Re: [Paddlewise] Speaking of GPS

I would agree with Dave but I think this would be overcome by people not 
posting those special sites.  I think the type of items that would be great 
to have in a public database would be public-use sites - official 
campsites, boat landings, lighthouses, islands for crossings, bridges, 
great shoreline restaurants :o), etc.  Useful places that don't really 
include the joy of discovery but rather just make it easier or safer to 
plan a trip - e.g., not having to spend 3 hrs trying to find that landing 
that you KNOW is there.

When planning a trip to Voyageurs National Park, I couldn't find info on 
the location of the existing campsites that are operated by the 
NPS.  Finally found someone in the NPS remote sensing lab that could 
provide this info - but a comprehensive list is not public info - partially 
due to liability issues I think (!).  I know of nothing like this for all 
of the campsites and portages in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness.  In the Apostle Islands, the NPS campsite reservation website 
even has photos of the campsites so you can see what you are getting.  Not 
sure this is great, removing some of the mystery - although I think I would 
use it if planning a trip to avoid ending up on some windswept site for 3 days.

For some trip planning, I've used a couple of different on-line airphoto 
systems that provide GPS coordinates - click on a feature or location on 
the photo (after zooming all the way in) and the system provides the 
coordinates.  But you must first know where that feature is on the 
photo.  These 'shots' have been fairly accurate - good enough anyway.

K
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