I have been hard at work to make using Topo Maps+ even better while on the trail. I pounded out over 75 miles of hiking with a fully loaded pack this summer to test out new features and push the envelope of what Topo Maps+ can do. I am really excited to show you Topo Maps+ PRO.
Progress on Trail
Navigation isn’t the only reason to use a map while hiking. Often you want to get an idea for how far you have traveled and how far you have left to go. Should we stop for lunch now or wait until we get to the lake? How much farther do we have left until we get to the top of this brutal up hill? Should we stop here for the night or push on to the next campsite? While you could use the Topo Maps+ record feature to record your hike to know exactly how far you have come, it will not tell you how far you have left to go and if you are on an extended backpacking trip you probably don’t want to drain your battery with GPS constantly running to record your hike. Using trail segments along with progress along a trail now lets you easily answer these questions without recording your hike. It is awesome (and a bit magical feeling) to have this information while hiking deep in the backcountry. Honestly, this feature is pretty amazing to experience. So go out into the backcountry and try this out 🙂
Trail Segments
Topo Maps+ will automatically analyze a trail to create segments from trail junctions, waypoints, and photos. A trail segment is a portion of the trail between two locations of interest on the trail.
Download Larger Areas
Sometimes you just want to zoom out and download larger areas. With Topo Maps+ PRO you can 🙂
My Photos Overlay
I don’t know about you, but I take a lot of photos while I am out hiking. They become an integral part of my outdoor experience and the memories I create while spending time slowing down, getting off the grid, and basking in the amazing beauty and magnificence of nature. With Topo Maps+ PRO you can see where you took a photo, see what direction you were facing when you took the photo, and you can create a waypoint from the photo. If you need to remember a location to return back to it (i.e. where you parked your car or a maker for where you started bushwhacking) you can just take a picture with the camera on your iPhone and then later go back into Topo Maps+ to see where that picture was taken and to turn it into a waypoint.
Snap To Trail
Custom Routes
When you select a trail on the map you can also move the crosshairs at the ends of the trail. You will be able to move these crosshairs over trails that connect to the trail that the crosshairs are on. This lets you easily create new routes from existing trail networks.
Edit Tracks and Routes
Sometimes you need to edit routes or recorded tracks. With Topo Maps+ you can easily edit a track or route.
Natural Atlas
Map Overlays
With Topo Maps+ PRO you can create custom maps by overlaying maps on top of each other.
Grid Overlays
With Topo Maps+ PRO you can add latitude/longitude or UTM grid overlays on your map.
Data Overlays
In Topo Maps+ PRO you can control which data overlays the map. Maybe you just want to see the trails and waypoints for your current backpacking trip or maybe you just want to see the data you have collected for a single hunting season.
Regions
Sometimes the information you want to track on the map can’t be captured with just waypoints and routes. For example, maybe you want to keep track of an area where you found good huckleberries or a property boundary that you want to stay in while you are hunting or a region where you have searched. With Topo Maps+ PRO you can add regions to the map.