Author Topic: Wilderness Boudaries in GIS Layers (Read 5484 times)

davidsullivan · « **on:** December 01, 2008, 04:29:56 PM »

Hello! I'm Having a wonderful time with Topofusion!

I have a question regarding the GIS layering feature - Does this include federally designated wilderness, National Parks, and National Monuments?

If not, does anyone have a recommendation towards how to integrate the data into topofusion?

I ask as I'm currently planning a bikepacking trip along the CDT, and trying to navigate around non-bikable zones, but focusing on single track. I will be rerouting on forest roads, possibly joining the the GDMBT. If wilderness zones are low milage/elevation, I will hike through.

Any advice would be appreciated!

-David M. Sullivan

ScottMorris · « **Reply #1 on:** December 01, 2008, 09:00:08 PM »

Wow, bikepacking the CDT. That's a serious endeavor to consider, and quite a mapping / planning project, too. Cool.

The wilderness file is all federally designated wilderness, whether forest, blm, national park or monument. It does not show wilderness study areas or plain old national parks and monuments.

In other words, just because it's not in the yellow areas doesn't mean it's bike legal. But for the most part, it does.

TF can open GIS shapefiles, but I don't know of any good ones that show other useful boundaries. If you do find any, I'd be curious to see them and can help converting if necessary.

Also, carrying a bike is technically not legal in wilderness. I have checked and double checked (and I worked as a wilderness ranger once). National Park is often OK, but wilderness, no.

I'd love to talk more. Have you seen the bikepacking.net site?

davidsullivan · « **Reply #2 on:** December 02, 2008, 07:45:09 PM »

I've followed your trips carefully on the bikepacking.net website, and really do appreciate the work you've put towards documenting them (not to mention providing all of us with the software to plan these trips!)

I am going to get some shape files of national parks, monuments, and federally designated wilderness from a friend who does GIS work on Wednesday or Thursday, and will let you know how they compare to the ones on TF.

I'm planning this trip with one other, who I've toured with before, and are hoping to start in late May/early april. We are using the few online CDT way points that are available with Jonathan Ley's CDT file for planning purposes (they match closely in many areas). We are currently using the GDMBT for re-routing, but in the next few months will also look closer for other options. our focus is on single track. We are using the standard resources for CDT resupplies, but will also have other options if our route takes us significantly off course.

Thanks for the info on carrying bikes. I had no idea, and this changes our outlook for a few areas.

More later,

-DS

ScottMorris · « **Reply #3 on:** December 03, 2008, 12:26:59 PM »

Hey,

It was my pleasure, both on the documenting side and the software. I live for this stuff, ya know.

I'll be really curious to see your intended route, and even more curious to see how it goes when you get out there! My limited experience on the CDT has been that it's slow and hard to ride. But there are some golden, golden sections out there too.

Please let me know what you find on the shapefiles. I would love to update the wilderness file with other useful boundaries (in different colors).

Definitely order Ley's map CD. I got him using TF, so there might be a chance of accurate GPX stuff in the future, but for right now his images are the best source of CDT data.

davidsullivan · « **Reply #4 on:** December 03, 2008, 01:33:38 PM »

Looking at the current wilderness file with Ley's CDT waypoints shows a lot of sections where the CDT follows the border of wilderness areas, and I am a bit worried about these areas. When you zoom close onto the crossover sections, toggling between topo and colored aerial though, there looks to be a few options via roads where one can get creative.

Red = CDT (Ley)
Blue = GDMBT
Yellow = TF Wilderness Areas

I've compared CDT waypoints from AsTheCrowFiles to Ley's and they seem to correspond closely in many areas.

My current plan is to spend the next few months getting meticulous with the CDT mapping resources I can gather, then mapping out a new CDT route waypoint file. I am finishing school in Colorado Springs, and hope to test run the waypoint file when it gets warmer on a section in CO before we leave.

I'll post back after I get the shapefiles.

-DS

davidsullivan · « **Reply #5 on:** December 05, 2008, 12:17:08 PM »

Talked to Ley - the Asthecrowflies waypoints are so similar because they are generated from his file. Â

'>

I got the federal lands files today, but they are 7 files with the same name (federal_Lands.) with different files extensions - .dbf, .prj, .sbn, .sbx, .shp, .xml, and .shx. The .shp is the largest file of them, being around 15 megabites. The others are small.

I put the .shp file in, and it seemed to be really complicated and don't know how to decipher it.

The total file size is 16.7 mb for all files - I've uploaded them to filefactory, and can give you their address.Will you take a look at them scott?

Best,

-DS

ScottMorris · « **Reply #6 on:** December 05, 2008, 12:19:06 PM »

Yep, let me know how to access them and I'll have a looksee.

Thanks.

davidsullivan · « **Reply #7 on:** December 05, 2008, 01:41:22 PM »

Sent via email.

ScottMorris · « **Reply #8 on:** December 05, 2008, 02:21:49 PM »

Thanks. Definitely messed up in TF. Having trouble converting it. But regardless it's going to take some work to get it sorted out. It has all federal land (FS, BLM, etc) which is a great resource.

Ideally it would be colored appropriately and I think that's going to take some coding.