AcuraCL

Hi forum.

New member here, and I appreciate the opportunity to pose my first question.

I am trying to decide the best way to proceed with my new GPSMap 76CSX.

The basemap that came with the unit is, um, let's say very basic.

I am trying to get an idea of the best set of maps for upgrades.

As my primary (but not only) use for the unit is hiking in and around my state and a few surrounding ones, I would like a good topographical map. I have read and reread reviews at Amazon.com, and it seems like all the maps have really great AND really terrible reviews.

So, for hiking/topographical use, is the Topo US 2008 best? Or is US Topo 24k National Parks East better? (I fear that may totally lack any detail in non-national park areas.) There's also a US Topo East that shows up on the Garmin web page.

For a map for driving directions, is the MapSource Navigator North America NT the one to get? Is there anything else?

Is there any way to get alternative maps to Garmin's to work in the unit?

Last, it seems smarter to me to buy the DVD version of these map upgrades, buy a 2GB microSD card, and download the maps to the card myself. Is that how you folks do it?

Thanks for any and all opinions offered !