psyculman
Member
Thank you for posting this resource, never seen it before, very useful!
Wow - Black Pond "Bushwhack"
- Thread starter peakbagger
- Start date
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Thank you for posting this resource, never seen it before, very useful!
dailey7779
Member
Thanks for posting, this is so cool! I just spent about a half hour looking around at the tracks all over the White Mountains, cool to zoom in on the bushwhacks, slides, abandoned trails, and other unique spots to see if there is a heatmap line.
The Vose Spur whack also appears scattered: https://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#15.84/-71.42881/44.10178/hot/run
And just as interesting to me is how distinct some of the 'whacks' are: Nancy, Fire Wardens (Hale) and the Basin (Liberty)
Also, people using abandoned/re-routed trails like theAT on Moosilauke, getting lost on the Piper, finding they way up the North Slide on Tripyramid, trying to cross Franconia Brook, or walking across Lonesome Lake.
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Trail Boss
New member
I've used Strava's Heatmap to add/modify High Peaks hiking trails in OpenStreetMap (OSM). You're not allowed to use a proprietary source as a mapping reference for OSM (like Google Maps). Fortunately, Strava allows its heatmap tracks to be traced for use in OSM.
Normally, I'll try to collect several GPS tracks from online sources (like Wikiloc) and hiking companions. When drawing the trail, I'll manually "average" the aggregation of collected tracks. This ensures the finished trail will be closer to "true" than by simply tracing a single GPS track. Strava's Heatmap is an "aggregator of tracks" and saves me the time of having to collect them individually.
Having said that, the previous version of their Heatmap was far skimpier and lacked data for less-frequented trails. However, the new one almost has too much data (even so-called "secret routes" are revealed)!
The only thing that prevents me from using this new version for OSM mapping is that Strava has not yet updated their Tile Mapping Service (TMS). The URL above is for viewing the Heatmap in a browser. However, there's another one, for TMS, if you want to view it in a navigation app or in a map-editor (http://globalheat.strava.com/tiles/running/...). They haven't updated that one with the latest data yet; hopefully soon.
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iAmKrzys
Member
This is so great, especially for checking off-trail stuff! How do you use the tiles for background in OSM? Do you need to use JOSM for that?
Becca M
Active member
re: AMC (NH Chapter) leader information: "Accepted Peer Practices" - "AMC leaders must keep to trails and may not bushwhack, or lead groups to any area more than 500' from the trail....Thus, for example, Owls Head, etc. are off limits to AMC hikes."
Owl's Head was a very popular hike but now we cannot lead hikes there, unfortunately. It is what it is!
Owl's Head was a very popular hike but now we cannot lead hikes there, unfortunately. It is what it is!
Trail Boss
New member
Yes. JOSM supports TMS (Tile Map Services), WMS (Web Map Services), and WMTS (Web Map Tile Services).
Here's a list of maps it supports by default: https://josm.openstreetmap.de/wiki/Maps You can, of course, display other maps as long as they are rendered using one of the three aforementioned services.
I've used it to display NYS GIS Orthoimages (recorded in early spring; no leaves and you can see the terrain more clearly) and, for New Hampshire, you can display hi-res imagery from their Statewide GIS Clearinghouse (relevant web services page is here).
Several backcountry-navigation apps also let you display maps rendered by TMS and WMS. You could, for example, display Strava's Heatmap on top of NH's satellite imagery (just like in JOSM). Here's an example of a custom map, created in Alpinequest, composed of several maps including Strava's Cycling Heatmap, Caltopo's Slope Shading layer, and TF Outdoors.
peakbagger
In Rembrance , July 2024
It will be interesting if the AMC four thousand committee will remove Owls Head from the list as per club policy there is no legal way to access it
Same thing for the AMC guide, do they remove the description?
hikerbrian
Active member
Becca, do you have a source for that quote? I can’t find anything like that in the AMC 2017 leadership manual. The only bit I can find on bushwhacking is, “Stay on already heavily impacted trails, and spread the group out when bushwhacking." So is that NH chapter-specific?
It will be interesting if the AMC four thousand committee will remove Owls Head from the list as per club policy there is no legal way to access it
I read the post as referring to a NH Chapter policy for NH Chapter activities. If it is a NH Chapter policy, I don't see why it would apply to hikes lead by other chapters, even if the hike took place in NH, nor to things done under the umbrella of other parts of the AMC, like the AMC WM Guide, or the various lists.
I think I saw a recent hike description in the CT Chapter activity email that included a short bushwhack. I didn't go on that hike, but I got the impression from the hike description that the bushwhack, while short, would be more than 500 feet, so if it *isn't* simply a NH Chapter policy, then clearly the CT chapter hasn't gotten the news....
TomK
Fuzzy
New member
Map shows the location of Mega(anti search text)lithia. Interesting. Not sure how I feel about that. The resource will be useful for me, that is for sure.
nartreb
Well-known member
Wait, what? In New England?? First I've ever heard of their existence... Can you PM me with a few examples / photos?
JoshandBaron
Well-known member
It's what the dudes who made Pumpelly called it.
ChrisB
Well-known member
Hummm,
You can get to the base of the Owl's Head slide easily via valid trails.
So, is the slide and bit to the (moveable) summit the "Bushwhack?" part?
Seems like the slide can't be considered a bushwhack since North Tri and many other peaks have bonafide routes up slides.
This rule seems a bit arbitrary and slightly screwy to me.
cb
iAmKrzys
Member
The strava heatmap is also useful for finding out what trails are NOT busy e.g. try to find Catamount cross country ski trail south of Bucklin Trail (but you will find routes up Mendon): https://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#14.42/-72.88228/43.61964/hot/run
Interesting...
Interesting...
Raven
Well-known member
Yeah, it's the slide that's the bushwhack if you follow maintained trails to the start. It's easier to follow than some actual maintained trails. For those who haven't done it, it's not really one to brag about your "route finding skills" after finishing. Pretty straight forward.
ChrisB
Well-known member
It will be interesting if the AMC four thousand committee will remove Owls Head from the list as per club policy there is no legal way to access it
And what about that newly minted 4K in Maine, Redington?
There is a flagged trail off the summit of South Crocker heading directly to Redington. It follows the line of the old bushwhack, but is it now an official trail?
In reality, how can any four thousand footer in New England not have a trail, given the popularity of peak-bagging 4Ks?
And what sense is there in not leading a trip to a 4K peak on the official NH or Maine list?
Draconian craziness!!
cb
akafuzzjones
Member
Thanks for this and the heat map a two total wastes of time that I don’t need when I’m on vacation and supposed to be doing stuff around the house.
akafuzzjones
Member
While I haven’t activley led much with the Boston Chapter I’ve heard the same thing from them regarding the whacks to Owls Head being off limits.
