's at the printers.

Yes... as stated in this thread of May 1, 2009: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=38505

burnrope - 5-13-2009 at 06:31 PM

I need the new Almanc so I can find my way to San Buenaventura for some turtle soup.

burnrope - 9-9-2009 at 01:22 PM

Hurricane, Smchurricane. I need to know what's really important. What's the status of the New/Revised Baja Almanac?

Casey67 - 9-10-2009 at 09:43 AM

Indeed. I finally broke down and grabbed a new copy of the previous edition from an Amazon.com seller for $75 (PEZCIFICO). He has more copies in mint condition for the same price. Better than the ~$300 I've seen some going for.

Hopefully the new edition is out in time for the quickly approaching winter Nomad migration.

CaboRon - 9-10-2009 at 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Casey67
Indeed. I finally broke down and grabbed a new copy of the previous edition from an Amazon.com seller for $75 (PEZCIFICO). He has more copies in mint condition for the same price. Better than the ~$300 I've seen some going for.

Hopefully the new edition is out in time for the quickly approaching winter Nomad migration.

David K - 9-10-2009 at 04:48 PM

As of this morning, Discover Baja still hasn't got the new 2009 edition...

burnrope - 9-10-2009 at 06:35 PM

David, Thanks for the update.

David K - 9-10-2009 at 07:31 PM

de nada... I plan on being there for a short time Saturday afternoon and if they (almanacs) show up, I will post it here that day!