Where do you guys find good maps?
I found one of the area i want to explore but its like 1:200000 so like 2 squares on the map and i keep getting lost
Where do you guys find good maps?
Where do you guys find good maps?
I found one of the area i want to explore but its like 1:200000 so like 2 squares on the map and i keep getting lost
ISHYGDDT.
USGS
CalTopo (the website)
USGS > CalTopo
CalTopo gets most of their shit from USGS and GIS which you can get free straight from USGS.
CalTopo shills are cancerous liars and have demonstrated this repeatedly in every GPS thread posted since CalTopo went live.
Everyone should note that this Anon didn’t bother to say why one is better than the other. It’s because she doesn’t know what CalTopo is (she thought it was an app).
>CalTopo shills are cancerous liars
>no I won’t tell you what I mean
>just trust me bro
Ok
>since CalTopo when live
Pic rel
>every GPS thread posted since CalTopo went live
that’s not true. I first learned about it irl from my avy safety course instructor back in 2019; the guy is also a backcountry guide. I haven’t heard anyone mention it here until a few months ago, maybe. I’ve heard more people b***h about it (like you are) than I’ve hear people shill it. Idk what you have against it, the shit is free and has no ads, and the interface works better than usgs imo.
Please do explain what the cancerous lies are.
I mostly use Caltopo to easily draw .gpx files on topo maps where the trail I want is on the topo map but has no known .gpx file on Alltrails. Otherwise I use alltrails mostly, and people fricking hate that. Like, I get it, it's a subscription and that's annoying, but they do continually refine it and add shit to it and it's really easy to use on the go.
>Idk what you have against it
I’m the Anon who started the CalTopo thread a few weeks ago. It was specifically about the website, and included instructions on how to save custom maps and have them printed. The main complaint was that CalTopo was somehow just an app, and the Luddites of out didn’t like that. I mean it doesn’t make much sense considering the subject was about printed paper maps, but that’s the just of it: the mongoloids of out begin autistically screeching when they see anything about CalTopo because they assume you’re talking about an app.
For whatever reason the idea you could use an app to navigate and not have to print or bother with paper maps at all really sets some people off here. I've been using an app for years now with no problems but people think it's a deathtrap or something.
Well, yeah. I can see the appeal of both. Navigation with a paper map is a fun skill, and kind of exciting when you reach a landmark. Plus no batteries or anything to break.
But that’s not the point. The tards here don’t understand that the CalTopo site can be used as a source for paper maps. That’s the normal process; people make custom maps in the site, print them, and export the same image as a geospatial pdf to whatever device they’re using.
>print a paper map
>and also put it on a device to carry with you
No
Why not? Would you rather carry several maps of just topography, or a single map showing not only topography but your chosen route, points of interest, annotations, an elevation profile, mileage, recent snow info, and whatever else you might want?
I carry one map, on which I write notes relevant to my current trip
So you never end up crossing from one quad into another?
Ok, Anon.
Ok.
>it's impossible to have more than one map, you have to use electronics
I bet you think it's illegal to stop your phone from auto updating
Quite literally stated:
>I carry one map
>one map
>n-no wait!
>acktchually I carry more than one!
>multiple!
>not one!
>MULTIPLE
>I’m very smart and your dumb
>every anon who highlights my moronation is the same anon
>every anon must collectively choose to use either one single map or multiple maps, but I will talk shit either way because I'm incapable of using one
>Oh no now I have to carry two maps
This almost never happens but a map weighs fricking nothing and fits almost anywhere in a pack. Carrying enough maps for a week long hike is still lighter (and safer and more reliable) than carrying a week's worth of cellphone batteries lol
>this almost never happens
Speak for yourself, Mrs. Nohikes.
>The guy who doesn't know land nav and doesn't use paper maps tells another lie
Yes, you never ever get tired of lying.
I was using falconview when you were still in diapers.
Thanks for demonstrating that you're an idiot. For clarification: Downloading a map from USGS and printing it has absolutely nothing to do with an App at all.
Say it with me: Printing a downloaded PDF has nothing to do with apps at all.
Downloading the PDF… never mind. You’re a fricking moronic boomer.
>Falconview
Not an app. GG. No re.
>The PDF contains extra data needed by apps to corelate location to the 2d image
>If you print that .pdf that data is stripped because it isn't important
Yes, you're moronic. Try again: do better though you're childish nonsense is boring.
...you do know that maps don't have to be limited to the boundaries of a single quad, right?
not that but what if weather or road closures or something else makes you have to change your plans, you have to be near a printer to hike a different area, with a phone you can have many layers at once, different info like downloaded park maps and directions and you can download new trails on the go
If something happens that makes me avoid close to 100K acres of land that my map covers, then I'm probably just calling it a day, kek
MyTopo (not CAL, but MY) will make custom maps for you. Don't know about pricing because I haven't needed one yet; they stock plenty of pre-made maps for places I want to go.
Source for custom maps? If you say CalTopo you might give someone an aneurysm.
>I've been shilling caltopo forever
>People keep calling me on it though .. just ignore them--only 10.99 every quarter!
It’s free…
yes
because the USGS maps they steal to make their whole system work are also: free
They charge idiots who don't know how to read maps for software that works on devices that shouldn't be used to navigate.
Priceless.
>it’s free
>they charge people
The duty cycle boomer just keeps on going.
The USGS will provide you with 7.5’ Topo quads. It’s not the same thing. 90% of PrepHole doesn’t know how the site works or what the purpose of it is. Sucks to suck. Stay moronic.
>The cell-bot tells another half truth
well now, if it's free why does it have an Account and Subscription service?
It's almost like what I said about getting free .pdf's from USGS and caltopo charging you to use those maps on a cellphone with shitty GPS capabilities is true.
I love that you can't read a map to save your life but keep shilling caltopo.
Priceless.
sometimes trails don't appear at all on usgs topo but do appear on other companies' maps
>what is GIS
you're talking about animal trials or bike trails
both of which are local knowledge and easily interpolated by people that know how to read a fricking map (because they actually walk the land).
shill harder caltopo "buy my map explainer" homo.
no, there's tons of hiking trails that do not appear on USGS topo maps for various reasons
this has nothing to do with caltopo, they don't even have what I am talking about
>what is GIS
I recently did use GIS to figure out some road access to state game lands, and frankly I have no idea where Alltrails comes up with their data but they do tend to have a lot of random trails and overlooks that don't appear on other maps.
>State game lands
It is unreal how much I hate boomers and their cancerous relationship with nature
I don't hunt at all but sometimes the cute little views happen to be on game lands and it's hard to determine where the parking and gates are until I recently found they had a state gis thingy for it. I wish there was a more unified federalized map system. Topo maps were last hand-surveyed in the 1990s and are updated now with satellite images which doesn't really reflect well what current conditions or road/trails are like.
It's pretty annoying to have open 5 different map systems just to try to triangulate an exact location.
>I need a computer to help me rape nature more efficiently
obviously
>200 years of this bullshit
>rape
I walk around and take photos what do you mean? All of this land has already been logged previously, and much of it is currently mined or subject to resource extraction by others. Why blame me?
A lowland rainforest evergreen will live for a thousand years if you leave it alone.
>if I don't rape it some one else will rape it
You don't deserve any say in how to protect these trees. You are evil--simple as.
The trees were already taken. The forest was clear-cut logged, often 3-4 times over. Most of the trees are skinny, but of course, enough to block the overlooks, which are almost always sadly unmaintained except the ones with rocky cliffs.
I'm evil for using computers to navigate...
>They clear cut it not me so I can keep clearcutting it because someone else did it first
JFC.
>animal trails are on maps
Celltards will never understand this because their always 1k off and their phones die without cell towers due to the battery duty cycles
>always 1k off
Bullshit. The next time I go out, I'm going to hike to a USGS benchmark location and use my regular camera to take a photo of my phone (showing my current position on an electronic map) and the benchmark side-by-side.
Even as someone who primarily uses a map and compass, I'm inclined to side with the phone navigators in these debates because of how annoying you are and how much of a liar you are. Similar to how I side with boot-wearers in footwear arguments (despite owning multiple pairs of trail runners as well) because of how obnoxious and contemptuous the trail runner advocates are on this board.
Another lying celltard who does t know anything about navigation. You’re a liar and you don’t hike outside of cellphone network because it doesn’t work.
>cellphone network
Not needed for GPS reception on pre-downloaded maps. I'm able to receive my location in places where I can't make calls or access the internet on my phone.
Cellgays are liars. You don’t know anything about navigation. Have fun when your battery dies because of its duty cycle.
>someone can't have a wide array of tools in his navigational arsenal; you're either a full-blown tech geek or a full-blown boomer with NO exceptions
People on PrepHole really love to think and argue in absolutes, don't they?
Yeah ok liar.
You don’t know anything about navigation, Liar. Your phones antenna is bad, and you location will be off by at least 1k
>doubles down on his 1k claim
I'm convinced that you're simply taking the piss at this point. Do us all a favour and begone, troll.
The cellphone shills on this board have been unequivocally and repeatedly demonstrated to be disingenuous and absolute lars.
At this point I believe it's a bot or someone with an extreme mental disorder shilling cellpone garbage--mostly lying about it.
You've been proven to be a pathological liar in each and every one of these threads. Isn't it too early for you to be drinking?
>Accuse others of what you're doing
Do you even know where you are? Your posts are all there for people to see.
>Everyone arguing with me is the same person
Yes, you have a mental disorder--that much has been established. Stand alone receivers can be off by as much as 1k: that is 100% true... which is what that dude was responding to.
Keep lying rabbi.
Why would you respond to
with
if you weren't the same person who made the original "always" claim? Quit backtracking and lying.
>Celltards get blasted for lying by multiple people
>One dude uses soft language on a sarcastic post about location accuracy
>Celltard goes full israelite mode on pulpil
Yes, you're israeli, that much is obvious.
So, for clarity:
>Cell phone antennas are shit compared to dedicated GPS
>Cell phone accuracy outside of cell coverage can vary up to 1k
>Out of network cell location aquisition time is significantly higher
>Cell batteries are shit in the cold and inferior to AA and AAA alternatives
and my favoirte:
>Celltards don't know how to manually navigate or even how GPS works at a technical level but still give advice on navigation
None of what you wrote is true and I probably navigated with a map and compass before you were even born, junior. I'm also not israeli.
I also never had an issue with battery life because, like I said before, I don't use my phone as my primary navigation tool. I do nearly all of my hiking in the northeast US where it gets cold this time of year and never even have to worry about depleted battery life. You should quit lying and seething.
>I live in NE USA
Ahh, that explains it all.
Yes, you almost never leave cellphone coverage and don't have any real mountains.
You don't know shit about GPS or navigation--stop pretending your opinion matters on the subject city parasite.
>you almost never leave cellphone coverage
wrong
>don't have any real mountains
wrong again
>city parasite
northeast doesn't automatically = city parasite, liar
>Ree I doo leave coverage areas
Than you have trackphone or some shit carrier--there is almost 100% cell coverage of the east.
>Ree I have real mountains ree
no, you don't and the fact that you think you do makes you a delusional moron.
I've been all up and down the east coast: your mountains are shit and anyone claiming they aren't is moronic.
>ree just use caltopo
Lol, no--your software is trash and I don't take navigation advice from a liar that doesn't know how to read a map.
yes, and that person is you
>Why does everyone insult me the same way
probably because you're very dumb and insist on saying stupid sophomoric shit.
>there is almost 100% cell coverage of the east
The individual networks
Tracfone is on Verizons network. You can buy a $50 burner phone with the same $3 microstrip antenna that all GPS devices are using.
NTA but I live in the NE as well and there's a lot of places I lose coverage. I use paper maps, though. Frick all that shitty phone GPS bullshit.
The Adirondacks have very spotty coverage. If that other guy doesn't believe me, he can go to CalTopo and check the Cell Coverage box to see for himself. I look forward to sending him a benchmark photo next to my phone showing 0 bars with my position right at the spot, not 1k off
>None of what you posted is true
All of it is true--that's why I call you a rabbi. The points I listed have been substantiated multiple times and only a israelite would get factually disproven and two seconds later make the same claim that was factually disproven.
I don't know of arguing method more loved by israelites than than selective amnesia and repeating lies.
You’re wasting your time. I’m none of the people involved in any of this, but I can follow along:
>someone states “always 1k off”
>someone (presumably you) calls it bullshit
>someone replies that they never said “always”
Then why reply? If that Anon isn’t the one who made the claim, then the response to the claim wasn’t directed at him and there’s no need for him to be defensive.
PrepHole is too moronic to function, especially when arguments erupt on blue boards. People don’t understand the very basics of how replies work.
I'm convinced it's one person shitting up multiple threads with his moronation and trolling. His writing style and insult choice are dead giveaways.
Found him
Definitely the same person
>liar
No one said this.
....do you not understand how GPS works anon? I can literally make a GPS from some parts i can order off line for like 60 bucks.
GPS use satellites that are in geo synchronous orbit. You send radio signals to them and they bounce back and you can triangulate your locations.
The data that gets transmitted back and forth is extremely small information, its not like a cell network carrying large amounts of traffic.
for the most basic GPS you are just getting coordinates and locations, then the device itself places that on a map to see.
Everyone should know how to do normal ground nav with out a GPS, but GPS work pretty much anywhere.
yes 99% of out are just here to argue.
>make a GPS with ordered parts
Sounds pretty neat actually. Could you make one that's a standalone device?
>GPS use satellites that are in geo synchronous orbit
No, they are in MEO
>You send radio signals to them and they bounce back
No, you do not send any signals to any satellite.
GPS satellites continually broadcast their position and time. Basically the receiver takes signals from 4+ satellites at once and solves a system of equations for 4 variables (3d position and time). There’s a bit more to it than that, but it’s a hell of a lot more correct than your explanation.
>You send radio signals to them and they bounce back and you can triangulate your locations.
lul
>four+ satellites
Correct. The entire sky is divided up into however many orbital planes, I think it’s six. Each plane contains four slots that are occupied at all times by a GPS satellite.
But modern devices don’t just use the US’ GPS system. They can also read GLONAS (Russian), Galileo (EU), BeiDou (Chinese), I think the regional Japanese and Indian ones.
By receiving info from other systems, the time and accuracy are greatly improved. Four is the bare minimum.
Why do you need 4 satellites and not just three? It's called triangulation for a reason.
Quadangulation is for anons playing 4D chess
To correct for satellite clock error. Google it.
>iTs CaLlEd TrIaNgUlAtIoN
Yet here we are.
what is clock error?
I've never really had much problem locking GPS with my phone. Sometimes it won't if you are in an area with low but present cell service, and it tries to use cell towers to help but there's isn't enough signal to place your location perfectly, but turning on airplane mode fixes that everytime. The only time I've ever not been able to lock a satellite was using a rental car GPS in manhattan, nyc with tall towers blocking the signal.
that's kinda crazy that the satellite signals are so potent they can reach into the most remote wilderness tho I assume there are limits based on latitude at some point
Yeah it's pretty limited when you get close to the poles.
You'll get quite large margin of error on position and will at times be without service for SAR.
So you should avoid capsizing a ship in the deep arctic, you will die.
Not only is the response time very long, but there can be a significant delay before anyone have something to respond to, and they'll have to search a larger area.
There is another error you aren't mentioning related to timing: The atmosphere bends the signal, increasing the distance a signal has to travel which also impacts the triangulation equation.
GPS is way more complicated than Cell-shill keeps pretending it is.
>Always
I never said always you lying piece of shit
>Tells a lie
>Turns it into another lie
>You don't need cell signal for Cell GPS
You spam this lie in every thread and it makes it obvious you don't' know shit about GPS hardware. Cellphone GPS receivers are shit and you lie constantly about this fact.
>I never said always you lying piece of shit
Except you did
Holy shit, you don't even know what you wrote in your own posts lol
Thanks guys but im leaf
The government website says geogratis.ca but i went there and its just a wall of text
Check out
>MapArt.com
>mapsbyjeff.com
Depending on the area though you may have to learn to use QGIS and make your own. You can also install the 'AvenzaMaps' app, it'll show print maps that are scanned and georeferenced, but while digital you could use that to look into who provides maps in your area of interest.
I'll add, there is some varied information here:
>https://natural-resources.canada.ca/maps-tools-and-publications/maps/topographic-maps/10995
You can find your index reference looking at the PDFs here:
>https://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/vector/index/index_pdf/
The geogratis thing can be messy. But try looking into one of their 'Certified Printer' options. It sounds like the expectation is that they should be able to provide you a printed copy for purchase. For not popular areas like Parks (which you can find then at any outdoor store usually) you are going to have to do a little more research than what is just available in the USA.
Avenza maps. The basemap is good and you can search for and download extra maps for specific areas. Record your trail, set locations etc.
What's a good topo app?
for what use?
Well, for orienteering of course.
You need printed maps for orienteering--that's the whole point. You can get those maps, in the US, from USGS or buy a map from any local outdoor store.
I taught land navigation for years and have run many orienteering courses--never ever would I allow anyone to use any sort of technology beyond a compass, a map, and a protractor.
If you're looking for an app for orienteering you've no business around people doing actual orienteering.
Let me guss--you love caltopo?
are you about to prove this dude correct?
USGS is a government agencey that publishes free maps online--I can't tell if you're a liar or really just this moronic?
I expct no less than a piece of shit garbage caltopo shill that doesn't know shit about navigation or GPS.
Are you some pajeet they pay to lie here and shit up the board with CalTopo garbage?
>gets called out for not know what CalTopo is or how to use it
>doubles down
She did this in the last thread, and she still hasn’t used her words (like a grown up) to explain why one is better than the other.
>Doesn't know how to read a map
>Gives advice on navigation
ok Caltopo bot
Please explain how you’re able to form an opinion on CalTopo (which is a source for customizable paper maps) without even knowing what it is or how to use it.
NTA, but the site doesn’t do much good if you can’t read a map. Like someone said, it sources its maps from USGS quads. You make a custom map and print it on a large-format printer.
Dude, it's just finding where the frick you are. How is it any problem to use the phone for it when it's a lot more convenient and available?
You're like those boomers in med school complaining about people looking up stuff in their phones and not carrying a 3kg slab of paper under their armpit at all times.
I'm using caltopo to mark your address so I can rob people like you after shtf
why look
The cellphone con artist is lying again
Keep up those straw mans and red herrings
You're just embarrassing yourself.
>USGS is a government agencey that publishes free maps online
We’re the site and how do I easily find the name of the quadrangle I need?
https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#3/40.25/-102.13
They updated the site a few years ago. It used to just be a fricking list of names and there was no way to know the name of the quad you needed. You’d have to figure that out in your own somehow. Now you can just view a map, zoom in to the area you want a map of, click the screen, and download it.
Pic: Mfw Anons who absolutely hate navigation apps with a burning hatred end up downloading geospatial PDF’s just to print them out.
>Download a PDF from USGS website and print it to use for navigation
what does that have to do with navigation apps.. like at all? You got problems dude.
What’s the first part of the sentence you wrote in green text? Let’s break it down, since you’re dumb.
>download a PDF
-and-
>print it
So the first part:
>download a PDF
That PDF (which is free, btw) is interlaced with gps data. It’s called a “geospatial pdf,” a term you’re just hearing for the first time. This is the format the USGS settled on like 20 years ago. It can be viewed in nearly any navigation app out there. Your fricking welcome, dickhead.
But really I posted the link because someone asked.
I like the Gaia app in free mode. It has basically all the trails around me plus topo.
alltrails has a dedicated map layer that's really nice and often shows details other maps don't (like topo maps)
that said, there's all sorts of different maps and sometimes you have to piece together different layers like topo maps, alltrails layers, google maps, motor vehicle use maps, arcgis sources and other scattered maps that each can show different things about an area
Sign up for a free trial of ArcGIS Pro
I order mine from MyTopo
>https://udinaturen.dk/map-page
>https://sdfikort.dk/spatialmap
the last one is harder to use, but waaay more acurate
get the maps from internet and print them at youre local library
and yes this is the cheapest alternative that most people and anons who dont own theit own printer use
> its like 1:200000
im not the most tech savvy person but i figured out that if i open the downloadable pdf map from map service website and then change the scale from the url it changes the map to that scale and i can save it so
i hope this helps it sure saved pretty much my whole last decade
doubt anyone needs it, but for Denmark, this is it. first one is easy to use, SDFE is more advanced
>https://udinaturen.dk/map-page
>https://sdfikort.dk/spatialmap
I use Swisstopo which has every single trail, snowshoe trail, bike trail, biathlon trail and major/minor landmarks.
There should be something similar for your country.
The country I live in has been making incredibly accurate amazingly detailed maps for hundreds of years so this has never been a problem for me.