Google Earth and Exploring

[John]

Google Earth rules.

I have wasted as much time flying around rocks probably as much as I have bushwhacked to real ones.

I was just reacquainted with the handy shade feature. You can use a slider to watch shade come and go over a particular part of a formation. Really cool.

I get GPS coordinates fro GE to enter in our GPS as waypoints to head towards on recons then mark new waypoints when I get home. Fun to nerd out like that.

Any one share my appreciation? I know many of you use it.

[daniel banquo merrick]

Google earth is great.

I also use the Nat Geo TOPO software. The user interface on TOPO sucks and is a 10-year-out-of-date dinosaur but it does have all the USGS maps and will give coordinates for any point. You can trace routes and record routes then generate distance/elevation profiles. I have loaded all the maps of California and Nevada onto my laptop and with a USB GPS receiver (~$20) I can drive along the back roads and have real time location plotted on the USGS map without cell or data service. I suppose you could hike with it so long as your batteries last. It's hard to get lost with realtime map location.

I can drive all those SoYo roads while my laptop shows me exactly where I am on the USGS topo map.

Off the record, I can loan you the discs and you can load them onto your computer. About 10 CD's covers all of California. email me

[NateD]

Hmm, maybe I'll have to revisit it, as it has been several years and maybe there are improvements. It was fun for awhile, until I got tired of all the stretched and distorted rock faces and it would occasionally crash on me. Good old satellite images have been a staple.

I've never gotten into, and don't own a GPS, but it sure saved us some time thrashing around at night and with the driving down south of Balloon.

[John]

It is all squishy and contorted as far as the features of formations so it isn't all that useful for searching for lines to climb, gauging steepness, etc. but if you spot something sexy while out and about and want to figure out how to get there it is very helpful.

[susan]

Thank you for that offer by the way Dan. Very cool to, as you say, "...drive all those SoYo roads while my laptop shows me exactly where I am on the USGS topo map."  Without this system of yours, there are some roads taken that go on forever but still leave one wondering what jewels were missed nearby.

[daniel banquo merrick]

Google Earth Pro which cost $400 is now free. Lots of tools. data access and I think higher resolution images. I can see features down to hand crack size such as snake crack on Squaw. There is a measuring tool which is nice.

Please post about any useful features you find.

[John]

Holy crap that is detailed.

If I am lucky I might see myself pulling on gear.

[mungeclimber]

Dam. Couldn't sign up before. Gah!

[Mark T]

Gaia GPS has become a useful easy field app if you have an iPhone/mini-ipad.  Don't know if it has an Android version.  Lots of map choices, crisp seamless topos which you can layer over high-quality satellite, and toggle in gradations back and forth. A cheap subscription gets access to the best maps.  Can't get all of Soyo in one download but you can get all of Chiquito Ridge, say.  I think the combo helps cross-country.  Requires the usual battery conservation practices but I like the interface and screen better than I liked my Garmin, easier to scroll.  For roads, I use the Sierra National Forest App, which is a straightforward forest road map and free, I think. 

Sorry to say I've probably spent ten times as many hours on Google Earth daydreaming as I've spent climbing.

[daniel banquo merrick]

Mark T,

Gaia GPS is available for Android. Costs $20 and says there are in-app purchases. I'm guessing this means you have to buy maps for it.

I'm having trouble finding the Sierra NF app for android although there seems to be one.

Now I found it, you need an app called PDF Maps which looks to be free and then you need the map. The map costs $5.

[John]

I like the "Sun" feature where you can see how the sun/shade hits formations for any day of the year. Not very precise but can give you a ballpark idea of when a formation gets shade. 

[mungeclimber]

Interesting. I didn't find the resolution to be very good.

[daniel banquo merrick]

The website says the pro version has higher resolution prints. I tried printing something but it looked like screen resolution to me. I don't get it.

Cut and paste:

Features            Google Earth                    Google Earth Pro
Print images    Screen Resolution only    Premium high resolution images

[NateD]

Sorry to say I've probably spent ten times as many hours on Google Earth daydreaming as I've spent climbing.

Easily the truth for me as well!

[DaveyTree]

Hi Ya'll. Duck hunting season is over so it is back to the rock. Looks like I have missed a lot over the last 4 months. Good to know you all are still ripping it up.

I use google earth all the time. Found many a spots with it. Haven't tried Pro version yet. Been duped a couple times by what looked like a verticle wall on google earth was nothing more than a steep field of boulders.

I do use google maps on my phone. It has a GPS component that marks your current location. I will turn it on while still in cell service. I keep it plugged in because it eats the battery. Once it is on the GPS will continue to work even when there is no cell service. It allows me to easily know which roads to take and where the closest parking is to the potential spots I want to scout. Currently have 10+ years of FAs worth of rock I have scouted and am projecting. Gotta love technology.

Google earth also has an icon that looks like a clock with an arrow. It will allow you to view past pictures and give you a little different view of the rock or area in different lighting. It is sometimes in black and white which can give better definition at times.