NMBound
SILVER Star
I really like maps. Probably, my favorite thing about going on trips and off road is the planning sequence using different maps. I think they are a tool for exercising freedom. Apparently the history of map making can be traced back to 5,000 years ago. It's obvious that our ancestors knew that those who can utilize maps are the ones who can navigate the terrain, and perhaps conquer it.
I am not sure how many, but I do know that some of you already use Gaia GPS on the trail. I use it on my phone, mostly to record the tracks we make on the trail, but the best use of the program comes from the preparation. I would like to share with you a few tips that I've garnered from experience, and also a very cool feature that I don't think many people make use of. This is meant to help brand new users and anyone who has used Gaia already. The desktop version of Gaia can be very powerful without getting lost in all of the layers and information. For example, there are 13 topographic maps to choose from, and "United States" has 22 layers to choose from. Holy crap, how do you choose?
If you haven't used Gaia on a desktop computer for exploring, I highly recommend using it there first with the following layers. These are the only layers I use to explore new/known areas and keep track of information while we are on the move:
Gaia Topo (feet): I use this map as the base layer and to create routes, taking back roads in between towns or highways. This map contains enough information about town roadways while also showing you a lot of information about forest areas. Off road this map will show trails and high clearance roads. It also has a massive legend with a lot of good points of interest.
USFS 2016: This is the layer I switch to when I am exploring closer to the forest areas and need more detail that Gaia Topo does not provide. These are things like forest boundaries, ranger districts, mining areas, water features, and overall terrain. This map shows more detail relevant to campground areas, as well as more detail pertaining to the road conditions. Here you can see if roads are paved, gravel, dirt, or unimproved. This map is helpful when trying to distinguish between hiking and motor trails that other maps do not clearly indicate. One way to be certain is by looking for the vertical rectangular bars that indicate high clearance trails.
MVUM (USFS): I keep this layer on top of all other map layers. The Motor Vehicle Use Map is the best map for answering the question "Am I allowed to be here?" as well as spotting honest-to-goodness 4x4 trails that you might want to go run. This layer helps show which of those trails are continuous or if they are out and back. The MVUM can immediately show you if there is a (relatively) safe network of OHV trails that you can go explore with your family, and can show you if one area of a forest connects with another, or if you have to take the long way 'round.
The primary source for the MVUM comes from each forest area respectively. When the USFS layer says you are in Uncompahgre National Forest, the full MVUM is at their website, usually looking something like picture below. The individual MVUMs are downloadable by forest district and are quite extensive. The area-specific maps each have their own legend, but nearly all of them show roads that allow dispersed camping outright.
Public Land (US): Also answering the question "Am I allowed to be here?", this map layer shows public land, but more importantly who regulates the land, and whether or not it is BLM or State Trust land. The difference being that traveling through State Trust land usually requires some type of permit.
Private Land (US): And answering the question "Should I get the hell out of here?", I find this layer very useful when I really don't know the area. If you click on or select an area, this map will show specifically (by company or by first and last name) who owns the private land. You might be lead through by a forest road to get to another public forest area. My philosophy is if they don't want anyone going through, they will have a locked gate. This can lead to some surprises when you actually arrive, which is why I try to avoid taking those routes if possible. Then again, you could chalk this up to what I call the 90/10 rule. You can know 90% of where you'll be going on a route, but the last 10% you always find out when you get there.
Bonus layers that I use infrequently but can be helpful depending on the situation:
Wildfires (Current): I've used this layer few times to stay clear of areas where I already know there is a fire and will be near one.
Gaia Streets (feet): This layer is essentially a city-friendly version of Gaia Topo. I use this when I need more detail about a town, or when I'm trying to eyeball a route through multiple towns and Gaia Topo is not showing the labels.
Historic Topo 1930: This map can be fun when you want to see how the trails have changed over time. I've approached some that appear to be intact on one map, only to arrive and discover that it actually no longer exists. In one case, the 1930 Topo map showed that it used to be an old horse trail and was never capable of 4x4 use in the first place. At the same time, Google Maps and Gaia Streets would make you think you could drive up there.
Layering: I have found the following example to be the best way to layer these maps. The USFS map shows you all of the forest information with the MVUM highlighted on top of it. Underneath, Gaia Topo fills in any gaps for showing the names of towns, land features, POIs, and everything else that the USFS map does not. I scale back the USFS layer as needed to look at those things more clearly. I keep the public land map over all of these and scale it back so that it does not overtake the other information. It is useful to keep this layer up to quickly check areas and then put it away. Keeping it up allows you to click on an area and view the public land data at a glance.
Exploring land features using Satellite Topo 3D:
One of the best features I've discovered using Gaia is the ability to explore new areas using the Satellite Topo (feet) map and utilizing 3D mode. This does not work hardly at all on a mobile device, but it works fairly well on a good desktop PC. Depending on your hardware, it may render more or less of the terrain in the distance, but it looks like a flight simulator texture pack. Your mileage may vary. This and the topographic lines make land features *POP*, and combined with the MUVM, you can very clearly see how popular trails work with the landscape to move from one area to another. I found this incredibly useful when looking at Ouray and Telluride after having been there twice already. I now use this to look at completely new areas and decide where I want to go. It may be up and over one mountain, through a canyon, and back up to a large mesa for a camp spot. Most recently I've used this to plan out a trip to Sedona. Sure, you can derive that information from a 2D topo map, but this interactive visual feedback is really spectacular.
I've added some examples, and a video in this public folder which is a much better visual representation.
And that's about all I use to navigate. I consider all of the other layers to be cosmetic
If you have one that you like to use for a specific reason, I'd love to hear about it so I can check it out!
drive.google.com
I am not sure how many, but I do know that some of you already use Gaia GPS on the trail. I use it on my phone, mostly to record the tracks we make on the trail, but the best use of the program comes from the preparation. I would like to share with you a few tips that I've garnered from experience, and also a very cool feature that I don't think many people make use of. This is meant to help brand new users and anyone who has used Gaia already. The desktop version of Gaia can be very powerful without getting lost in all of the layers and information. For example, there are 13 topographic maps to choose from, and "United States" has 22 layers to choose from. Holy crap, how do you choose?
If you haven't used Gaia on a desktop computer for exploring, I highly recommend using it there first with the following layers. These are the only layers I use to explore new/known areas and keep track of information while we are on the move:
Gaia Topo (feet): I use this map as the base layer and to create routes, taking back roads in between towns or highways. This map contains enough information about town roadways while also showing you a lot of information about forest areas. Off road this map will show trails and high clearance roads. It also has a massive legend with a lot of good points of interest.
USFS 2016: This is the layer I switch to when I am exploring closer to the forest areas and need more detail that Gaia Topo does not provide. These are things like forest boundaries, ranger districts, mining areas, water features, and overall terrain. This map shows more detail relevant to campground areas, as well as more detail pertaining to the road conditions. Here you can see if roads are paved, gravel, dirt, or unimproved. This map is helpful when trying to distinguish between hiking and motor trails that other maps do not clearly indicate. One way to be certain is by looking for the vertical rectangular bars that indicate high clearance trails.
MVUM (USFS): I keep this layer on top of all other map layers. The Motor Vehicle Use Map is the best map for answering the question "Am I allowed to be here?" as well as spotting honest-to-goodness 4x4 trails that you might want to go run. This layer helps show which of those trails are continuous or if they are out and back. The MVUM can immediately show you if there is a (relatively) safe network of OHV trails that you can go explore with your family, and can show you if one area of a forest connects with another, or if you have to take the long way 'round.
The primary source for the MVUM comes from each forest area respectively. When the USFS layer says you are in Uncompahgre National Forest, the full MVUM is at their website, usually looking something like picture below. The individual MVUMs are downloadable by forest district and are quite extensive. The area-specific maps each have their own legend, but nearly all of them show roads that allow dispersed camping outright.
Public Land (US): Also answering the question "Am I allowed to be here?", this map layer shows public land, but more importantly who regulates the land, and whether or not it is BLM or State Trust land. The difference being that traveling through State Trust land usually requires some type of permit.
Private Land (US): And answering the question "Should I get the hell out of here?", I find this layer very useful when I really don't know the area. If you click on or select an area, this map will show specifically (by company or by first and last name) who owns the private land. You might be lead through by a forest road to get to another public forest area. My philosophy is if they don't want anyone going through, they will have a locked gate. This can lead to some surprises when you actually arrive, which is why I try to avoid taking those routes if possible. Then again, you could chalk this up to what I call the 90/10 rule. You can know 90% of where you'll be going on a route, but the last 10% you always find out when you get there.
Bonus layers that I use infrequently but can be helpful depending on the situation:
Wildfires (Current): I've used this layer few times to stay clear of areas where I already know there is a fire and will be near one.
Gaia Streets (feet): This layer is essentially a city-friendly version of Gaia Topo. I use this when I need more detail about a town, or when I'm trying to eyeball a route through multiple towns and Gaia Topo is not showing the labels.
Historic Topo 1930: This map can be fun when you want to see how the trails have changed over time. I've approached some that appear to be intact on one map, only to arrive and discover that it actually no longer exists. In one case, the 1930 Topo map showed that it used to be an old horse trail and was never capable of 4x4 use in the first place. At the same time, Google Maps and Gaia Streets would make you think you could drive up there.
Layering: I have found the following example to be the best way to layer these maps. The USFS map shows you all of the forest information with the MVUM highlighted on top of it. Underneath, Gaia Topo fills in any gaps for showing the names of towns, land features, POIs, and everything else that the USFS map does not. I scale back the USFS layer as needed to look at those things more clearly. I keep the public land map over all of these and scale it back so that it does not overtake the other information. It is useful to keep this layer up to quickly check areas and then put it away. Keeping it up allows you to click on an area and view the public land data at a glance.
Exploring land features using Satellite Topo 3D:
One of the best features I've discovered using Gaia is the ability to explore new areas using the Satellite Topo (feet) map and utilizing 3D mode. This does not work hardly at all on a mobile device, but it works fairly well on a good desktop PC. Depending on your hardware, it may render more or less of the terrain in the distance, but it looks like a flight simulator texture pack. Your mileage may vary. This and the topographic lines make land features *POP*, and combined with the MUVM, you can very clearly see how popular trails work with the landscape to move from one area to another. I found this incredibly useful when looking at Ouray and Telluride after having been there twice already. I now use this to look at completely new areas and decide where I want to go. It may be up and over one mountain, through a canyon, and back up to a large mesa for a camp spot. Most recently I've used this to plan out a trip to Sedona. Sure, you can derive that information from a 2D topo map, but this interactive visual feedback is really spectacular.
I've added some examples, and a video in this public folder which is a much better visual representation.
And that's about all I use to navigate. I consider all of the other layers to be cosmetic
If you have one that you like to use for a specific reason, I'd love to hear about it so I can check it out!Gaia3D_Ouray - Google Drive
drive.google.com
Last edited:
