Keith Myrmel is apparently not interested in resting on his laurels.

A year ago, Myrmel, an artist-cartographer and retired landscape architect from Arden Hills, produced a richly detailed map of Minnesota's Superior Hiking Trail. The hand-drawn and hand-lettered map — "old-school" in Myrmel's words — struck a chord with the state's hiking community. Myrmel was a bit surprised when he sold more than 2,200 copies, and discovered that people were using it not just as a trail guide, but as art to be framed and hung on the wall. (The original ran 13 feet long and 2 feet wide, and was reduced to about 26 by 40 inches.)

But Myrmel wanted to do more.

Prompted in part by recent legislation that designated the Superior and other trails as part of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) in Minnesota, Myrmel has just released a new map covering a much greater portion of the trails in the northeastern part of the state.

The new map covers Minnesota's portion of the NCT, including well-known trails such as the Border Route, Kekekabic and other trails in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The Superior Trail from the northern end southwest to the area of Crosby Manitou State Park is in there, too. The new map also includes all hiking trails in the Arrowhead region. And if that's not enough, it also marks every campsite in the BWCA.

The challenge with this map, Myrmel said, was "the need to get input from so many different organizations," especially during a time of change, when many once-autonomous trail organizations were coming under the NCT umbrella.

In addition, the NCT (which stretches more than 4,000 miles across seven states) remains a work in progress, with some Minnesota portions unfinished and others to eventually be rerouted. "One thing I've learned," Myrmel said, "is that each map captures a moment in time. No matter how accurate I try to be, things keep changing."

The new map follows the artistic slant of Myrmel's first work, including an ornate border and quotations from well-known outdoors people.

"The border became an intentional addition to show the concern for the land, earth and nature," he said. "I think those are shared bonds we have as hikers, backpackers, kayakers and canoers, and all users of these resources."

Because of the greater area covered, the map is printed on both sides of the waterproof paper rather than split into two sections on one side (like the Superior Hiking Trail map). The printed map is 25-by-38 inches, the same size as a new slightly revised version of Myrmel's Superior Hiking Trail map.

Both maps are available for purchase online at kjmyrmel.webs.com and in outdoors-related stores and locations around the state, including Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis.

Jeff Moravec is a writer and photographer from Minneapolis. Reach him at jmoravec@mac.com.