WMNF GIS trails data - GPX

[jniehof]

I found the previous discussion on google, but apparently the thread's been killed, so I couldn't actually find it here.

Anyhow, I think I have a reasonable process for taking the WMNF trail data to GPX. Anybody going somewhere this weekend with a GPS and have a trail they'd like? I want to make sure it works before posting the procedure.

 

[MichaelJ]

This thread was the only one I could fine, and that's pdf maps, not gis information. That was in thread 33174. If that whole thread got killed, I expect a public response as to why, as that was useful, valuable information.

Such as the link to the official WMNF GIS data.

 

[cchikes]

My friend Chris has converted the USDA Forest Service 2008 trails Shapefile layer into GPX files and loaded them onto an ftp site for VFTT use. A few notes from Chris on the conversion:

===================================================

A few notes on this data...

* There are 396 trails listed in the database. They have been convert into an equal number of individual GPX files plus an extra GPX file which contains
them all in one file ("00 - AllTrails.gpx"). There is also a compressed ZIP file ("00 - AllTrails.zip) which can be used to download all GPX files at once.

* The original coordinate system was "New Hampshire State Plane, NAD83, Feet". Coordinates have been converted to "Geographic, WGS84, Decimal degrees".

* There are two trails called "Square Ledge Trail". The GPX files have been renamed to add (Passaconaway) and (Pinkham) to distinguish them.

* The GPX files were named using the original database name. No attempt was made to correct misspellings (and there are a bunch of them).

* The trail data quality seems to fall into two categories, those trails that have had new data collected and those trails that were digitized off of the
USGS topo maps. You can usually tell them apart by looking at how smooth the trail data is when plotted. The trails that look particularly smooth have
been digitized off of the paper and are not to be trusted at all. The new data is as good as the data I have collected myself with a fairly good GPS.

* Although MyTopo.com was kind enough to provide me with the Terrain Professional conversion software and host the data on their ftp site, they are not responsible
for the data and should not be contacted in regards to it.

* Feel free to share the ftp link but if you do, please copy the notes when you share the link.

* It is probably best to keep the number of online versions of this data to a minimum so it can be updated and fixed as is required.

* If you need to get in touch with me in regards to this data, you can reach me through my GMail.com account. The account name is "HikesNH".

* ALTHOUGH EVERY ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO CONVERT THE DATA PROPERLY, IT IS OF UNKNOWN QUALITY AND SOME OF IT IS KNOWN TO BE BAD. MAKE SURE
YOU HAVE BACKUP MEANS OF NAVIGATION AND KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. USE THIS DATA AT YOUR OWN RISK.


Link: ftp://ftp.mytopo.com/nhtrails


===================================================

Chris
Dec 10, 2010

 

[DougPaul]

You and Chris must be from the crew that we met on Mt Tremont summit on Sunday, Nov 21. (Chris and I discussed these data while there.)

Thank you for posting these data.


BTW, I counted 20 switchbacks in my GPS track...

Doug

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Given the .gpx files it is possibe to make a transparent Garmin-compatible map using GPSMapEdit and cGPSMapper. Of the many sets of instructions I have found these the most helpful: Garmin Map Making Quickstart Guide.

And let us hope that this thread does not disappear mysteriously like the original one

 

[spider solo]

I'm guessing the the original thread was cancelled because of the possibility giving out info on bootleg trails, or creating bootleg trails... then again perhaps it was completely unrelated.

 

[DSettahr]

I'm guessing the the original thread was cancelled because of the possibility giving out info on bootleg trails, or creating bootleg trails... then again perhaps it was completely unrelated.

This is why sharing of GPS tracks for bushwhacks is against the rules on ADK Forum.

 

[MichaelJ]

This discussion, as that one was, is about GIS information provided to the public by the USFS. I highly doubt any bootleg trails would be in that dataset. The entire thread had no justification for being mass-deleted, especially without any explanation to the people who had posted and contributed to it.

That's why we're basically recreating it here.

I pulled down the GPX files (thank you SO much) and plan to poke through them to see how they came out. Despite having a plethora of computational resources at my disposal, I don't have the software to have done these conversions myself.

The main thing I want to see is where the old roads and snowmobile routes are for some exploring. Plus, it's really fun to see all the lines on Google Earth.

 

[Fuzzy]

Missing tag?

I downloaded the zip file, and tried to open the "00 - AllTrails.gpx" file. It would not load (MapSource). I opened the file in a text editor, and found that the file was missing a "</gpx>" at the end of the file. I added that, and it loaded.

I mention this just in case anybody else has the same problem.

I will compare some of these routes with ones I have recorded personally. Should be fun.

Thanks to Chris for all the hard work.

 

[Will]

If that whole thread got killed, I expect a public response as to why, as that was useful, valuable information.

The thread mentioned published GPS coordinates. Published GPS coordinates have the potential to encourage people to step off of corridor trails. The result would be chaos.

 

[MichaelJ]

The thread mentioned published GPS coordinates. Published GPS coordinates have the potential to encourage people to step off of corridor trails. The result would be chaos.

Bwahahaha! I haven't laughed that hard in a while.

I have the whole thread onscreen right now from Google cache. I should repost it, except that most of the information from it has already been recreated, except for one valuable note from cushetunk that if using the DNR Garmin program on this data:

*BEFORE* you load the shapefile, go to File --> Set Projection. Where is says EPSG, ESRI, or ArcMAP near the top, switch it from EPSG to ESRI. Then select:

NAD_1983_StatePlane_New_Hampshire_FIPS_2800_Feet

from the drop down menu.

Now load the file, then save it to a KML. Voila!

 

[DougPaul]

I downloaded the zip file, and tried to open the "00 - AllTrails.gpx" file. It would not load (MapSource). I opened the file in a text editor, and found that the file was missing a "</gpx>" at the end of the file. I added that, and it loaded.

Chris has informed me that he has fixed the file. (The fix is exactly what Fuzzy found.)

Doug

 

[Jason Berard]

Chris has informed me that he has fixed the file. (The fix is exactly what Fuzzy found.)

Doug

I'm still having trouble...but then I am not the most tech-savvy person in the world....

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I'm still having trouble...but then I am not the most tech-savvy person in the world....

Jason - try opening the AllTrails.gpx file with WordPad (assuming you're a Windows user) and add "</gpx>" to the very end of the file (don't include the ""). Then save the file (make sure it ends up in the same directory MapSource will look), and reload it in MapSource.

If that doesn't work, download it again. I believe Chris has added the "</gpx>" to the end of file.

 

[DougPaul]

If that doesn't work, download it again. I believe Chris has added the "</gpx>" to the end of file.

Just download a new copy of 00_-_AllTrails.gpx. It has been fixed.
(The date on the old files is Nov 23, the date on the new files is Dec 14.)

FWIW, I followed Fuzzy's instructions (edit in a final "</gpx>") and MapSource accepted the result. When I downloaded Chris's fixed version it was exactly the same as my edited version.

Doug

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Same here, Doug.

Followed Fuzzy's tip (thanks) it worked just as advertised.

 

[DougPaul]

Same here, Doug.

Except that I had to manually add the ^M due to my Linux environment...

Doug


Explanation for non-computer geeks: This has to do with different text-file conventions in Microsoft and Unix (including Linux) environments.

 

[Bombadil]

Works like a charm. Thanks guys!

 

[Becca M]

.gpx trail listing????

Hate to revive this note, but.... I couldn't get the link at the end to work. Does anybody have a link that might work? THANKS!!!!

My friend Chris has converted the USDA Forest Service 2008 trails Shapefile layer into GPX files and loaded them onto an ftp site for VFTT use. A few notes from Chris on the conversion:

===================================================

A few notes on this data...

* There are 396 trails listed in the database. They have been convert into an equal number of individual GPX files plus an extra GPX file which contains
them all in one file ("00 - AllTrails.gpx"). There is also a compressed ZIP file ("00 - AllTrails.zip) which can be used to download all GPX files at once.

* The original coordinate system was "New Hampshire State Plane, NAD83, Feet". Coordinates have been converted to "Geographic, WGS84, Decimal degrees".

* There are two trails called "Square Ledge Trail". The GPX files have been renamed to add (Passaconaway) and (Pinkham) to distinguish them.

* The GPX files were named using the original database name. No attempt was made to correct misspellings (and there are a bunch of them).

* The trail data quality seems to fall into two categories, those trails that have had new data collected and those trails that were digitized off of the
USGS topo maps. You can usually tell them apart by looking at how smooth the trail data is when plotted. The trails that look particularly smooth have
been digitized off of the paper and are not to be trusted at all. The new data is as good as the data I have collected myself with a fairly good GPS.

* Although MyTopo.com was kind enough to provide me with the Terrain Professional conversion software and host the data on their ftp site, they are not responsible
for the data and should not be contacted in regards to it.

* Feel free to share the ftp link but if you do, please copy the notes when you share the link.

* It is probably best to keep the number of online versions of this data to a minimum so it can be updated and fixed as is required.

* If you need to get in touch with me in regards to this data, you can reach me through my GMail.com account. The account name is "HikesNH".

* ALTHOUGH EVERY ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO CONVERT THE DATA PROPERLY, IT IS OF UNKNOWN QUALITY AND SOME OF IT IS KNOWN TO BE BAD. MAKE SURE
YOU HAVE BACKUP MEANS OF NAVIGATION AND KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. USE THIS DATA AT YOUR OWN RISK.


Link: ftp://ftp.mytopo.com/nhtrails


===================================================

Chris
Dec 10, 2010

 

[MichaelJ]

Hate to revive this note, but.... I couldn't get the link at the end to work. Does anybody have a link that might work? THANKS!!!!

That link works for me. You need an ftp client. Using Windows? Try Internet Explorer, it should do it graphically. If not, or on a Linux system, open up a command line and do:

ftp ftp.mytopo.com

Log in with the username of the word anonymous and your email address as the password. Then

cd /nhtrails

Now you can use:
dir
to see the files
get <filename>
to get a specific one, or to get them all do:
prompt
mget *

If all else fails, it's 20 megabytes, I'll grab them and we'll figure out a one-time way to get them to you (PM me).