Anyone else make their own maps?

[arvinsmee]

I've always been frustrated with how inaccurate so many trail maps are, so I got into the habit of making my own. I've been using a USGS base map and adding the trails from crowd sourced GPX data and satellite imagery, occasionally stealing from other maps when I have to.

Anyone else gotten into this stuff? It can be excessively time consuming, but it's a great way to familiarize yourself with a new area. I have yet to run into anyone who does this, but I thought this would be a good place to ask.

Anyway, here's my map from last year's trip in the Weminuche.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/nbt4z935o ... 17beta.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In case anyone cares, the legend is:
Blue: official trails confirmed by GPX data or satellite imagery.
Pink: unofficial trails / roads / herd paths confirmed by satellite imagery.
Orange: no trail, just drawn in to indicate mileage.
Purple: no data available, trail drawn in as shown on other maps.

I know some of the official / unofficial trail distinctions are wrong. I made this for myself so I wasn't too diligent about the accuracy of data that didn't matter to me. The mileage and trail location should be on point though. Still, if you feel like using this for yourself, keep in mind there could be errors.

[jdorje]

I usually edit the maps on openstreetmap to show what I want them to. But opencyclemap is only in metric, with crappy SRTM topo data, so it won't work for standalone topo.

Been thinking about using mapnik to make maps from the OSM data and the (most recent) USGS topo data. Seems like a lot of work though.

[rijaca]

Seems like a good waste of time. I'd rather be hiking/biking/skiing/drinking.

[justiner]

naw, looks like fun. I usually only get as far as creating/collecting gpx tracks, then using those to show my routes on $whatever (Google Earth, whatever atrocity comes with my GPS, gpsvisualizer, etc).


I've been meaning to put together a map of the Boulder OSMP with all the social/climbing trails, but, yeah: that's a lot of work.

[arvinsmee]

I have a lot of downtime since winter sucks in DC.

It is sort of fun in its own meticulous way. If I can't be in the hills I might as well be getting ready for them.

Also, once you make a good map of an area you're pretty much set. For any trip, just crop and print the section you're hiking.

A few years ago I spent probably 12+ hours on a map of the northern half of Shenandoah. I got tired of the shitty NPS maps (which don't have relief) and PATC maps (which don't have mileage and aren't available online). Problem solved.

[pbakwin]

I've been meaning to put together a map of the Boulder OSMP with all the social/climbing trails, but, yeah: that's a lot of work.

Justin that already exists - OSMP has very detailed mapping of every social & climbing trail. You should be able to get the climbing access trails from them (whatever GIS format they use), but they probably won't share the social trails for obvious reasons - they don't want people using those.

I always make my own maps using caltopo plus whatever GPX files I can get or just drawing on caltopo. Then print (usually 11x17) at FedEx Office, and also load the GPX to my phone (Gaia).

[BillMiddlebrook]

I, too, make my own maps but print everything at home on a color printer, on waterproof paper. I don't pay for any mapping services, just some ink.

After I create the line(s) on the map, I put waypoint/route points every 0.1 mile and upload that data to my GPS, which I always carry. So, the map may have a line with 70 labeled points because the route is 7 miles long. I can do a quick check of my GPS to see that I'm at route point W25, meaning, I'm 2.5 miles into the route.

[arvinsmee]

I, too, make my own maps but print everything at home on a color printer, on waterproof paper. I don't pay for any mapping services, just some ink.

After I create the line(s) on the map, I put waypoint/route points every 0.1 mile and upload that data to my GPS, which I always carry. So, the map may have a line with 70 labeled points because the route is 7 miles long. I can do a quick check of my GPS to see that I'm at route point W25, meaning, I'm 2.5 miles into the route.

That's pretty handy.

I should probably adapt my process to something similar to that. Currently I create the file as one giant jpg. I start by stitching together cropped screen shots of caltopo in photoshop to make the basemap, then mark up a caltopo map by tracing trails visible by satellite and uploading gpx tracks from gaia and other places. Then I take screen shots of the caltopo map, put them into photoshop, align them with the basemap and trace over them. Then I use the measuring tool in Caltopo to determine mileage between convenient points (passes, creek crossings, trail intersections) and add that to the map manually. I don't have anything to upload to my gps, but since it's using the same basemap I always know where I am.

I started doing this in 09 or so with MS Paint, copying the trail routes from maps I got online, and now I'm here. It's a lot of work but it's nice to have a hand held map that has all the relevant data on it.

[acidchylde]

Currently I create the file as one giant jpg. I start by stitching together cropped screen shots of caltopo in photoshop to make the basemap, then mark up a caltopo map by tracing trails visible by satellite and uploading gpx tracks from gaia and other places. Then I take screen shots of the caltopo map, put them into photoshop, align them with the basemap and trace over them.

Cartographers everywhere just fainted.

For those of you who really want to get into making your own map data and storing it, you might look at QGIS. All this stuff you're doing in image (raster) editing would be so much easier in vector. And you can bring background data in, like sat (Google) imagery or already seamlessly aligned and referenced USGS quads or OSM (OpenStreetMap), to trace over or just display as a background. And there's tons of additional information (GIS data) out there you can track down and bring in if you like. Store whatever information and labels you like about individual line segments, import/export from .gpx, add point features/labels, print whatever section at whatever scale you want all from the same place (and it will actually be to scale). And it's all free. Or for $100 a year you could get a Personal ArcGIS license, which is a bit more robust and... well packaged I guess. Yes, there is a learning curve, but it's well worth it to do the level of stuff you're doing and would save you vast amounts of time in the long run. Particularly if you want to revise or change things.

I'll admit I'm a GIS guy, so I might be a little biased given my familiarity. A large part of what I do (actually most right now) is mapping, and while there's something to be said for the level of use that is just draw on Caltopo and print (or whatever software comes with your GPS, or other mapping program you have and like such as National Geographic Topo! if that's still around). But if you want to take things to the next level and make maps... Photoshop is more a finishing tool than a primary work environment for cartography. As much time as you must be investing in that process, you'd probably be able to pick up GIS (at least to the level needed to do what you want) before next summer.

[arvinsmee]

I knew there was an easier way, but kept doing what I was doing half out of habit and half out of stubbornness. I figured out how to make maps on my own years ago, starting with MS Paint and moving on from there. Clearly I got a little too invested in my method.

I'm actually taking a intro to GIS class this winter at University of Maryland - I'm excited to see how it correlates to the map making you're talking about. It's always fun when you can relate school to making your vacation plans...

I was thinking of going back to school for real to get my GIS certificate, but I'll see how this class goes first.

Thanks for the info though, I'll have to look into that ArcGIS license.

[arvinsmee]

I guess this thread also begs the question, if we're making our own maps because what's on the market is so bad.... why is the market so bad?

When I've looked for maps for CO, most of what I've found is done by NatGeo. My experience with them is absolutely awful. They show trails where there are none, get mileage wrong by up to a factor of 2, and are off by as much as half a mile when it comes to the route. All these issues can be solved by looking at crowd sourced data, they don't even need to send anyone into the field (although that certainly helps.) So I'm not sure why they haven't fixed it, or why someone hasn't founded a company to compete with them.

A lot of these errors are downright dangerous. The NatGeo map for the Collegiates shows a trail going down the east side of Huron to Cloyses Lake. There is no trail there and there never was. It is possible to descend in that direction, but the route they suggest is totally illogical (and extremely difficult). It's like someone told the cartographer you could go down the east side so they just drew in the line wherever they felt like it. Ridiculous.

[Conor]

This seems like an example of measuring with a micrometer and cutting with an axe. As pointed out, using raster data and plotting points on top of it, which are most likely measured with inaccurate devices in the first place, is a poor way to do it.

If I cared and wanted to carry a paper map, I would download quads from the usgs and have them plotted to scale.

More than likely, I just download the base maps to gaia, read a quick route description and head out. For easy stuff, like 14ers, most of the time you can just shove off with a route description (I use roach most of the time as I can take a picture with my phone). As someone said, I find my time to used in better ways.

The answer to why people haven't made "more accurate" maps is because it us incredibly time intensive and very little profit. Especially with all the data available to people today and GPS units. There are some niche markets, but I believe they were created long ago. Examples would be bear tooth publishing, the Austrian alpine clubs maps etc.