CalTopo Upgrades

[Andy]

A good article on the new upgrades taking place at CalTopo including a fine tip of the hat to our own HikinJim

http://andrewskurka.com/2015/the-future-of-caltopo-interview-with-founder-matt-jacobs/

[Wildhorse]

It is a great resource.

I carry topo maps (from various sources) and a Garmin 60 with garmin maps whenever I am doing a hike off trail, or whenever I am hiking in an unfamiliar area. I read that many people now use their smart phones for maps and gps while hiking. I have also read that sometimes the gps/map functions in cell phones are unreliable and lead to rescues. Sometimes my wife uses her iPhone as a supplemental gps, or just to compare what it shows with what her Garmin 60 shows.

Do you know what the current market is like for GPS and maps? Are smart phones and google putting them out of business?

[Andy]

Yes its a wonderful resource and I was surprised to learn it has been pretty much a part time gig for one guy! That said, I think that the free-mium pay model is a great way to compensate a developer for putting together and maintain a resource such as this. I've never been a big user of GPS tracks/routes myself, but I do find them useful for spot checking my position and the occasional pin drop etc. For the last few years I've primarily used the Gaia GPS app on my iphone and it has worked out great with surprisingly accurate positioning. I have the ability to cache any map or aerial plot for offline use and with the latest iOS updates the gps now works on airplane mode (cellular off) which is a huge improvement on battery management in the back country. For those folks who are into creating/saving custom maps, routes and the sort there are tons of nifty features in both of these programs and they're only getting better.

[Hikin_Jim]

Interesting. I guess my San Gorgonio map has drawn enough attention that it showed up on CalTopo developer Matt Jacobs' radar. I was quite surprised inasmuch as San Gorgonio is a rather local affair. I guess that it's just that no one else has gone to the trouble in other locations.

But nice to see my work mentioned on a blog other than my own.

HJ