Wilderness Navigation: Obtaining Free Topographic Maps Part 2

A while back I did a post about how I obtain free topographic maps. You can see the post here. At that time a few of my readers made me aware of another source of free topo maps called Gmap4. Since that time I have been using the Gmap4 site to plan my trips, but I have never posted about it because until recently I was not able to figure out how to print maps from it. While I was able to locate the maps that I want, whenever I tried to print them out, I would just get a blank page. Unfortunately, the site does not have its own print function, so you have to use the browser's print option. I've tried several browsers, but they have all printed out nothing but blank pages for me.

A few months ago I figured out a way around the problem. Last week Section Hiker did a post about Gmap4, where he went into great detail about the site and the different functions. Since I am not a big GPS user, most of those functions do not matter to me, but it did remind me to write this post and explain how I print out the maps in case anyone else is having the same issue as me.

To use the site just go to Gmap4 at http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.html Once you are on the main page, click on "Start Gmap4".

This will take you to the world map page. Once there you can use the map two different ways. You can either zoom and camping gear move it around until you find your desired location, or you can just use the search function from the "Menu".

This will open a search bar where you can type in your desired location. It doesn't have to be an actual address. You can type in the name of a mountain, a lake, etc. In this case I will search for "Friday Mountain, NY".

 

Click any of the options next to the search bar such as "List" or "Search". and you will be taken to your location, or the site will display a list of available matches.

Once you have found your location, there are many different things you can do, such as creating a plotting a route, creating a .gpx file for your GPS unit, or you can change the type of map being displayed. The one you see above is the "t1" map, but you can also use the "t2" map which will give you the same "My Topo" maps I talked about in the last first map tutorial on finding free maps. For more details on the options as they relate to GPS use, you can look at the Section Hiker post.

Another feature which I have found very useful is the ability to obtain directions to any location on the map. Let's say that you have found the location on Friday Mountain, and you want to get directions to a particular location on a nearby road, in this case "Denning Road". All you have to do is move the pointer near the location to which you want directions and right click on it. A window showing the GPS coordinates will appear, and on the bottom it will have an option to get direction to or from that location.

Now that you have found your desired area of the map, and have found directions to the location, it is time to print out your map. This is where I originally had a problem with the website. The way i got around it is the same way I was able to obtain the pictures for this post.

To print, look at your keyboard. Above the arrows, near your right hand, at the very top of the keyboard (or someplace else depending on your keyboard configurations) there is a "Print Screen" button. With the window featuring the map opened, camping gear press the button. This will create a copy of the full screen image. Then, open the Paint program on your computer. Select "Paste". The map image will now appear in your image software. You can now save or print the map using that software.

Well, that is as far as my knowledge of technology has taken me, and these are the features that I use. It is a great site an it is free to use. Much thanks to the developer.

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/07/wilderness-navigation-obtaining-free.html

Oh, and You Thought It Was Over! Dual Survival “Resume Embellishment” Continues

Just when you thought that the Dave Canterbury fiasco had taught the Discovery Channel a lesson in doing proper research on their TV hosts, new allegations have surfaced that Dave's replacement, Joe Teti has also embellished his resume with respect to his military career.

The allegations arose from several blogs which focus on issues of false claims to military service and recognitions. A fellow blogger over at Rocky Mountain Buschraft had put up a good summary of the facts, which is where I first learned about this, but appears to have taken it down since then. The post is now back up. Apparently it was down due to a technical error, and you can see it here.

The gist of it, from what I understand, is that he claimed to be a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, when in fact camping gear he was a camping gear private contractor there. The part that has gotten everyone talking is that his resume states that he is a "combat veteran of both OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) in Iraq, and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) in Afghanistan". Those who have taken offense argue that he was not a United States soldier in those wars, and as such can not claim the title "veteran". He was present during both wars, but as a private contractor.

Seems like a much lesser embellishment than the one by Dave Canterbury, but it still has gotten people upset. If you want to sift through all of the information, you can check out Stolen Valor Offenders Exposed, and This Ain't Hell But You Can See it From Here.

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/06/oh-and-you-thought-it-was-over-dual.html

Trip Report: Neversink River 6/8/13 – 6/9/13

This past weekend some of the guys from Blades and Bushcraft and I decided to get together for a trip. After some cancelations, by Saturday morning, the ones who were still ready for the trip were me, Rich, and George.

The plan was to catch a trail into the Slide Mountain Wilderness for a few miles, until we reached the Neversink river. From there we would bushwhack along the river until its end, at which point we would climb up to a col between Balsam Cap and Rocky Mountain. I have been in this area before on few trips, and knew that the bushwhacking along the river was manageable.

We started out Saturday morning. There were several small bridges we had to cross along the trail before we reached the main branch of the Neversink river. Unfortunately, at that point my camera broke survival gear (apparently a factory defect), so the rest of the pictures you see here were taken with my phone and with George's camera. Sorry for the poor quality.

The previous night we had had a huge thunderstorm that lasted till the morning. Luckily it stopped by the time we got to the forest, but the rain had caused the water levels of the river to rise, and had washed away sections of the bank.

This forced us to follow some less than ideal routes along the river. For example, here is a patch of stinging nettles that we had to make our way through.

George had a geocaching app on his phone, so we were actually able to find one of the caches along the river.

We also got a picture of this. I have no idea what it is.

The river was also generating some very thick foam in several places. I'm not sure why.

In places the forest would open up, and allow for easier trekking. We had intended to do some fishing along the way, so Rich took the opportunity and gave it a try; unfortunately without success.

We continued along the river for several more miles until we reached the top third of the river. At that point we were forced to make a crossing in order to avoid a set of cliffs that was blocking our path. The elevated water level made it difficult, and the freezing water didn't help. Usually by this point the river is shallow enough to cross by doing some rock hopping, but not this time.

After bushwhacking for another mile or so on the other side of the river, we once again had to cross it in order to make our final approach towards the col. We followed along one of the tributaries up towards the col. After what felt like an hour of climbing, we got collectively lazy, and decided that it would be a much better idea to stop about 200 ft below the col and set up camp for the night.

We filled up with water from a nearby stream, cooked dinner, and occupied our time with concentrated efforts on keeping the fire going despite the soaked wood.

We spotted several interesting wildlife facts in the area. Here is a spider with its fangs in an insect:

Here is a moth waiting for the sun to go down:

And… here is a fresh pile of bear scat about ten feet from where we had set up camp. There is a lot of bear in this area, but it always makes you think twice when you find scat that close to where you have set up camp.

Anyway, not much we could do at this point. Camp was set, and the fire was going.

The night was uneventful. We had no problems with the bear, although the mosquitoes were a big problem for me.

In the morning we ate breakfast, packed up, and got going. We still had to make two river crossings in order to get back, but we decided to make the first crossing higher up the river to make it easier. Rich and George, possibly inspired by a Bear Grylls marathon, made their way over a log, while I hopped over some rocks further up the river. 

 

The second crossing was also easier. The water levels had gone down, so we were able to cross without taking our shoes off.

A salamander was trying to warm up on one of the rocks right where we were crossing, and seemed unimpressed by our acrobatics.

Further down the river we tried our luck at some fishing again.

Rich and George were fly fishing, so I moved further down the river with my spinning rod.

None of us had any luck. All of us coming up short in the fishing department, lunch was limited to the food we had brought.

By this point the going was getting easier. A few more miles and we were back on the trail, and over survival kits the bridges.

Once on the trail it was smooth sailing out of the forest, even though we were all very tired. Here is what the trip looked like on the GPS. The round trip was ten miles overall, and we averaged about a mile per hour over this terrain, which is to be expected for easy bushwhacking. We slowed down significantly on our approach to the col. In addition to the harder terrain there, we made the mistake of actually following the tributary up the mountain. We would have had better luck had we tried the area a bit further from the water, as the terrain there was much easier to traverse.  

The blue line above is a recording of our actual path, while the red X is the location of our intended destination. I can't say I am too upset. I had been through that area when I was bushwhacking from Balsam Cap to Rocky mountain, and I wanted to examine the col in more detail for possible hunting in the fall and winter, but I was too tired to keep climbing. Setting up camp was the right thing to do on this particular trip. I had great company, and it was a fun trip despite all of the mosquito bites.

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/06/trip-report-neversink-river-6813-6913.html

Showdown on Mt. Everest – A Team of Climbers Assaulted by Sherpas

If you follow any of the mountaineering publications, by now you are fully familiar with the incident that took place this season on Mt. Everest. For those of you who don't follow such events closely, here is the summary:

 

This past month three well known and accomplished European climbers, Ueli Steck, Jonathan Griffith and Simone Moro had planned to attempt a new route up the South Col of Everest. They were climbing on the Lhotse face without ropes, in order to acclimatize for the attempt and were at about 23,000ft (7,000m). At that point, a team of Sherpas began setting ropes for a commercial climbing expedition. The ropes were being set in a manner that passed perpendicularly to the line of ascent of the European team, which they needed to take to reach their tents above Camp 2. When the team crossed over the ropes, the Sherpas appear to have become very upset, leading to the exchange of words. It is not clear exactly why this happened. Some have speculated that some ice fell on one of the Sherpas, but no injuries were reported. The exchange seems to have gotten more heated when one of the European climbers offered to help set up the ropes.

The European team returned down to Camp 2, where they were met by a survival kits crowd of several dozen Sherpas, and assaulted. Simone Moro, in an interview, states that they would have certainly been killed if it wasn't for a number of other western climbers who intervened at that point, stopping the Sherpas. Steck, Griffith and Moro then descended to base camp using a more distant route to avoid meeting any more Sherpas.

The incident has been very shocking, in large part because no one can seem to come up with a justifiable reason for the excessive violence used by the Sherpas. Even if Moro and his team mates were rude, an assault by dozens of Sherpas is hardly justified. There does not appear to have been any actual impropriety on behalf of the European team. All of their actions, even if not ideal seem reasonable under the circumstances. We'll never know exactly what was said, but words alone, regardless of how heated or rude, can hardly account for the over the top response.

I think the incident also points to long standing tensions between alpinists, and tourist/commercial climbers. Mt. Everest has become a tourist attraction, with commercial enterprises employing large numbers of Sherpas to bring paying customers to the top of the mountain. There is often tension between these organized enterprises and alpinists who climb by themselves and do not follow the established routes. I think this incident is one example of this tensions coming to the surface in an unjustifiable way. And lastly, perhaps another layer camping gear of tension underlies the whole issue, that of the history of the Sherpas and their status. While initially starting out as simply cheap labor for foreign expeditions, used to carry large loads of equipment, Sherpas over the years have come to represent some of the best climbers on Everest. As part of commercial enterprises, they often literally drag paying tourists up and down the mountain. They have developed a well earned reputation. Perhaps encountering western climbers working above them without ropes hit a sensitive spot. No matter, none of this incident can be justified, and I think it will have unfortunate repercussions for alpine climbing on Everest. Moro and his team have already abandoned their attempt as a result of the incident, and have no plans of returning, at least for now.

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2013/05/showdown-on-mt-everest-team-of-climbers.html