Plan your BC trek! FREE TOPO/Photo maps & mapping software & GPS support

[summit]

USAPhotoMaps by Doug Cox

http://jdmcox.com/

This tiny app is one of the coolest ways to plan a backcountry trek or to see where you have been. Use it to plan routes, see avvy danger, calculate slope angle and vertical. Plan hikes and camping as well.

I've been using this program for nine months and it absolutely kicks butt. It's very small, very simple, and best of all its free. Ok... I'm sounding like an ad, but it is true. There is no installation or registry b/s... just unzip and run.

It's a simple app that allows you to download areal photo maps (up to 1m resolution!) free from terraserver as well as topographic maps for the entire US (this includes Alaska!) (there are a few holes in the photo maps in some spots (South of Aspen, CO for example) but there are topomaps for everything. I've downloaded over 700MB of mapping and elevation data (be sure to get the elevation data).

You can also download SDTS evelevation data (very very cool) and you can move your mouse pointer wherever you want on a map and it will give you the exact elevation. The program also shows location coordinates in a variety of formats.

The maps can be zoomed in and out and you press T or P to switch from photo to topo. You can create routes (the program shows you the distances) and landmarks and download them to your GPS if you have one. You can also upload tracks, routes, and landmarks from your GPS to the program.

You can use another small app that the guy wrote to create large JPGs from the photo or topo maps and then print them out... print out several pages, tape them together, take them to Kinkos and laminate them, or just do a single page.

Anyhow... it's really damned cool and it's free. I highly reccomend it.

http://jdmcox.com/

Here is everything you need to download:The mapping program (this url is for the lates version at time of post... go to the page if the link doesn't work)
The bigJPEG maker for printing maps
The SDTS elevation data converter

Oh... and you can paypal him some $$$ if you like and it gets rid of the nag screen when you close the program (it's pretty rare an author is nice enough to put the nag screen at the end instead of the beginning... and all you ahve to do is click OK... i forgot it was there).

BE SURE TO READ THE SHORT README FILE OR READ ADVANCED HELP IN THE PROGRAM! IT IS VERY USEFULL! IT WILL ALSO TELL YOU WHERE TO GET THE ELEVATION DATA

[shera]

Thanks - I'll check this out when I get a chance...

[laseranimal]

NICE!

[Dr. Crash]

It says:

This program is shareware and the author would appreciate a donation!

Don't forget that if you use it a lot. I used to write freeware programs because I didn't care about the hassle of setting myself up to receive money (I know, sounds stupid right; this was pre-paypal and friends, and there's also something I like about doing things for free). But if someone asks for support and their software is worth it, help them!

drC

[Lane Meyer]

Here's a great site for free 10m SDTS DEMs from any locale in the US (Except AK, which has only 1:63,360 DEMs with a resolution of 90m), which allows you to select your quad by lat/lon. A GIGANTIC improvement over the retarded GIS Data Depot bullshit site which requires you to know the County name (who the fuck knows that anyway?)

SDTS DEMs by lat/lon

Furthermore, here's a free software program to visualize the DEMs and render shaded relief maps from them.

MicroDEM by Peter Guth

Feel free to email me if anyone has questions, I do this mapping shiz more or less for a living (if you count grad school as a living)

[summit]

Lane that sounds freakin awesome. I'll check that out later today (stupid job interviews)

[Telenater]

Originally posted by Lane Meyer
Here's a great site for free 10m SDTS DEMs from any locale in the US which allows you to select your quad by lat/lon. A GIGANTIC improvement over the retarded GIS Data Depot bullshit site which requires you to know the County name (who the fuck knows that anyway?)

SDTS DEMs by lat/lon

Feel free to email me if anyone has questions, I do this mapping shiz more or less for a living (if you count grad school as a living)

What? You mean you don't work with the NED in a SDE format?

Yeah, I work with GIS too.

[summit]

Maybe you can tell me why all the local maps are NAD27? Dangit! That's old! I want WSG!

[Dr. Crash]

What about GRASS? Too bad it doesn't run on Windows, because that looks like a kick-ass free GIS. I especially like when you can drape a topographic map (or a satellite image) around a 3D-rendered contour. Cool.

Also re: USAPhotoMaps... If you use it a lot, like it sounds Summit does, consider making a donation to its author. He's asking for it, he's just nice enough not to put a damn popup in your face all the time about it.

drC

[Ted Stryker]

this thread, it barks.
like the little sled dog.
yes, it is good.

[Mountainman]

Very useful!!

[summit]

Originally posted by Dr. Crash

Also re: USAPhotoMaps... If you use it a lot, like it sounds Summit does, consider making a donation to its author. He's asking for it, he's just nice enough not to put a damn popup in your face all the time about it.

drC

Support quality freeware!

Yea the author is real nice about it... only that little thing on closing. When you donate he sends you a small file to make the closing popup go away.

[Schralper]

Yeah aint Photomaps rad?
1st time I used it was for a mt. bike trail. My waypoint was the summit of this pk. Gnarly sand and babyheads for the 1st 1/4mi coming down thru the krummholtz. But amazingly when veiwed on from above, trail stands out. Pretty amazing rez and if thats availible to us. Just think about what the gov't has. Scary!

[summit]

^ b/c people were asking for such

[InspectorGadget]

Lane, Summit, anyone:

I admit it, I'm a complete ignoramus when it come to this kind of stuff. But I have an interest in learning more about the subject. I feel like I'm at the dinner table with my military father-in-law and brother-in-law when they start talking in acronyms.

Please translate some of this stuff into english for me. Any pointers on getting started would also be appreciated.

SDTS DEMs???
GIS Data Depot???
Visualize the DEMs and render shaded relief maps???

[/self jong]

Thank you.

[char]

Originally posted by InspectorGadget
SDTS DEMs???
GIS Data Depot???
Visualize the DEMs and render shaded relief maps???

[/self jong]

Thank you.

Spatial Data Transfer Standard Digital Elevation Model
http://data.geocomm.com/dem/dem_example1.gif

Geographic Information System Data Depot - Free GIS Data

[duph]

Didn't download it, not yet anyway. Already in on something free without need to download an app. How do these sites compare to TOPOZONE ? If they're better, I'll download. Just don't want to take the time with my slowdem unless it's really worth it....

[summit]

USA Photo Maps beats topozone hands down.

[duph]

Originally posted by SummitCo 1776
USA Photo Maps beats topozone hands down.

That's cool, thanks for sharing SC.

edit: just read your descriptions more carefully... There are a couple features on topozone that, unless I'm missing something, are missing from USA maps. Like the ability to overlay topo maps with photos and infinite zooming. That's on the pay version though, which you would have to pay for....

[midget]

really cool summit.
thanks!

[summit]

Originally posted by duph
That's cool, thanks for sharing SC.

edit: just read your descriptions more carefully... There are a couple features on topozone that, unless I'm missing something, are missing from USA maps. Like the ability to overlay topo maps with photos and infinite zooming. That's on the pay version though, which you would have to pay for....

Yea... I hadn't considered that... but if you are paying full software retail instead of a nice donation for freeware, there are software suites out there... I think TopoUSA is one of them... that are still even better.

[InspectorGadget]

Originally posted by char
Spatial Data Transfer Standard Digital Elevation Model
http://data.geocomm.com/dem/dem_example1.gif

Geographic Information System Data Depot - Free GIS Data

Thanks for your help char.