Archive for the 'Web Sites and Apps' Category

Like-Minded Hiker

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on January 31, 2008
in GPS, Web Sites and Apps, hiking, maps and snowshoeing
. 0 Comments

A nasty strain of the flu wiped out half the floor in my office building this week, myself included, so I haven’t been up to date on the latest developments of our little hiking blogosphere.

Rick at BestHike dug up a site called Trailspotting, which has one of the best implementations of in-line Google Maps on a hiking site that I’ve seen.

Its “Just the facts, Ma’am” approach, clean design, an excellent organization make this a highly-recommended site for checking out trails in Northern California. I’ll be checking back on this one often.

Video Trial

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on January 22, 2008
in Web Sites and Apps, hiking and site news
. 7 Comments

I got back in from an excellent stay in Joshua Tree, and will be trying to catch up with some of my write ups for the site over the next few days. I just got slammed at work, so it may be a bit, but I’ve got three varied J-Tree hikes to add to the list, as well as a pre-tree journey to Sunset Peak by Mt. Baldy.

So I’m gonna be busy. Also, I’m still in the process of cleaning out all my equipment.

In the meantime, however, I thought I’d do a little experiment with some video. Now that ReadySetConnect is very kindly hosting the Modern Hiker, I’d like to abandon the Google Video for some higher-resolution QuickTime videos stored locally, instead.

This is NOT a replacement for all of the information and commentary offered in my usual write-ups, but if people dig these and think they add some value, I’ll work to incorporate them more prominently in the future.

Keep in mind, this particular video from Sunset Peak is rough … and there wasn’t a whole lot of finesse put into it, but it’s a start. Let me know what you think / if you’d like to see better ones on hikes in the future. I’ll try to put my camera’s video function to better use.
Continue reading ‘Video Trial’

More L.A. Maps

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on January 12, 2008
in Web Sites and Apps and maps
. 0 Comments

After poking around Nikolas Schiller’s page from the last post, I stumbled upon an online collection of maps of Los Angeles from the turn of the century.

The Library of Congress Exhibition, called “Los Angeles Mapped,” documents the history of how people viewed L.A. — from its late 1600s existence as a theoretical island to its orchard & oil existence to the early freeways, it’s a fascinating little collection of images.

Even though they’re not exactly the easiest things to navigate around, they are still great to look at. Of particular interest is the full map of L.A. County’s rail system from 1912, when the SouthLand was covered in over 1000 miles of track.

I just got an email from someone asking how to get to some good long distance trails in L.A. without a car. Sadly, the easiest answer is “go back to 1912 and take the rail to Echo Mountain or Chantry Flats.”

But hey, in November we might be able to vote for an additional tax to fund that Subway to the Sea we’ve heard so much about …

Oil in L.A.

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on January 12, 2008
in City Life, Geek Stuff, Web Sites and Apps and maps
. 0 Comments

I remember one of the first (of many) things that freaked me out about L.A. when I first moved here was the post apocalyptic wasteland of oil derricks you see when you’re driving north out of LAX on La Cienega. Coming from New England, I always assumed that sort of thing was reserved for the more rural, wide-open west — not urban, world-class-city Los Angeles.

It was the first of many of my assumptions about L.A. that turned out to be very, very wrong. The city, as it turns out, used to be mostly farmland, orchards, and oil fields — fairly recently in its history, too.

While searching for an unrelated map, fellow map nerd Nikolas Schiller came upon an old map of downtown and West L.A. from 1905, showing the locations of all the oil wells and derricks that used to dot the landscape. He used the map to create a Google Earth Overlay, which is pretty fascinating.

Click through to see if you’re sitting on an old filled-in well. Then worry.

Then be sure to check out the rest of Nikolas’ site. Especially if you like maps, fractals, computer art, and small doses of radical progressive political thought.

Via Curbed L.A.

Float in Thermals

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on January 7, 2008
in Web Sites and Apps and maps
. 2 Comments

With the rainy weather and (relatively) cold temperatures hitting Southern California lately, maybe you’re thinking it’s time to stuff a swimsuit in your backpack and head out toward some hot springs. But maybe you don’t know where any good springs are.

Fear not! The internet is here to help!

The helpful folks at NOAA have a clickable map of all the thermal springs in the United States. The interface is a bit Windows 3.1-y, and it won’t necessarily tell you how to get to each hot spring — or whether they’re accessible at all — but it will spit out a ton of other information, like latitude and longitude, USGS quadrangle, and even average water temperature.

The Southwest is covered with the things, so get out there and enjoy ‘em during these cold months.

Via Free Geography Tools.

Free Garmin GPS Maps

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on December 7, 2007
in Geek Stuff, National Forests and Recreation Areas, Technology, Web Sites and Apps and maps
. 3 Comments

One of the most frustrating (and lame) things I learned when researching GPS units was their crippled map capabilities. I really liked the features and price of the Garmins, but National Geographic TOPO (which, in my opinion, has the most comprehensive and powerful mapping tools) aren’t able to be displayed on the GPS unit’s screen.

Garmin has its own map software, but it’s overpriced, out of date, and missing giant chunks of hikers’ territories in the 1:24k resolution that’s best for the trail. Garmin’s MapSource TOPO West, for instance, covers the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Bernardino National Forest, but not the Angeles, Cleveland, or Los Padres. Until they update their data and give me more detailed maps, I ain’t handin’ over any hard-earned cash.

It’s not easy, but a temporary solution is here — free, user-created, Garmin-compatible GPS maps.

The gearheads over at GPS Tracklog have put together a comprehensive list of sources and instructions on how to get some free 24k maps from the internets into your Garmin GPS. It requires a bunch of different web sites and a Windows freeware download, but hey — that’s what we hax0rs have to do when The Man doesn’t give us what we need, right?

Some of the map sites they link to have great, detailed maps of Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and Lassen — but still no Angeles National Forest. So we’ve still got a ways to go.

Still, it’s free. So don’t complain.

GPS-less GPS On Your Phone

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on November 28, 2007
in City Life, Technology and Web Sites and Apps
. 3 Comments

I hate to do two Google Maps posts in a row — OK, no I don’t. I love Google Maps.

But this week they’ve also unveiled a new beta feature on Google Maps mobile that will allow you to see your current location on a Google Map, even if you don’t have GPS in your phone or handheld.

The feature uses cell phone towers to semi-triangulate your area and display it on your map — and it does it faster than GPS, too. Maybe you’d like to see Google explain it themselves, in this playfully produced video:

Obviously the service varies depending on your cell phone coverage, and may not be the most helpful thing if you’re, say, in the middle of the San Gabriels. But it’s at least helpful in getting your car to the trailhead — and potentially finding some good grub when you’re done pounding the dirt.

Point your mobile browser over here.

Via CNET.

Google Maps Terrain Mode

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on November 28, 2007
in Web Sites and Apps and maps
. 1 Comment

Yesterday, Google pulled back the curtain on Google Maps’ new “Terrain Mode.”

It takes everyone’s favorite driving directions / traffic advice / stalking tool and gives it a fresh new layer for us outdoorspeople.

Terrain Mode will basically take the underlying topographical data and render a 3-d shaded image that looks pretty dang close to those fancy shaded trail maps you can pick up at your local REI for 9 bucks. I was surprised (and pleased) to see that prominent peaks and features are clearly labeled, as are Forest Service roads. No trails, though.

It’s definitely not a replacement for actual topo maps … but given Google’s track record of adding features and the internet’s track record of coming up with great Maps mashups and hacks, it’s probably not too far off.

Via Google Earth Blog.

Vegas Hiking

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on November 27, 2007
in City Life, Web Sites and Apps and hiking
. 0 Comments

Those who know me know my white-hot, searing, intense hatred of Las Vegas.

I don’t know what the big deal is. I just happen to think it’s a cesspool of indulgence and waste - a sprawling and unholy combination of everything bad about urban life that shouldn’t even exist in the first place. ‘Just sayin’.

But people have told me there’s some good hiking in the area, and now there’s a great resource for looking up said non-gambling experiences on the internets — Hiking Las Vegas.

There’s a free, well-updated blog with hike synopses and pictures, but if you want any sort of detailed information you’re going to have to spring for a site membership - 50 bucks for the first year and less each after that.

On the sample pages, it looks like these write-ups are pretty damn detailed. And they’re formatted so you can just print ‘em out and pack ‘em up with you.

I don’t know how much I dig the whole charging-for-information thing. Here at MH, we give it away for free … but we’re also broke. Chalk it up to that 40% granola.

Best … Write-up … Ever

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on October 30, 2007
in Geek Stuff and Web Sites and Apps
. 0 Comments

Of Tom Bissell’s climb of Kilimanjaro, for the New York Times.

It’s got 3-d animated maps, elevation charts, levels of heart rate and blood oxygen, and audio and video from the author, which include his detailed description of what it’s like to get Altitude Sickness. It’s a multimedia-stravaganza, and it makes me want to spend a lot of money for an on-trail video camera.

And an iMac.

From Besthike.com.