anybody ever used the national geographic TOPO maps? i am particularly interested in the ability to customize maps that give elevation profiles for a specified hike.thanks
cheeserTOM
National geographic TOPO maps
system
#2
You mean the Trails Illustrated maps like the one the ATC sells to cover the Great Smokey Mountains NP? That map is a tourist map, scale is so big that the green line that marks the AT obscures the countour lines, which are quite close together and hard to read. Waaaaaay too much information for a hiking map, but good if you’re car camping. Google Earth is very cool, and there’s an AT overlay for the entire trail showing all the shelters.
z
system
#4
I downloaded the appalachian shelters file to my desktop. Then I open Earth. Then I click on the shelters file. The Trail appears on the map as an overlay. (I’m using a Mac.)
z
system
#5
To the OP, yes, you can do this by “drawing” over the route you plan to take. The results may be a little jagged though. I prefer to use the elevation profile tool to pick multiple low and high points along a route. It will give me a very good idea of the overall elevation gain.
HTH
Rich Owings
“We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books.” – Edward Abbey
Rich Owings