Ormes, who was by then a 79-year-old distinguished author and a
giant in the mountaineering world, grumbled and said, �Well, you
think you can do better?�
They became partners. Ormes supplied his encyclopedic knowledge
and persistent verbal lashes needed to get things done. Houdek
crafted the graceful, hand-drawn contour lines. Together they
created something rare � a map created by locals for locals. Most
communities rely on government-produced maps, which have habit of
omitting trails that the authorities don�t care for or know about.
The Pikes Peak Atlas tries to put everything in � on public land and
private � with a caveat that hikers using the map take
responsibility for trespassing.
�It�s an underground map. I still believe the Earth belongs to
the people who are out there,� Houdek said. �I have critics, and I
see their point, but I have to depict reality.�
When Ormes died in 1994 at age 90, Houdek took over. Without
Ormes� lashes, new editions now come out less frequently. It has
been 10 years since the last one. In that time, the region, fueled
by the Trails, Open Space and Parks tax, has added trails around Red
Rock Canyon, Blodgett Peak and Cheyenne Mountain, among other
places, making the map increasingly inaccurate. But that has not
lost the map any local disciples, even in an era when GPS and online
maps are increasingly cheap and precise.
�There is something ritualistic about pulling a map out of your
CamelBak and unfolding it,� said Josh Osterhoudt, a mountain biker
and general manager of Bristol Brewing Co. �I can stop in a meadow
and lay it out and decide where to go from there. I wouldn�t do that
with a GPS.�
Plus, a map never runs out of batteries and it doesn�t break when
dropped on a rock.
A copy of the Atlas hangs in Bristol�s tasting room, so runners
and bikers can accurately detail their trail stories over a foamy
pint.
The Atlas has a few small errors � as a steady stream of
perplexed hikers have discovered over the years � but as the new
version says in an author�s note at the top, the map is �more right
than wrong.�
�Sometimes it is a source of irritation with people I hike with,�
said Eric Swab, an avid local hiker. �But this is the perfect map
for me.�
Swab carries a GPS receiver but hangs the Atlas in his study. The
satellite data is great for telling him where he is, but the huge
map, which measures 9 square feet, allows him to see the whole
region at once, and how it is all connected � that it is possible to
wander from Palmer Lake over Rampart Range, across Pikes Peak to
Victor almost entirely on trails.
�It is how I plan all my hikes,� Swab said.
Houdek still draws the map by hand with drafting tools unchanged
since the 1930s. Throughout the process of creating the latest Pikes
Peak Atlas, he kept bumping up against modernity. The clear sheets
he uses to make different layers of the map are no longer
manufactured. Neither are the pen tips he has always used. Neither
are the large-format cameras that printers used to use to turn the
multiple clear sheets into a map.
�This whole thing was like a historical re-enactment.� Houdek
said. �Everything is computerized now.�
And Houdek doesn�t care much for computers. He doesn�t use
e-mail. He doesn�t surf the Web. He figures all that stuff is just a
distraction � something that might keep him from more important
things, such as hiking.
�But I can�t do it by hand anymore,� he said. �The materials are
all disappearing. The next edition will be digital.
This is the last hurrah for the hand-drawn � no, I�m not going to
say that. We�ll see. Who knows?�
WHERE TO GET IT:
www.pikes-peak-atlas.com