The first thing I do when I evaluate digital mapping software is to look at the accuracy of the maps provided or available with the software. You can have the best user interface or software features in the world, but if the maps you provide are inaccurate or out of date, I’m not going to use your program or application.
I’ve come across this issue time and again when planning trips on the Appalachian Trail and in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and it really irks me. Call me old school, but I prefer using paper or waterproof maps for planning because they tend to be updated much more frequently for backcountry locations than digital maps. Crazy as that sounds, it’s true.
Let me give you a few examples for the hike to Bondcliff Mountain, Mount Bond and West Bond Mountain I took earlier this week. These mountains are one of the most popular hiking destinations in all of New Hampshire, so you’d hope that they’d be accurate.
First, the waterproof paper version of this area from the 4th edition Map Adventures White Mountains Trail Map.
The Bonds from The Map Adventures Waterproof Map
This is the map I primarily use for hiking in the White Mountains. Here are a few things to note about its representation of The Bonds.
- Bondcliff, Mount Bond, and West Bond Mountains are all correctly labelled
- The Bondcliff Trail and the West Bond Spur Trail are shown and labelled
- The Guyot Campsite and spur trail are also shown
Gmap4 from MappingSupport.com
Gmap4 from MappingSupport.com usually has pretty superior maps because they combine multiple digital versions, including historic maps to enrich their map data. The program is freely available online for non-commercial use and covers the United States and Canada. It doesn’t have all of the capabilities of higher end software-based route planning tools but it runs in phone and tablet browsers, lets you mark waypoints, create tracks and routes, share maps online, and save maps to GPX files.
The Bonds by Gmap4
The Gmap4 version of the Bonds region is not bad in comparison to the Map Adventures map. If you knew where you were going, this map could get you there.
- The Bondcliff and West Bond Trails are shown, although the West Bond Spur is not named
- The elevations of the three Bonds peaks are all shown, although West Bond is not named
- The Guyot Shelter and spur trail are shown but not named
- The archaic (old) name of BondCliff is shown (The Cliffs) instead of current usage
TOPO4!
I find that National Geographic’s TOPO! maps are often out of date for New England, especially when it comes to reflecting more remote trails that I know exist. This is from version 4 of TOPO! New England program from 2010.
The Bonds by TOPO
So far, the TOPO! map is the most out of date:
- While the Bondcliff Trail is shown, the West Bond Spur is missing
- West Bond Mountain is not labelled
- The Guyot Shelter and spur trail are shown but not named
- The archaic (old) name of BondCliff is shown (The Cliffs) instead of current usage
RouteBuddy
Like TOPO!, RouteBuddy is mapping software that you install on your computer. The maps are sold separately (by state) and, as noted at the RouteBuddy Store, RouteBuddy versions of the USGS Topo maps “are very different to the free ones available elsewhere as none of the free maps have been corrected for safety.”
The Bonds by RouteBuddy
Unfortunately, the RouteBuddy maps for the Bonds are as out of date as TOPO!’s.
- While the Bondcliff Trail is shown, the West Bond Spur is missing
- West Bond Mountain is not labelled
- The Guyot Shelter and spur trail are shown but not named
- The archaic (old) name of BondCliff is shown (The Cliffs) instead of current usage
Conclusions
What’s this post tell us? At least in the case of The Bond Mountains Of New Hampshire, desktop based digital mapping tools such as National Geographic’s TOPO and RouteBuddy have out of date maps that are missing trail data and place names, while paper maps and on line mapping software are more up to date.
In practice, this means that you should use multiple sources of information to plan hiking trips in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, including ones that you know are updated annually such as the AMC’s White Mountain Guide and the US Forest Service’s White Mountain web site,which has up to date trail closure information. Personally, I’d also recommend that you get yourself a good waterproof map to carry instead of your phone or GPS, if only because it’s likely to be more accurate than commercial applications that you can purchase from software makers, and it doesn’t have a battery.
Call me old school.
Disclaimer: RouteBuddy provided Philip Werner (SectionHiker.com) with evaluation software for review. Philip Werner purchased TOPO! with his own funds.
P.S. If you think this is an isolated example, compare the route from Mt Waumbek to the York Pond Trail and Bunnell Notch along the Kilkenny Ridge in all of these programs/applications.
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Wow looking at those maps just shows how lucky we are in the UK to have the Ordnance survey. The amount of detail we get in the UK is great. For example how do you tell what the vegetation is like on the maps above / any outcrops of rock etc?
James – Yes the OS maps in the UK are really good. I used them in addition to Quo mapping software from Mapx to plan my 2010 TGO route and was very pleased with the entire experience, despite the fact that the maps are not available on waterproof paper. Still they’re fairly up to date and impressive in the amount of detail provided.
The only really issue I had was whether certain towns or structures were modern and inhabited vs. “ancient” and uninhabited. In that instance, I gained a lot from having the Challenge route vetters review my plans.
“…how do you tell what the vegetation is like …
http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/symbols/topomapsymbols.pdf
Especially note the symbol for Mangrove, which may be unfamiliar to you.
Yes, I agree that most mapping software is less usefull than I would prefer. It is often difficult to trace a route, especially the herd paths or unmaintained trails in the High Peaks of NY. Especially after Irene, there have been some changes to the trails that even the paper maps do not show, though they are better than the the electronic versions.
Most of the mapping is older. Even paper maps are rarely up to date. I have some that simply do not list the trails to some of the peaks or to general hiking elswhere. Perhaps, the main focus of these companies was getting the software out there. They need some sort of updating, verification process for their maps. One of my favorite fishing holes is no longer accessible due to the trail being on private land and closed. I found out the hard way several years ago… A clearing house or other central repository for this info would be real nice.
Anyway, a map and compass still rule IMHO. My computer can print out maps I can use. Generally they are lighter, and, far more reliable. Even a dropped compass usually does not break them. And, like you say…NO BATTERIES.
I’ve developed a set of reference locations I check first when I get a new package to see if their maps are reasonably up to date. Perhaps that would make a good QA set for the software makers . But it’s probably all moot – they can’t make a business out of enhancing digital maps for the entire USA – it’d be too expensive, and focusing on specific parks or regions would not generate enough revenue to run a software company.
Seems like the regional mapmakers have a competitive advantage this time.
I have found places off and on where the ordinance survey maps are less than stellar (mostly in Wales, but even in pretty popular places like around Avesbury), but they are much better than what I can get in the states.
The accuracy of the Topo4! maps is laughable in the southern US. Some of the other GPS map databases haven’t been updated since the 1940′s. It is gradually getting better, but there are places where blindly using them for planning or navigation could lead to disasters.
The American equivalent of the Ordinance Survey maps are the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles, which can be downloaded for free as a .pdf from usgs.gov.
For recreational areas, though, the commercial maps are better. In the west we use Green Trails and Tom Harrison.
I think a big paper map is much better for getting a perspective on the overall hike, the terrain, and the route. I wouldn’t like peering at a map through the tiny window of a phone display and scrolling like a madman.
True, but The quality is certainly not equivalent to the OS maps in the UK. The USGS maps for the Bonds are exactly like those used in TOPO and RouteBuddy above. If you tried to plan a hike to West Bond using them, you’d be preparing for a bushwhack.
I’ve seen the latest pdf’s from the USGS and they are truly excellent. They come overlaid with aerial photography and are current. They aren’t what come on the topo4 dvd or cd’s. For trails in the US I tend to look for someone’s GPS track (& make mine available) because those tend to be the most reliable.
There isn’t the same kind of public right of way access in the US that there is in the UK with public footpaths (but then it’s a lot easier for us to “wild camp”). One of the nice things in the UK is following these public footpaths and making your own route. Some of the rights of way are ancient (the ridgeway for example was old when Caesar visited). The Orange OS maps tend to be more up to date, and most importantly show more of the pubs.
It’s really amazing that the online versions of the maps can’t be kept more up to date. I checked the current version of Trimble MyTopo (my favorite for use on my iPad and smartphone based GPS) and they had exactly the same issues with the Bonds as the ones you listed. Disappointing.
My favorite mapping option for the Whites is the WMG Online (wmgonline.org). It is kept up to date with the current AMC maps and it’s great for route planning since the trails are all clickable to create routes and you can produce a report that has all the trail segment descriptions from the WMG include. Also exports routes in GPX and KMZ/KML format for viewing in other mapping programs and Google Earth. Unfortunately when you get outside the Whites there doesn’t seem to be a similar option for other New England locations.
And yes, I agree that carrying a paper (or better yet, waterproof) map and compass is the only way to really be covered out there.
Mark
Very interesting, I just purchased the Nat Geo Topo! and I’m still trying to figure it out a bit, will definitely keep an eye on this. We did notice a trail missing on one of our last hikes versus the paper map we already owned.
In the Pacific NW, my favorite paper maps are the Green Trails. They provide trail numbers, maintained trails are outlined in bright green, are generally up to date and also place names not found on USGS maps. They’ve also become rather spendy – $7-$8. They apparently have finally made an app (at least for Android, I don’t recall for other platforms), but it is very bad. It “works” but isn’t very useful and you’ll likely find it frustrating. I have been using Gaia Topo app ($10 paid app for Android and I think Iphone, good support from the developers), which uses the same lame digital maps, all based on the USGS maps. They have a feature called MapWarper (doesn’t work for Android, only Iphone right now) in which you can scan a paper map and use MW to orient it and digitize it for using within Gaia Topo on your Iphone. I don’t have an Iphone so I can’t test it out, but it’s a neat idea.
Some years ago I played around with OziExplorer – a free (open source?) map program which you can use to scan/import your own maps. The technical parts of it were more than I had interest in learning about, though maybe it’s time to look at it again and see if the user interface is easier to use now.
I contacted Green Trails several years ago and asked if they had plans to digitize any of their maps. They said no. I imagine these map companies have a very real fear that if they digitize them, people will copy them (like mp3′s did to music) and they will have to drastically re-create their revenue stream. Not a job I would want to take on. I’m happy to pay for the maps, paper or digital and one of each is ideal!
EDIT: OziExplorer used to be free, now it is $109, plus additional fees for optional add-ons. Will have to read more about this and try the demo to see if it might be worth it. They do have an Android add-on for $25 (you need the full program $109 for the add-on to work).
I love the Map Adventures White Mountains Trail Map. It’s always in my pack.
On TrailsNH.com in May we loaded up the WMNF GIS trails dataset. The dataset is free to download on their website. The Bonds trails for comparison are here: http://trailsnh.com/?ll=44.153,-71.531&z=13&type=Terrain
So far I have noticed many small or spur trails are missing. Guyot Shelter spur trail is missing, but West Bond is not. I’m keeping track the missing trails I find and will provide an update to the map later this summer. If you notice a trail is missing please email me. Kimball @ T r a i l s N H . c o m
Kim – I really like the trail overlay you’ve added to TrailsNH.com You have an awesome site – I tell everyone I know about it!
I hadn’t noticed the trail overlay until now. Nice! I clicked on the link and still didn’t realize what was new until I zoomed in. Great stuff! Thanks Kim – this resource just keeps getting better and better.
I’ll share what I learned about USGS maps this week. If you go to their site, you can see several editions are available as PDFs for any given location. Older editions, from the early 20th century to the early 2000s, are just scans of the paper map. The latest editions are digitally generated and have layers that can be made visible or hidden, so you can show or hide aerial photos, vegetation tinting, contours, roads etc.
I was comparing map editions from the 90′s and from the last couple of years, and noticed that the newer maps didn’t have trails marked on them! So I contacted the USGS for an explanation.
me: “Hiking trails seem to be missing on new quads that have been downloaded as pdf. For example, the Mt. Townsend, WA 7.5 from 1999 clearly shows a trail up the Big Quilcene valley roughly in the center of the map. It’s absent from the 2011 edition. I understand that the newer pdf is layered, but I don’t see how to make trails visible.
That’s not the only thing that’s missing. Where’s green tint for forest?”
USGS: “Thank you for contacting USGS. We learned that in 2013 the trail layer will begin to be added to the US Topos.
The green tint for forest is being added to many US Topos this year. “
Good to know, Jarra. I had noticed the same thing and was wondering about that.
HJ
There just aren’t any maps that seem fully up-to-date — at least for where I hike. Your idea of checking multiple sources is the right approach. To that, I would add: check internet forums. Nothing beats a first hand report. There are many trails in my area that are still carried on maps, and perhaps the FS plans to rework them “some day,” but in reality they’re no longer followable.
HJ
I like the MyTopo products but one thing that annoys me is they use solid blue for both perennial and seasonal water sources. In our southwest relying on a water to be there when it may not be could be life threatening. Minus points for them