has anyone else used the colorado trail cd-rom?
i don’t own a gps. i have this program for the specific purpose of printing out the maps, and i’m printing them out at roughly 1"=.4 mile
as you can imagine this is taking a big chunk of paper and i wonder if there is an easier way to go about this process???
any experience, suggestions?? thanx
astro
astrogorilla
if your mailling yourself parcels only carry the maps you will need for that particular section between paecels. this should help a bit with carrying all of those maps all the time.
scott
I havent hiked the trail yet, but I have printed out all of the maps. It took about 120 pages, (about 4-5 miles per page)using the CT atlas (the preprogramed printouts of the trail which are in additon to the 7.5 min, 1:100K, and 1:250k maps). I also used about 2 printer cartridges. (about 25$ each) I am also printing out large scale maps using the big topo seamer, so that i will have something for orienteering. I felt that the cost of the CD was worth it. You can double side print the maps if you want to (although that would be labor intensive). The owner of Bearcreek surveying company was very helpful (hes the guy who handled all of the surveying) and helped me out alot- Incidently, he said as far as water that the pts that he designated WT are pretty much sure water supplies. The value of the GPS data is amazing, I think! I am buying a new gps just for this trip. The basic E-trex, by garmin is very cost effective, at only 110$ +25 for a download cord. I tried one out for a while and it worked great.
Bear creek has recently updated their website, with all the new corrections and also a short list of waypts (498) for download purposes.
Like scott said, you can carry only what you need for the section and mail the rest.
This is more cost effective for me I guess, since we have a group of 6. I am going to try to save my maps and leave the printouts At my local outfitter store for someone else to use.
Color copies are generally about 95 cents each, so multiply that times however many maps you have and you would have a reproduction cost of about $120. If someone wanted to pay for copies, instead of hassling with buying the cd rom, printing them out, and paying for the 2-3 ink cartridges, Contact me and we could discuss the idea. I Think just buying the cd rom (and having the data as well) is a better deal though.
Ive probably written too much already (ive been having almost as much fun preparing for this trip as i will the trip itself!).
Justen Dick and company.
Justen