Map suggestions

[SursumDeorsum]

Among the many cool features of this site (thanks, BillMiddlebrook!) is the flexible map, which has a number of useful datasets that users can turn on and off (categories of peaks, other relevant overlays).

Here are two more overlays which I think would be really nifty:

• The routes of the Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide Trail — these, I imagine, would be really useful for through-hikers interested to make detours to climb a peak or two.
• The actual continental divide itself — it would be really interesting to see how the various peaks and trails relate to the divide (and which fall on it).

How difficult would it be to create and implement overlays for these?

[Ptglhs]

I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult at all. I say that as someone with no knowledge of computer programming whatsoever. Perhaps you'd want to get started on it and let us know how your work progresses?

The Colorado Trail is more clearly defined but the Continental Divide Trail is a collection of other Forest Service trails that have been renamed, and some dirt roads. Also, based on my reading of Google Maps there are a couple of different places, like Summit County, where you could be on multiple different trails that are all called the Continental Divide Trail. The CDT is as much a concept as it is a trail system. People hike their own hike and make somewhat different routes while doing so.

[SursumDeorsum]

Thanks — I experimented for a bit this afternoon with the map-annotating tools, and was able to draw a few miles of the actual continental divide fairly easily (tracing it from the CalTopo map). It's a bit tedious doing it by hand, but the results looked pretty good

If there already exists a free GPX or KML file, there's no point in reinventing the wheel! But if there isn't, I might be down to take a shot at gradually drawing the whole divide. I guess the question is: if I do that (and it turns out OK), is that something which BillMiddlebrook would consider adding to the map as an official overlay? Maybe I'll message him directly and ask.

[justiner]

I set up a Caltopo and page to describe all the 14er routes that can be accessed on the Colorado Trail:

https://justinsimoni.com/2018/11/10/how ... -included/

https://caltopo.com/m/2GGK

Caltopo is awesome.

[Trotter]

I set up a Caltopo and page to describe all the 14er routes that can be accessed on the Colorado Trail:

https://justinsimoni.com/2018/11/10/how ... -included/

https://caltopo.com/m/2GGK

Caltopo is awesome.

thats pretty useful there

[peter303]

I set up a Caltopo and page to describe all the 14er routes that can be accessed on the Colorado Trail:
https://justinsimoni.com/2018/11/10/how ... -included/

https://caltopo.com/m/2GGK

Every summer 14ers gets a couple of questions of how to combine a weeklong backpack trip with several 14ers. The Colorado Trail through the Sawatches is good place to this. Thanks to Justiner for making the maps.

[Jim Davies]

I found this KML file for the continental divide via googlism:
https://groups.google.com/a/googleprodu ... kml?part=3
Comparing it with county lines on Google Earth, its accuracy is only so-so. Here's what the KML (red) and county line (green) look like at Ski Cooper.

SkiCooperDivide.jpg (222.57 KiB) Viewed 2916 times

[SursumDeorsum]

Justiner: wow, that looks like a great resource you've put together — I'm sure lots of hikers will find it really useful! Do you know if the underlying gpx file for just the Colorado Trail is freely-available, so that BillMiddlebrook (if so inclined) would be allowed to add it to this site's map overlays?

Jim Davies: interesting. Given that the county boundaries for the northern half of the state (or a bit more) correspond with the divide itself, and that the boundaries are already available as a map overlay, I guess one could simply pull most of the divide from the counties, leaving only the southern half (or a bit less) to draw manually. That's less work! (Or of course one could pull the southern half from the file you found, assuming it's freely available, and correct errors as necessary. I don't know how to convert kml to gpx, but doubtless there's a way.)

[Jim Davies]

This free program will convert tracks between formats: https://www.gpsbabel.org/

[SursumDeorsum]

Thanks, Jim Davies. I ran that continental divide route through the converter and tried it against the map here — it looks good zoomed way out; but, yup, when zooming in you can see that it's pretty approximate. Back to the drawing board, I guess!

[BillMiddlebrook]

I'd rather not copy the CT and CDT trail data to 14ers.com and have to maintain it BUT here are instructions to load it to the 14ers.com map using the IMPORT functionality.

First, on CalTopo.com:
1) Load one the CDT or CT trails into the map:
https://caltopo.com/m/UBQ3
https://caltopo.com/m/T9TN
2) Click the Export link at the top and select "GPX". Check or uncheck markers and shapes you want (or leave them all checked) and click Export.
3) Now, you have the GPX file on your computer.

Second, on 14ers.com:
1) Log in.
2) Go to the https://www.14ers.com/map.php
3) Click the Drawing Panel icon on the upper left of the map. It's the one with the pencil and orange squiggly line.
4) On the Drawing Panel, click the "Import" tab.
5) Click the folder icon and select the GPX file you created on CalTopo. Then click "Get It..."
6) Shazam! The file is loaded to the map and all of the waypoints/segments show up under the "Draw" tab.
7) If you want to save it to your account for future use, click the "*My Projects" tab on the Drawing Panel, hit "Save As..." to name and save it as a project.
8) Done. Now, whenever you're on the 14ers.com map, you can tap the Drawing Panel icon and load that project (CDT or CT or whatever).
9) Win.

[SursumDeorsum]

Thanks, BillMiddlebrook! I see what you mean about the CT and the CDT — if their routes ever change (as I can imagine they might), that would be a whole extra maintenance chore. Thanks for the links to the gpx files to import.

What about the continental divide itself? That line should be stable (on the human timescale, at least, albeit not the geological), so there shouldn't be any maintenance necessary!

Also, a tech support question about the drawing panel: I can import, export, and draw all without difficulty; and I can apparently 'save as' — but once I've saved a project its name never shows up for me, nor do I ever see an 'open' button. Am I doing something wrong?