HikeArizona.COM

I was plotting out my route this morning.

As always I use TOPO! for plotting because it's more accurate.

But since the route I'm heading out on isn't really documented well on the internet or in books I'd really like a CLUE what the actual terrain looks like.

Yeah, you get an idea with TOPO! but TopoUSA is quicker on the eye.

So I uploaded from TOPO! to GPS then downloaded from GPS to TopoUSA

To do this.... (download from GPS to TopoUSA)
In TopoUSA
- click on the 'Navigate' tab
- click on the 'Exchange' button
- in the open white box labeled 'Route Name' type in the route EXACLTY as it is listed in your GPS device
- then click the GPS Download 'Route' button

Joe's a stand-up guy, the site has alot to offer.

If you can't find what you are looking for on this site, you might try the Libre Map Project (google it). It's kind of a pain to use, but it has everything.

TrailDEX Map is light years more advanced. The search pin points the location as opposed to telling which map it's on. You can flip between street, terrain and topo views among others. It's loaded with over 1,500 HAZ GPS Routes & 1,863 HAZ Hikes. You can outline wilderness, fires, counties, sub-counties & game units. You can pin point springs and read reports members have contributed. You can pop-up a five day forecast at any point on the map. You can find the exact elevation of any point on the map with one click. The three popular coordinate systems dynamically change together. With any mainstream browser released in the last year you can print what you see.

If you are a map aficionado the National Geographic TOPO software is really worth the money, you have a very good scan of an entire state for $100, or less. Very worth while.

In response to joe bartels:

I agree with Joe....TrailDex is awesome. I use it often in conjunction with my maps and the forecasting thing is just sweet.