Topo Maps+ for Mac Survey

What's New

Hi,

I’m VERY close to finishing early access for Topo Maps+ on macOS.

I have been working on this for awhile, but I am finally going to wrap it up. I will be releasing early access next month.

If you are like me, you can’t go backpacking every weekend. When you do get out you want to make it the best outdoor experience possible. I want to see mountains, alpine lakes & meadows, go through high mountain passes, and still make it to camp by 4:30 so I can enjoy camp in the evening.

I spend lots of time planning every day for my backpacking trips. I want to know how far will each day be, what will the elevation gain/loss be, what will the terrain be like, and what will I see?

You will soon be able to do this on your Mac with Topo Maps+.  All of the planning you did with routes, tracks, trails, and waypoints will sync between your Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

HOWEVER, I need your help. Before I finalize everything, I need to make sure I have covered everything.

That is where you come in. Please take a few minutes to answer this super-short survey—there is really only one thing I want to ask you …

What is your #1 single biggest outdoor trip planning challenge? You can answer this question in the comments below.  I will read every response.

USGS_Topo_with_Hill_Shading__CalTopo_

Mac TopoMaps+ 5

 

 

119 thoughts on “Topo Maps+ for Mac Survey”

  1. Love the app. Use it primarily on our 80 acre property and adjacent public areas for marking trails. Wish I could use it on a desktop system for more detail. Unfortunately I won’t be going to Mac anytime soon

  2. Really excited to try this out!

    The problem I have is after i’m don’t with my hike, sometimes i forget to turn the tracking off until i’m 10 min into the drive home. It would be great to be able to edit, or choose a termination point for a saved track.

    2. I second this wholeheartedly. I have so many maps with a long straight line to where I remember to turn it off. Love the app though! Can’t wait to have it on my mac!!!

  4. My number one thing is an easy way to figure out round trip routes with overnight camps that follow mostly ridgelines. If I could draw a loop and then stretch or shrink that loop by moving way points around that would be cool. I have not played with the app much so maybe this is already possible.

    1. Kate,

      Thank you for this feedback! I love this idea 🙂 Right now in Topo Maps+ PRO you can trace a loop and then look at new routes on that loop with intersecting trails. This feature will also be coming to Topo Maps+ for the mac. Here is how you can do this on your iPhone https://youtu.be/hcWXvcnOG7E. The mac will work similarly.

  5. Since I often use the app to find, identify and target photo locations, it would be great if the Mac app would let me easily drag pics I shot with my Canon from my computer onto the Waypoint where I shot the image, or drag images with embedded GPS data onto a map and let it create a waypoint. That would be great for me. Not really an answer to your question, but hopefully it is helpful. Great work, btw. Things are looking good.

    1. Sean,

      This is on the roadmap for Topo Maps+ on the mac 🙂 It won’t be there for the early access launch coming next month, but it is coming. I was actually thinking about the email you sent me a while ago about photos in Topo Maps+ on your iPhone when I was planning what to add to the mac version.

    2. I like this idea. This gives you the freedom to ‘roam’ then to analyse and improve your route afterwards, perhaps going back to cover some gems that you missed.

  7. Just thinking in terms of your app, my #1 would be remembering and double-checking that I have downloaded the map sections I need before the trip, since there is usually no mobile signal. Second would be getting or printing a backup paper map, in case my phone drops into a lake or off a cliff. So maybe in a future version of the Mac or iOS app there could be a “print out a 8.5×11 backup map” feature.
    Great app, BTW, I’ve featured it at my site (http://macmost.com/featurediphoneapps) and also did a post to it to my Patreons (https://www.patreon.com/posts/kepler-track-gps-8198208, but you won’t see it since it is behind the paywall — I can send you a screen grab if you like).

    1. Gary,

      Thank you for promoting Topo Maps+ on your sites! This is a great suggestion. I have also thought about letting you select regions to download on your mac and having them download to your iPhone. I am still planning what features should and shouldn’t be in the mac version. Getting feedback like this is really helpful!

  8. Distance achievable given the terrain and average hiking speed of individuals in age groups. Backpackers and day hikers range from relative youngsters to relative oldsters. They are all generally in good enough health for an undertaking but their speed and stamina capabilities vary according to age group classification and can be fairly accurately estimated. Figure out how to accommodate that information and work it in to an algorithm that takes in to account terrain and trail characteristics and you have done us all a great service.

    1. Leonard,

      This is a great suggestion! Thank you. I added this to my list of suggestions that I use when planning what to add to Topo Maps+. This would be really nice to have in the app.

  9. For many weekend trips I plan at the last minute. For me, an efficient user interface that allows me to create my trip quickly and have that download with very little effort on my part (to my iPhone) is essential. I hate getting in the truck to realize that my maps were not downloaded correctly. Yes, I know that’s my responsibility, but making the download so idiot-proof I can’t screw it up is essential.

    1. Frank,

      I completely agree with you. This is really helpful feedback. This is similar to the reason why I ended up creating the app in the first place. I wanted a way to print a really good backcountry map from my iPhone. I often don’t know where I will be hiking until the night before I head out and I wanted to be able to quickly print a good backcountry map from my iPhone or iPad.

  10. My biggest challenge is terrain differences. For example, elevation changes are more of a big deal if the trail is loose rocks than if it is hard packed dirt.

    1. Ben,

      Thank you for this feedback! This is also a HUGE part of my trip planning. Topo Maps+ on the mac will let you easily see the terrain differences between any two points on a trail 🙂

    1. Wendy,

      I am totally with you on this on. I have been backpacking with my iPhone since I got my first generation iPhone in 2007. Here are all of the tricks I use to maximize the battery life. I consistently can get three days of battery life with this and I have even had four days of battery life. http://glacierpeakstudios.com/blog/2016/08/three-days-of-use-on-one-battery-charge/

      This is why automatic sync in Topo Maps+ only works on WIFI, I didn’t want to use even a little battery to try and do sync when you are out hiking.

  12. VERY happy to hear a Mac version is coming! I don’t typically use Topo Maps+ for trip planning now, simply because a small device (iPhone) is cumbersome to navigate due to the screen size and input device limitations. Having that same power on a big screen with a mouse/keyboard, then syncing to my mobile device, will be awesome. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I find it much easier. I’ll use the mobile app to track my progress and get way point data, but that is about it.

    1. Doug,

      I am completely with you on this. Two years ago I started making architecture changes to the code for Topo Maps+ so that I could create a Mac version from the same code base because I wanted to plan trips on my mac, sync the data to my iPhone, and then use my iPhone on the trail.

  13. Biggest problem I have is accurate trail locations. I know this can be very difficult to map out. I particular, I use maps for cross country skiing, and to see the ski trails so I know which way to go at intersections is very important. Is there a way to scan trail maps into Topomaps? I used to have this capability on an old map program I had where I could identify the corner coordinates and then scan the map in and superimpose the trails into the program.

    1. Andy,

      Thank you for this feedback, it is super helpful! Accurate trail data is a big problem. Topo Maps+ does not support importing maps. It is something I have thought about adding and getting feedback like this is really helpful. (I have had this request from other users as well.) This is the kind of feature that would make sense to add to the mac version and then have it sync the map to your iPhone.

    1. Michael,

      Thank you for this feedback! When you are selecting which route to hike, what kind of information helps you make the choice? Total distance, elevation, photos, recommendations, etc?

  15. I use my iphone for everything so this is a welcome thing to see.
    For me the trail specifics, elevation, and distance of travel are what I first look at.
    Hope that helps.

  16. I started out in the day with Nat Geo TOPO and am trying to make the transition to a more online solution. Your app seems like it might be the answer. We own a dude ranch in the Bighorns of Wyoming and I many times would use TOPO for our guests. The work flow is as follows. I would bring up the appropriate map, designate waypoints, print the map with waypoints on all weather paper, then finally download the waypoints onto my Garmin Montana. If I can replicate that process with your app we have a winner! The simpler and more intuitive the better! PS: Check out our website and video at http://www.paradiseranch.com

    1. Clay,

      Wow, your ranch looks AMAZING!!! I love the location 🙂 I also started out by using Nat Geo TOPO. It stopped working on my mac and I could no longer print maps out to go hiking. That is when I started working on Topo Maps+. I wanted a way to easily print my own maps from my iPhone. The mac version makes this even easier. The map printing features are very nice. Here is what you will be able to do for your guests with Topo Maps+ for mac (not all of this will be available on the first day that early access launches).

      Set up
      1. Create tags for different activities (i.e. intermediate hike along XYZ creek, or horse back ride along X ridge.) You will use the tags for the categories.
      2. Trace custom routes (this lets you add new trails to the map).
      3. Change the colors, names, and style for existing trails. (this lets you customize how the trails on map look).
      4. Add custom waypoints and change their icons.
      5. Add waypoints, trails, and routes to the tags. This will let you group all of the related waypoints, routes, and trails.

      Now you will have all of the data ready to go for each of the activities. You will just need to set this up once.

      When a guest wants to go out on activities here is what you will do.
      1. Find the tag for the activity and export the data to a gpx file. This file can then be imported into your Garmine or into any other mapping application.
      2. If the guest is using Topo Maps+ you can share the tag with them. This will create a sharing URL that you can text or email to the guest. The guest will just tap on the URL and it will open in Topo Maps+ and let them easily import all of the data for that tag with all of the attributes.
      3. Print out a map.

      If you want help with any of these steps email me at stephen@glacierPeakStudios.com. Once you have all of the data entered into Topo Maps+ sharing that data with your guests is easy.

  18. Often, our biggest challenge is identifying great campsites ahead of time, ones that are secluded, scenic and with access to water. We don’t like the obvious over-used ones close to the trail. Other useful tidbits of information (perhaps beyond the scope of Topo Maps+) would be whether blooming wildflowers and/or mosquitoes should be expected during certain timeframes.

  19. Having a large enough image to spend time looking at and assessing. On my mobile, it is hard to evaluate and think through challenges when we see such a small image. Perhaps the Mac version will help solve this. Hoping its not additional pricing on top yet too. :0

    1. Bryon,

      Thank you for this feedback, it is super helpful! Having the large image the mac is really nice. When version 1.0 launches this summer there will be a free tier and a paid tier. I am planning an early access launch next month. The early access launch will be paid only and it will have some really good offers for anyone who wants early access to Topo Maps+ for the mac.

  20. I use my iPhone for tracking and my Watch for quick status. It will be great to be able to plan it ahead of time on my Mac. I would want to be able to combine two short trails into a single hike as we have many shorter trails and I usually string 2 or more together. So I would like to plan it on my Mc and execute the trip on my iPhone.

    1. Rob,

      Thank you for this feedback, it is super helpful. I have thought about adding a feature that would notify you if went too off of your designated route and getting feedback like this is helpful for me to know how to prioritize my long list of things to add to the app 😉

  23. Two biggest challenges for us are knowing what the trail conditions are going to be like and how difficult they will be for my kids. Making a “check-in” feature on your app would be wonderful. Make it as simple as possible so peeps will use it.
    LOVE your app BTW.
    Kyle

    1. Kyle,

      Thank you for this feedback! This is super helpful. I love the idea of finding out trail conditions. Right now I have to go other websites to find out this information. I personally use the Washington Trails Association to get this information. I would love to have it in the app.

  24. I would like to be able to (a) access the maps on my iPhone 7, including my current position, when the iPhone is out of cell service, and (b) save (or email) a copy of the gps track (gpx preferably), also whether or not the iPhone is out of cell service.

    1. Bob,

      Great news! You can do this with Topo Maps+ on your iPhone. Before you head out you need to download maps to your iPhone. You will then be able to use those maps when you have no cell service. GPS also works without cell service (it uses satellites). So you can be days away from the nearest cell tower and use Topo Maps+ to see where you are at on any of the maps you downloaded to your phone. Here is how you download maps to your phone https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=Vp8ZrQxJ2CQ

      You can email yourself a gpx or kml file for any of your tracks. Here is how you export data to gpx or kml files http://glacierpeakstudios.com/blog/export-apps/

      If you just want to back up your tracks you can also create a free Topo Maps+ account and then the app will backup your tracks on our servers automatically when you are on WIFI. Here is how sync works http://glacierpeakstudios.com/blog/2016/08/syncing-topo-maps-data/

  26. Ability to easily print the maps from my Mac. Also take that map to load on a iPhone or iPad.

    Let me know if you need a beta tester since I already have MacBook Pro 2016 generation.

  27. Thanks so much for all your hard work on the iOS app. I’m thrilled at the possibility to have an app for the Mac as well. I have two suggestions for the Mac app. One would be the possibility to map out two prospective routes through an area side by side in a window to easily compare the mileage and elevation gain. Not sure how hard that would be but it would be very useful if it is doable.
    The other suggestion would be to create a comment section for completed tracks that would allow text input of a decent length (about 200 characters). This would be nice for logging info about a hike with more details than tagging and waypoints allow. If the Mac app could generate PDFs of a recorded track with the comments, mileage and elevation profile along the bottom that would be a terrific way to keep a journal of all my hikes. Those are my suggestions, hope it helps. Thanks again for the great app!

    1. Barb,

      Thank you so much for this feedback! This is exactly what I am looking for 🙂 I hadn’t thought about comparing routes side-by-side. I love this idea. I will have to think about it more to see if I can figure out how to make it actually work 😉

      Early access for Topo Maps+ on the mac will have the ability for notes on a track, route, trail, and waypoint. You can create very long notes if you want.

      Printing maps from Topo Maps+ on your mac is really nice 🙂 Right now it does not support elevation profiles and comments. I am adding this to my to do list. I think having this would be VERY beneficial.

      Thank you!

  28. Love this app – and would super love it on the iMac. Assuming that you will be able to display routes and tracks we’ve already hiked, make sure that they sync over all our platforms. I’ve developed a huge database…and would love to see it on the big screen (and this would also act as another back-up).

    1. Yes you can 🙂 Sync is fully working. All of my tracks, routes, custom trails, and waypoints are visible on my mac. My tags and regions are also synced to the mac, but the interface doesn’t fully support them just yet.

  29. I’m planning a section hike on the JMT in September. There is a lot of planning information available (such as “John Muir Trail Data Book” by Elizabeth Wenk, “John Muir Trail Pocket Atlas” by Erik Asorson, and National Geographic John Muir Trail Topographic Map Guide, etc.) in book form, and often accompanying files of routes and waypoints for known campsites, stream crossings, trail junctions, passes, etc.). All of this is very helpful, but what would be great would be to support integrating that information into a process like this:
    1. Import route and waypoint information for the entire route
    2. Customize the route to adjust start/stop locations, side trips, etc.
    3. Segment the route into days, with available elevation profiles/stats for each day and for the whole trip. Segments could be divided based on waypoints (campsites). This would allow balancing days without having to create multiple routes and adjusting adjacent routes to sync back up with each day’s start and the previous day’s stop. With respect to profiles and stats, showing each day’s start/stop with respect to the entire trip (e.g. day 2 would be mile 10 – 20 of the 100 mile trip, but also day 2 is 10 miles with 3456 ascent, 1234 descent).
    4. Print each day’s map with elevation profile, waypoints on the profile, and stats at the bottom of the page.
    5. Download maps for the entire route
    6. Track progress against a given day and the whole trip. On any given day of the hike, move the boundaries of day segments to chosen campsites, and the remaining daily segments are adjusted accordingly.

    1. Thank you for this awesome feedback! The JMT looks awesome! I really need to get down there and hike it sometime. You can do most of this with Topo Maps+ on your iPhone and you will be able to to most of this with Topo Maps+ on the mac when version 1.0 ships.

      1. You can import gpx and kml files into Topo Maps+ on your iPhone. I personally have lots of data imported from https://www.pctmap.net for the PCT. Topo Maps+ for the mac will also support this, though it will not be in the early access version.
      2. You can do this with Topo Maps+ PRO on your iPhone and you will be able to do this with the mac version. This is a really nice feature. Topo Maps+ will analyze all of the trails on the mac (including new ones that you manually trace) and create a trail network from the trails. You can then easily create custom routes from this trail network. Here is video that shows you how this works on the iPhone. The mac version will work similarly. https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=hcWXvcnOG7E
      3. Topo Maps+ can do some of this. You can create custom routes for each day (number 2 above). Alternately, you can have one long route for the entire trip and then use the trail segment feature in Topo Maps+ PRO. The trail segment feature won’t break up exactly as you are looking for. You can select any point on the trail, and then you can see the distances to any other point on the trail and it automatically creates segments from waypoints and trail junctions. Here is how the trail segments work https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=V_x3bfqcKRA. Personally, I love your idea for how to break up the trip and I am already thinking about how I wish I could do exactly what you are saying for my 7 day trip this summer in the Glacier Peak Wilderness 🙂
      4. You can print really nice maps from Topo Maps+ on your iPhone and on your mac. The maps include custom routes and waypoints. Right now they do not include elevation profiles. I have this on my todo list to add to Topo Maps+ for the mac.
      5. You can download maps to your iPhone on your iPhone. With PRO you can zoom out and download much larger areas. https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=Vp8ZrQxJ2CQ https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=bM3u8WoCSN8
      6. Topo Maps+ PRO on your iPhone does this really nicely! This feature almost feels magical when you use it. The trail segments will add your current location into the list of segments and then show you distances to any waypoint or trail junction on your current route from your current location. If you create custom routes (step 2 above) this feature will also work with those. I did a lot of testing with this feature in the central and north cascades last summer and it was really nice to have 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=WzBxOXLi6xc

  31. While using the app to plan some of my trips, I’ve found it a little cumbersome to have to trace my route even when there are trails already on the USGS topo maps. Some other apps that I’ve used let you set two points on the trail and it will automatically “snap” to conform to that trail on your route. It just seems a little easier to use when there are already existing trails, even if the trails aren’t already uploaded onto the app but are visible on the topo map. I do enjoy the trace feature though for when I want to deviate my route of the established trails! Thanks!

    1. Stuart,

      Thank you for this feedback! In Topo Maps+ if you have the selectable trails turned on you can tap on the trails to get distance and elevation profiles (https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=bh6Vkedw7TI). If you have Topo Maps+ PRO you can select a trail and then easily create a custom route the trail network. This is close to the snap a route between to points. In Topo Maps+ PRO you have more control over the route between two points. https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=hcWXvcnOG7E This feature will also work when you have a combination of selectable trails and your own traced routed. If your traced route intersects a selectable trail on the map, then you can use this feature to easily create new routes from your trail network.

    2. Some kind of feature where you can ‘snap’ to a graphic (photo) element that is not officially designated as a path would also be useful. Especially if you are viewing a satellite map and you know the area well.

      1. Dan,

        Thank you for this feedback! This is super helpful. Everything in Topo Maps+ comes from user suggestions (or from what I personally want when I am hiking 😉 )

  32. I do a lot of multi sport treks, I might include packrafting, glacier travel, and hiking all in one trek.it would be nice to color code these segments (you can do this on CalTopo)so that you can see at glance what is on the route for a certain day. I’d like to not split my multi day routes into seperate tracks as that complicates exports to GPS and such.

    Another feature that I’d love to see is to be able to place waypoints to coincide with a route point so they will show up on a profile.

    1. Chase,

      It sounds like you have some AWESOME outdoor adventures! Thank you for this feedback! You will be able to change the color for different segments in Topo Maps+ by creating a custom route from an existing trail. If you add all of the routes for a single multi-day trip to a tag, you can then easily export all of the data for just that tag.

      Waypoints on elevation profiles will be in Topo Maps+ on the mac. It will not be there when the early access launches, but it will be there before version 1.0 launches.

  33. Sorry for the long comment, I really like that app, but wanted to try to describe the one frustration I have with 🙂

    The feature I use the most is creating customs routes and then tracking progress during hikes/runs. I’ve run into the same trouble that Engelbert Hernandez mentioned: manually creating longer routes becomes laggy/hard to select connector trails (using iPhone 7 and iPad Air 2). This is especially problematic with the Appalachian Trail as the built-in selectable AT has many gaps (usually at road crossings) and so I have to manually create several little connector trails and then go back and string them together to make larger routes (say 30-60 miles). The process slows down considerable then the trail is already overlong and it tries to rebuild the elevation profile after each connector that I’ve added

    A feature that would just draw a straight connector trail between two selected trailhead points might solve the problem and would eliminate lag.

    thanks for the great app!

    1. John,

      Thank you for this feedback! This is really helpful. I added this to my list of issues to fix for the iOS app. I will need to look into this more to figure what is causing the lag.

  34. I’m not a Mac guy (only PC desktop + 2 iPhones and 1iPad), but to me the most desirable, but currently missing feature from TopoMaps+ would be to be the ability to access & manage my maps, routes, etc. from my desktop machine.

    Probably the second most important item in preparing for a trip would be better facilities to manage my tracks and routes. For example, I might be going back to a favorite hiking area, and hence have a rat’s nest of criss-crossing tracks and routes, but I want to hike a new route this time. I would like to be able to temporarily turn off all of the previous tracks and routes in that area *at once*, but be able to turn them all back on *at once* (or individually) after I’m done planning for the current trip.

    I’m sure I could think of other things, but I’m so happy with your app, suggesting more “improvements” would be like gilding the lilly, LOL.

    Thanks for everything,

    Tom M

    1. Tom,

      Thank you for this feedback! This is SUPER helpful. Topo Maps+ PRO does allow for turning groups of data on. Honestly, it is a feature that is a bit hard to use and I need to make it a LOT more intuitive. Here is what you can do with Topo Maps+ PRO. You can turn off all routes, waypoints, and tracks. Then you can turn on the data in any tag. So this works a little different than what you described. Rather than turning off a group of data, you turn off all data, and then selectively turn on a group. Here is a short tutorial video on how this works in PRO https://youtu.be/Cntm4tx_-DA

      1. I have to confess that I have not used tags very much, so, thanks for the pointer to the video. It was very helpful.

        If I understand the video correctly, this would mean that to do what I want, I would have to first manually click on each item (ie, track, route, waypoint) in an area, and enter each into a new (possibly temporary) tag.

        What I was looking for a much quicker process, eg, drawing a rectangle on the map around an area, and that would automatically bring up a list of all three types of objects either in, or crossing that area. All (of all 3 types of objects) would be initially selected, and then one could make some or all of them into a tag. …just an idea…

        1. Tom,

          You are absolutely right, this is a much slower process. I love your idea about drawing a circle to select the items to hide. Thank you for your feedback!

  35. I am interested in finding out about trails and vistas I don’t know about. The Pacific Crest Trail runs right through our town, Ashland, Or. Most people are familiar with that and many of the other great hikes around the country. I would like to also use the wonderful TOPO Maps + app to explore areas I haven’t seen before when I travel to new places.
    Thanks, Paul Moen

  36. My #1 problem is maintaining failsafe systems when I’m off-grid in a digital world. Heavy spare battery / solar panel, backup smartphone, expensive 3G data plan. My iPhone died on tour so I’m now on Android+Mac and can’t use anything from iOS anymore. Printed maps are one fallback, but printer paper often gets wet and then it becomes a liability, if that’s what you’re relying on.

    1. Regarding fallback smartphones, maybe you could add a way to ‘link’ several devices to your account. Then you could automatically email large JPEGs or PDFs to those devices when you publish your map. That would keep everything in sync without introducing the overhead of having to build fully fledged apps for other platforms (Android, Linux, Windows etc)

      1. Dan,

        Your comments are so true. Everyone says to have a paper map as a backup, but what if that maps get lost or damaged (i.e. you fall in a river when navigating a hairy log crossing and you jettison your pack so you can swim to the bank.) I would love to hear what other people are doing for backup.

        Here is what I do and it has saved me once. I memorize the “big lines” for the area I will be visiting. The big lines are ridges, major trails, and major streams. Generally, this is just 3-4 lines and I constantly keep my bearing for where I am relative to those lines. If I am lost I know that I walk in a general direction and I will eventually hit ridge X, the PCT, stream Y, etc. Then if I have these lines memorized I know how to get out following that stream, ridge, etc. Of course, this can be difficult to remember accurately. Also, if you are actually lost you can make your situation a 1000% worse by going off course to try and find one of these locations. I did have this happen once in North Idaho. We were unable to find a location with enough clearing to triangulate our position and we realized that we were no where near the trail we thought we were on. I knew that if we walked due west from any position we were going hit a river that connected to a lake and the lake had a N/S forest road going to it. So I knew we would hit one of those and that we would need to follow it to the south to get back to the car. We did just that and found our way back. This was before I had any kind of GPS unit and it was a bit scary being truly and totally lost. After we got back to the car we figured out what had gone wrong.

        I am not sure if this is what you are referring to with the pdf map. In Topo Maps+ you can go to the print map option and create a pdf map. You can then email this map to all of your friends. GPS doesn’t work with this map, but you will have a good map. The map has a scale and magnetic declination for the location of the map. Here is how you can generate a pdf map in Topo Maps+ https://youtu.be/uBeZqInh0vk

  37. Luv the app on the IPad! I’m also probably one of the newest users of the software, having only a week on it. You will have to forgive me if I’ve not learned all the options. I’ve been learning areas in the Ozarks, and I have seen roads the go off into the backwoods. I’ve not been able to determine what the translation is from car, to 4wheel drive to ate to foot. The other area I’ve not learned is how to drop to points and find out what the difference is. Maybe knowledge about the size or depth of creeks or brook crossings would be useful. Like I said brand new user and a lot to learn.

    2. Bob,

      Welcome to Topo Maps+. This feedback is super helpful, thank you!! Topo Maps+ has a number of different ways to measure distances on the map. This short help article will show you how http://glacierpeakstudios.com/blog/measuring-distance-map/.

      Figuring out the transition from road, to car, to foot is hard. Often the forest service will change how far you can drive in on a road and the maps won’t show this. I have found the best place to look is on the forest service web site, though it can be hard to find the information there sometimes.

  39. This App is perfect for my purposes in the woods. I walk off trail and bushwhack 90% of my time out there. This App keeps me oriented and out of trouble. It has helped me catch mistakes when they were small and not yet big trouble. If the Mac App will sync with my phone people at home would always know where I am and if I was ever in trouble they would know where to direct help*. I have found this app to be very user friendly and much easier to use than Garmin products that I’ve tried.

    *This is an app that First Responders, EMT’s, Police and Firemen could use.

    1. Jeff,

      I love this idea! The big problem is having your phone sync your location when you are in the woods. Do you typically have some cell service when you are out hiking?

      1. I’m walking in New England(Rhode Island mostly, low elevations) I usually do have good reception even though the area may be quite rural the are cell towers all around.

        1. Jeff,

          This is helpful, thank you! Syncing your location would require cell service. More and more of these areas have cell towers around them.

  40. The single biggest issue I have found is that the existing trails usually don’t match the path I end up taking, so predictive advantages to pre-loaded trail maps are lost. I would love an easier way to plot and modify a loaded track manually before the trip (and loss of connectivity). Also, a way to modify the pre-loaded track in the app more easily would be appreciated.

  41. since no macOS application that i can use on my macbook pro, i send the track info that recorded to garmin base camp to edit and clean up the track i recorded.
    for now the iPhone version is defaulted to send all the tracks including that have been exported in the previous “share/export” option. this is a bad choice. you should let user select which one to be exported.
    by the way topo Maps+ do better job logging the trail info – miles of hike than the garmin oregon 600 that i use.

    1. David,

      Thank you for this feedback! This is really helpful, especially hearing how you use the share/export feature. FYI, for the next bug fix update to the iOS app (4.4.3) it has a share/export button on the settings for tracks. This way you can select one track and then share/export it.

      With Topo Maps+ on the mac it will sync your tracks from your iPhone to your mac. You will be able to edit the tracks on your mac using Topo Maps+. The track editing feature won’t be available when the early access launches next month, but it will be there by the time version 1.0 launches this summer.

  42. I would really like to have a “trip diary”. A way to pull together everything from the trip. The good stuff, the bad stuff, the pictures, the route. I love that the pictures from my previous trip are on my map in my phone. I would like to import pictures from my mirrorless as well.

    Thanks for making a great app! I tell all my friends about it!

  43. A mac app will be an awesome addition to Topo maps +! I have difficulty finding the exact area I want to download ahead of time on my phone. WTG, Stephen!

  44. I don’t have one big challenge. It a series of small challenges. I rely on maps (both digital and hard copy) to plan trips; to manage daily travels; to go cross-country and find good places to camp. The maps also help me with overall logistics including picking trailheads.

    As a mac user, I look forward to your extension to iOS machines.

  45. I’m very much looking forward to the Mac version as my Ipad doesn’t have the computing power I need to really manipulate my maps. I’ve been collecting data for our area’s xc ski area. I’d like to be able to change line types and colors with in a route. For example, in my data collection I skied both blue and black trails in one day and on the final map, I’d like to be able to color them that way but right now they are on the same track and as such are the same color. Also, I have looped over the same trail in order to access other trails. I’d like to be able to delete the middle section of my routes to clean that area up. Thanks for the great app and customer support to-date.

    1. Thank you for this feedback! You will be able to change the colors and delete middle sections of the routes with Topo Maps+ for the mac. Deleting a middle section won’t be there for the early access launch in April, but it will be there for the full launch this summer.

      Your welcome! I loved seeing the xc ski tracks you created 🙂

  46. The App is fantastic. Extremely simple to use. I have been used it for a lot of activities in my job (mining industry). Talking to Stephen, the only point that I raised to him was include the geotiff support in the App. More than this, nothing to say. Great App!

  47. I do a lot of desktop planning before I head out to the trails and when I arrive I am often confronted with obstacles ie broken trails, overgrown, washed out etc and being in tropical weather means I protect my iphone as much as I can. So perhaps an audible alarm can be introduced if you stray too far off the recorded track. To take this one step further maybe a beep for drifting off course to the left and a chime for drifting off to the right. That way you dont need to remove the device from weather protection unless you wish to view the map/trail. I know in many cases trails are well worn and easy to see but where I am, they are often not. I understand this will impact on battery life but it should only sound if you deviate a pre-set distance off course, lets say 50m.

    Making the library of icons for waypoints or points of interest bigger. One thing that I think should be added and possibly shared is a list of dangers. Landslide, flood danger, quicksand for you yanks, hunters in these areas, traps etc.

    Is there a way of working out and listing the approximate time a trail should take at a given speed over ground. I understand there are many factors which can influence this but any info re ETA is useful. I do remember reading something somewhere and you may have already covered this but when you highlight a trail and the distance is given, would it be too hard to add another line with approx time and speed needed to accomplish that time.

  48. My biggest challenge is elevation gain and planning for it. I want more tools for seeing the grade in certain sections and where that is in the trail. Then I can plan a hike better.

    1. Chuck,

      Thank you for this feedback! I like the idea of being able to zoom in on an area and get a much better sense of the grade. I know that I have planned trips looking at contour lines and elevation profiles from a map and then found that the actual terrain wasn’t what I was expecting.

    1. Peter,

      This is a great suggestion! Thank you. I totally understand. I do a lot of hiking North Idaho and the Washington Cascades. Most of the trails I hike in North Idaho are not in the trail database.

  50. I think topomaps is great I use it often just looking for places to go in my area. Thanks. My greatest problem is forgeting items to take with me on my trip. Perhaps equipment and grocery list and weight keeper would be useful

    1. William,

      Thank you for this great suggestion. I have a custom spreadsheet I use for this I have thought about creating an app to use instead. It is great to hear feedback like this. Thank you!

  51. I love the app. I’m a simple user and it works perfect for me but I’m always happy to see the Australian maps and trails extended.
    Biggest planning challenge is locating the best campsite balanced against the day’s trek distance/difficulty. Being able to measure trail distances even in a straight line would be helpful (not critical).
    I enjoy planning my treks and am a Mac user, so being able to do my planning on my Mac will be great.

  52. My single biggest challenge is getting the best info on current conditions and predicted weather/conditions when I’m planning to hike. I often have to visit several sites to get a good picture of this, and often it still doesn’t prepare me as fully as I’d like. Overlays on maps or additional features of weather data, trip reports, seasonal closures, etc. could be helpful in solving this.

  53. I have used your app on two extended trips now and it has worked flawlessly! On the first in a remote location in Alaska I printed off incredible detailed maps from Topo+ and laminated them. I swore on this trip I would never turn my phone on unless we were in a real pickle. We got in a real pickle and your app saved us 1/2 day of brutal, brutal bushwhacking. Thank you! Bushwhacking would have been an adventure but also a nightmare at the same time.

    I have become more and more familiar with the features of your app. and I must say I am a fan of just about everything. Simplicity is very important to me. Difficulty in figuring an app out or finding the right button to hit is my biggest challenge when planning a trip, or in the backcountry. Your obvious attention to detail and excellence has shortened my learning curve and made it extremely user friendly. I am still learning and the more I learn the more excited I get about this product. Your responses and answers to my questions have been outstanding Stephen!!! Thank you.

    1. Mark,

      That sounds like it was an awesome trip! Printing maps is one of the primary reason I created Topo Maps+ in the first place 🙂

  54. I am a new user of your app. I’m finding it great so far here in New Zealand. Definitely a nicer experience than Ihike gps that I was using before. I’m really keen to see it on the Mac. Is this coming anytime soon? Will use of the desktop version be included in the price of the phone app? Thanks, Nathan.

    1. Nathan,

      I am so glad that you like using Topo Maps+! The Mac version is coming this summer. By goal is to have it out in July, though it may be August before everything is ready. If you are on the Topo Maps+ newsletter you will get the announcement for when it is ready. The Mac version will have a free and PRO version. The PRO version will be a separate purchase from the iPhone app.

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