Mapping the North Country Trail Moderators, Vendors, Etc
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IMAGIN IMAGINews S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F INTEREST: SUMMER 2015 · Thanks to all attendees, speakers, Mapping the North Country Trail moderators, vendors, etc. for Crown Point State Historic promoting the NCT. With Site on Lake Champlain, 28 chapters and 11 affiliated making the 2015 through the remainder of partners, the NCTA IMAGIN New York, on to represents thousands of Conference a Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, volunteers, committed to success. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and carrying out Congress’s vision finally terminates along the for the NCT. In 2014, · Put next year’s The North Country National canal lands of the Garrison NCTA volunteers conference on Scenic Trail (NCT) provides a Diversion project at Lake contributed 76,000 hours your schedule. nationally significant Sakakawea State Park in building and maintaining the May 15-17, 2016, recreation experience as it North Dakota. The 7-state NCT. traverses the unique natural, expanse of the NCT passes we will return to historic, cultural, and through 10 National Forests, The NCT has had a GIS the Great Wolf ecological landscapes of and more than 150 other program, in one form or Lodge in America’s north country. public land units. another, since the late 1990’s. Traverse City, Authorized by Congress in First starting with combined MI. 1980, as an amendment to The North Country Trail is efforts between the NPS and the 1968 National Trails managed by the National Park University of Wisconsin- System Act, the NCT Service (NPS) in concert with Madison, and then stretches 4,600 miles through its partner, the North transitioning into an NCTA seven states, making it the Country Trail Association staff position funded in longest national scenic trail in (NCTA), both headquartered various ways by the NPS. the National Trails System. in Lowell, MI. The NCTA is made up of a coalition 2014 saw a number of new The NCT works its way of volunteers united in mapping and GIS related INSIDE THIS west, from New York’s building, maintaining, and ISSUE: The North Country Trail Feature 1-3, Article 7 Conference 4 Recap Conference 5 In Pictures Upcoming 6 Events Vendor Info 7 P A G E 2 Mapping the North Country Trail of information behind these Peninsula. Even with the trail segments and point need for a data connection, data. Just click on a section he reported great success of trail and a table will pop with the app and said it saved up showing relevant him from getting lost information about that numerous times! segment. This information includes ownership, Tech Series Maps camping regulations, Excerpt from A Walk in the allowed uses, certification Woods by Bill Bryson. status, and NCTA chapter contact info, among other “Appalachian Trail [AT] maps ArcGIS Online products launched by the things. are so monumentally useless NCTA. These include new that I had long since given up digital/paper maps, an AGOL is a new tool and is using them. They vary interactive web mapping rapidly developing; somewhat, but most are on system and options for taking currently there are many an abysmal scale of 1:100,000, information along on the great features including which ludicrously compresses trail. Although much of location search and every mile of real world into hiking is about “unplugged” measurement tools. More a mere inch of map. Imagine a time in the woods, these functionality is coming in square mile of physical navigation tools are very non the future. landscape and all that it might -intrusive, useful, and contain – logging roads, efficient. To visit the NCTA’s public streams, a mountain top or web interface for the main two, perhaps a fire tower, a ArcGIS Online NCT map, go to: knob or grassy bald, the In early 2014 NCTA began northcountrytrail.org/trail/ wandering AT, and maybe a developing some simple web maps. You can also pair of the important side maps using a newly access this map (with trails – and imaging trying to purchased subscription to somewhat limited convey all that information on ArcGIS Online (AGOL). functionality) via the free an area the size of the nail on AGOL is similar to Google Explorer for ArcGIS your little finger. That’s an To visit the NCTA’s Maps or Google Earth, in App. This is available for AT map.” that it provides a streaming both iOS and Android. public web interface online map service. Unlike http://doc.arcgis.com/en/ Google Maps, AGOL is explorer/(.) Once ArcGIS App for the main NCT perfectly compatible with the the app is installed GIS data maintained at the and opened on a map, go to: NCTA. This compatibility phone, search for allows for an “out of the “nct” in the app; northcountrytrail. box” ability to handle large the map is titled org/trail/maps and robust GIS data sets. “North Country This data is then overlaid on Trail (Public).” any one of a variety of base maps. These include street In late summer maps, topographical maps 2014, long distance and satellite imagery. Not hiker, Tom only does this allow for Ackerman used appealing and dynamic AGOL on his (zoom/pan) maps, but also iPhone for much of enables the general public to his section hike of access the detailed database Michigan’s Lower IMAGINEWS SUMMER 2015 P A G E 3 Mapping the North Country Trail needed. NCTA chapter. This should prove to be a very useful resource for The first edition of these new technical chapters’ trail management efforts, as series maps have been released for well as reinforcing to hikers that the three NCTA chapters in north central chapters really are the local experts Minnesota. Through countless hours of along the trail. For retail purposes, research and development—reviewing these maps will likely be combined other trail organizations’ maps, into regional sets in many places. For requesting input from our local land example, the Central Minnesota map navigation experts from Fortune Bay set covers the Star of the North, Expedition Team, and some field testing Itasca Moraine and Laurentian Lakes that included one very memorable bear Chapters. encounter — this research showed that a 1:40,000 scale map with 10-foot The last and probably most exciting contour intervals (50-foot in hilly feature of these new maps is the Tech Series Map regions) is the perfect balance of system used to communicate mileage. topographic detail, while still maximizing For the last few years an exciting Author’s note: I remember coming to the most miles of trail on a single sheet project has been developing on the this section in Bryson’s book and of paper. Pacific Crest Trail, known as the literally turning red in the face: NCTA’s “Halfmile Project”. This ingenious maps are at a 1:100,000 scale! That The driving factor behind the page size system developed by a couple of moment started the on and off again of these maps (8.5” x 11”) was the goal Pacific Crest Trail Association development of what became NCTA’s of offering a download and print at volunteers solves two common “Technical Series Maps,” a term home option. So from now on when problems in long-distance trail borrowed from legendary backpacker hikers call the NCTA office on Thursday mapping. The first problem is that a Andrew Skurka, for the more detailed or Friday, asking how they might acquire trail line file (track) of any substantial sets of maps he puts together for his maps for their weekend hike , we will be length and detail will not fit into a hikes. able to direct them to the download regular consumer grade GPS unit; this option on our website. This function is data often exceeds the manufacturer’s There is value in 1:100,000 scale maps currently being put in place by a third- size limitations. The half-mile strategy for hiking; after all, hikers have walked party contractor and should be available for working around this was to thousands of miles with them by early spring 2015. reduce the trail line to a series of successfully! In fact, when looking at generic waypoints at half-mile very early prototypes of these new, The NCTA’s Technical Series maps are intervals along the route of the trail. more detailed maps, Andrew Skurka fairly typical topographical trail maps, By sequentially numbering these himself said 1:100,000 scale is all that showing features such as public lands, continued on page 7 was needed for a trail like the NCT water, elevation, roads, and points of Half-mile waypoints because the NCT is a well marked, well interest. Behind the scenes, the biggest maintained, and mostly a well used trail. advantage of these maps is the base Users are navigating from point to point data, which is completely customized by following blazes, not trying to NCTA. Although derived mostly from bushwhack and read the landscape. state and federal sources, this data has Beyond that, it’s worth noting that been altered to meet NCTA’s needs current NCTA 1:100,000 scale maps allowing corrections and updates for all generally give trail users a bigger picture those things that are so often in error of the landscape surrounding the NCT, on state and federal map products - including roads and towns. This is rural road names, water features that helpful for getting to the trail and really don’t exist, etc. This custom base map important if a hiker needs to locate a will then be available to use in all future good bailout point for any reason.