As an avid outdoor enthusiast, I have had the opportunity to hike and paddle throughout many parts of our nation’s backcountry and find those “special places.” In 2002 I decided to open  the Outdoor Paths Map Store  to share my love of visiting our wild places and to help you in planning your next adventure and finding your own “special place.” The store grew in popularity and I decided to take on partners, Randy and Janie Moore, also outdoor enthusiasts who, between the two of them, have thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail four times!

The store was located at the base of the Black Mountain Range in beautiful Western North Carolina and our customers were constantly asking, “What are the names of those peaks”? These requests prompted me to venture into the world of map publishing and form Outdoor Paths Publishing. My first map was a 3-D view of the Black Mountain Range naming all of the peaks. The success of this map was a deciding factor in then publishing a series of Detailed Guidemaps to the Blue Ridge Parkway. In Oct of 2009 I published my fifth map, “Waterfalls of North Carolina.” The publishing aspect became a consuming project and Randy and Janie decided to plan another Grand Adventure thus prompting a decision to close the store.

Outdoor Paths Publishing has grown to be a successful  wholesale publisher and distributor of maps focusing on the Blue Ridge Mountains. I am now busy dreaming up my next map project.

We want to hear from you. E-mail us with your comments or suggestions or just to share your favorite outdoor “special place” or experience:

Outdoor Paths Publishing, Email Us

 

Why The Turtle As Our Logo?

Symbolically, the Turtle has been representative of the earth and is our guide to respecting its many resources while also teaching us perseverance and patience.

One of the great creation stories in Native American literature tells of the time when there was only water and no place for the people and animals to live. Turtle, the water mother, made a great sacrifice and let the first people pack mud on her back that grew and became known as Turtle Island, the land we now live on. Thus, many Native Americans call the North American Continent Turtle Island.

During our travels on the various “outdoor paths” of the world, we should heed the message of the Turtle and slow down so that we may enjoy and appreciate all that is around us.

 

Happy trails,
Larry Odoski