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    • The 15-minutes from Red Rock Restaurant Tour >
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      • General >
        • The Plan
        • Managing the Desert Heat
      • Black Velvet Canyon >
        • Lazy Buttress/Whisky Peak E >
          • Day 79: Schaeffer's Delight
          • Day 83: Ballantine Blast
          • Day 86: Lazy Buttress (Climb)
      • Calico 1 (1st Pullout) >
        • Amusement Park
        • Day 17: Civilization
        • Day 20: Panty Wall
        • Day 14: The Slab
        • Day 21: Wall of Death & Hamlet
        • Day 24: Child's Play
        • Day 49: Ultraman
        • Day 50: Dog Wall & Fixx Cliff
        • Day 51: Tuna and Chips
        • Day 53: Viagra Towers
        • Day 59 Iron Man - Necco Waif
        • Day 80 - Tuna Cookies
        • Day 80 - Diamond Dance - The Oasis
        • Day 81 - CarlyQuinn Crag
      • Calico 2 (2nd Pullout) >
        • Day 13: Meetup & Black Corridor
        • Day 28: Retirement Plan
        • Day 52: The Walrus, Running Man, & Sweet Pain
        • Day 54: USS Crag & Tsunami
        • Day 56: Great Red Book Wall
        • Day 66: The Gallery
      • First Creek Canyon >
        • First Creek Slabs >
          • Day 40: Falling Stars & Bad Moon Arising
          • Day 67: Smiley Face
        • Lotta Balls Wall >
          • Lotta Brews
        • Romper Room >
          • Day 42: Algae on Parade
          • Day 67: Romper Room 2
        • Schoolyard >
          • Day 44: School Yard 1 - Deja Vu & Short Subject
          • Day 77: School Yard -Sunday School & Dunce's Corner
          • Day 89: Schoolyard Bully
        • Slot Club Area >
          • Day 78: Escondite
        • Strawberry Hill >
          • Day 43: This Ain't the F'n Way!
      • Icebox Canyon >
        • Day 12: Sunnyside & Frigid Air
        • Day 39: Necromancer - Hop Route
        • Day 57: Tarkus Crack (Tiki Cliff)
      • Juniper Canyon >
        • Jackrabbit Buttress >
          • Day 16: Myster Z
          • Day 35: Mz. Why
        • Rose Tower >
          • Day 64: Canola Cracks
          • Day 87: Olive Oil
      • Kraft Mountain >
        • Day 6: Conundrum Crag
        • Day 7: Caligula Crag
        • Day 4: Three Peaks and Yin & Yang
        • Day 10: Winter Heat
      • Mt. Wilson >
        • Day 41: Limon
        • Day 72: Gentleman's Club - Silicone Sag
      • Oak Creek Canyon >
        • Day 37: Johnny Vegas
        • Day 65: Tan Line
        • Day 68: Byrd Pinnacle
      • Pine Creek Canyon >
        • Day 22: Mescalito E - Too Many Tantrums
        • Day 23: Mescalito E - Pauligk Pillar
        • Day 27: Straight Shooter Wall
        • Day 31: Robin Trowel (Abutment) & Stick Gully 1
        • Day 32-34: Flight Path
        • Day 34: Stick Gully 2 - Prelude
        • Day 36: Birdland
        • Day 38: Diarrhea Dialect (Bullnose Wall)
        • Day 48: Cat in the Hat
        • Day 62: Stick Gully - Box of Rain
        • Day 63: Cookie Monster
        • Day 69: Soloist Crack
      • Red Springs >
        • Day 2: Cowlick and Cannibal
        • Day 1: Cut Your Teeth, Hide & Seek, Happy Acres
        • Day 3: Dickies (Seems Like a Butt)
        • Day 8: Fringe
        • Day 5: Moderate Mecca
        • Day 9: Reptile & Fox Walls
        • Day 45: Gnat Man
        • Day 55: Coco Crag
        • Day 58: Ridinghood - In Through the Out Door
      • Sandstone Quarry >
        • Day 29: High Scalin'
        • Day 47: Man's Best Friend & Americrag
        • Day 66: Hall of Fame - Ms. Adventure
      • Southern Outcrops >
        • Day 70 & 71: Chocolate Rocks
        • Day 82: Illusion Crag - Part 1
      • White Rock Springs - Angel Food Wall >
        • Day 11: Group Therapy
        • Day 25: The Ledger
      • Willow Springs >
        • Day 15: Mother's and Outhouse
        • Day 18: Mossy Ledges - Pussy Nuts
        • Day 19: Mossy Ledges 2
        • Day 26: Graduate Cliff - Pre Skool Part 1 >
          • Day 46: Pre Skool Part Deux
        • Day 60 & 61: Graduate Cliff 2
        • Day 30 - Gold Digger
        • Day 61: Ragged Edges - Footloose
        • Day 62: Case Face - Space Case
        • Day 73: Ragged Edges Area
        • Day 74 Peaches (Children's Wall)
        • Day 75 N' Plus Ultra 1 - Geezer Face & Lucky Charms
        • Day 76: N'Plus Ultra 2 - Pillar Talk & Chocolate Tranquility Fountain
        • Day 84: N'Plus Ultra Part 3 - Cereal Killer
        • Day 84: Lost Creek Canyon - Grey Matter
        • Day 85: Communist Plan at Lost & Found
    • Meet Our Tools >
      • GPS Units
      • Lifeproof Phone Cases
      • Van Life: Tankenstein >
        • Tankenstein Gets Gutted
        • Van Life: Rebuilding Tankenstein >
          • Glowing Disco Counter Top
          • Cold Food Storage
          • Bouldering-pad-bench
          • Insulation and Vent Fan
          • Quick Fixes
          • Kingsized Pullout Bed
      • Ultralight Exposure Protection Gear
    • For the Ladies >
      • Cry
      • Getting Women Climbing Outside
      • Women's Resources
    • Red Rock Canyon, NV >
      • Camper Van Epic in Vegas
      • Mapping with Lady Lockoff
      • Vegas-epic-2
      • Vegas Mini-epic 3: Really?!?
    • Joshua Tree, CA >
      • Caterpillars! Van Rescue!
      • Gram Parsons' Logbook
      • Oh Shi*! Bees!
    • Hmmm or Haha >
      • Althea Crag & Mapping Dog
      • Exposure!
      • Realities
      • Silliness
      • Utterly Heinous Approaches
      • Podcast Interview: Ogden OUtdoor Adventure
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Methodology

Curious about the details of how we do this? Then this page is for you!
 (1) GPS UNITS:
 
We use professional-grade GPS/GNSS units with "differential correction" that have sub-meter accuracy (<3 ft). While high-end smartphones and recreational GPS units may have similar specs, there is a large difference in accuracy due to the antenna and the internal software that processes the locations. For example, iPhones and Samsung's GS series have GNSS receiver chips on board, but the antenna is not nearly as robust as professional units and the processing software implements power duty cycles (to save battery). The antenna quality and the power duty cycles contribute to cycle-slips which is where the unit loses exact location but continues to show/record location measurements that are offset.

Due to these deficiencies, cell phones and recreational GPS units are inherently less accurate. 

What is GNSS and why is it important? GNSS refers to all global navigation satellite constellations managed by other countries (Russia, Europe, China, and Japan). Because of the additional satellites being received, GNSS allows the units to work better in terrain features like canyons because more satellites = more triangulation and increased likelihood that there are satellites in the limited “sky” available in a canyon. 

"GPS" in the name of the American positioning satellite constellation, but is often used as a generic term for positioning satellites (at least in the US). Please note that certain terrain features can affect all GPS units.

Power Duty Cycle (*1): a mode where the GNSS chipset is only active for a fraction of each second to reduce power consumption
Cycle-Slip (*2): a discontinuity in a receiver's continuous phase lock on satellite signals

*1 http://gpsworld.com/positioning-with-android-gnss-observables/
*2 https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog862/node/1728

 
(2) MAP PROCESSING AND SATELLITE IMAGERY:
 
We are not using satellite imagery as the background for the maps because:

(a) The satellite imagery does not have a high enough resolution for the scale we are using. Imagine your photo getting grainy and pixelated when you zoom in. You have exceeded the ability of your zoom lens, so to speak. Most maps are at a scale of around 1:24,000. Our maps range from 1:2,000 to 1:800! Very detailed!

(b) Places like Red Rock Canyon and Joshua Tree have so many rocks and formations that satellite imagery just looks like a mess on the map! We hand draw in the key reference formations to help with navigation.
 
We do use satellite imagery and digital elevation models, such as LIDAR, in processing the map. In fact, we utilize multiple (3-5) sources of imagery. We use this many sources not only because imagery tends to have poor resolution but also because of variance in accuracy between different satellite sources (think about how different a rock wall looks taken from one angle compared to another). 
 
By using 3-5 satellite/imagery sources with our accurate GPS data and associated on-the-ground photos, we can triangulate, reconcile, and corroborate locations of rock and terrain. These efforts significantly increase the accuracy of the map!
 
If you are curious about satellite/imagery accuracy relative to GPS points try this:
 
Monkey Face tower at Smith Rock is an iconic formation. In reality it stands straight upright, but the angle of the satellite when that frame was taken shows a different perspective. What's on the image is not accurate and does not represent reality – the tower does not lean left and the trail does not go to the right of (or through) the tower. Now try to zoom in. The image becomes greatly distorted. You have reached the limits of the imagery.

Another example: The photo below shows a LIDAR elevation model for Smith Rock that is completely missing the huge formation between Cocaine and Aggro gullies. This imagery also cannot differentiate the boulders that lie at the mouth of each gully. Rick has applied his decades of GIS experience to fix this issue (see the middle image? Rick fixed that and has sent the fix to the state of Oregon.)

It takes a lot of time and effort to make accurate, high quality maps!

(3) CLIMBING WALLS:
 
Climbing walls are GPS’d with end points taken to define the boundary of each wall. We do this by locating, physically walking to, and then marking the first and last climb on each wall. We also attempt to walk the entire length of the wall, as close to the wall as possible to get its shape (this is in addition to walking any trails up to/at/near the wall which are the trails shown on the map), which is also triangulated with the 3-5 sources of satellite imagery referred to above.
 
If there is a “peripheral” climb associated with a wall (e.g. a climb that is off by itself) we mark that climb separately and do not include it with the boundary of the main wall. We will show peripheral climbs as a dot on the map with the name of the climb next to it.
 
(4) VEGETATION:
 
Vegetation on the map was derived from NAIP satellite imagery using the NDVI method, which is a long established method of deriving land cover using the infrared bands. Thus, the locations of the “greenery” on the map does correspond with actual clumps of vegetation. We have received lots of thoughtful feedback about representing vegetation on the map. In desert environments the location of vegetation can help with orientation. For example, it is helpful to show a highly vegetated gully because it could be used as a reference point for navigation. We aren’t necessarily showing a single bush located on a rock, although it is close on the super detailed maps. In some areas, though, we will show a single pine tree, if it is a key navigation point!

More map details:
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  • Home
  • Buy!
  • Maps
    • Hiking
    • City of Rocks, ID - Climber's Map
    • Joshua Tree, CA - Climber's Map
    • Red Rock Canyon, NV - Climber's Map
    • Smith Rock, OR - Climber's Map
  • Map Details
    • Quality
    • Map Elements
    • Methodology
    • Environment
  • About
  • Blog
    • The 15-minutes from Red Rock Restaurant Tour >
      • Indian
      • Sushi
      • Vietnamese
    • WTF 5..7 Tour - Red Rock >
      • General >
        • The Plan
        • Managing the Desert Heat
      • Black Velvet Canyon >
        • Lazy Buttress/Whisky Peak E >
          • Day 79: Schaeffer's Delight
          • Day 83: Ballantine Blast
          • Day 86: Lazy Buttress (Climb)
      • Calico 1 (1st Pullout) >
        • Amusement Park
        • Day 17: Civilization
        • Day 20: Panty Wall
        • Day 14: The Slab
        • Day 21: Wall of Death & Hamlet
        • Day 24: Child's Play
        • Day 49: Ultraman
        • Day 50: Dog Wall & Fixx Cliff
        • Day 51: Tuna and Chips
        • Day 53: Viagra Towers
        • Day 59 Iron Man - Necco Waif
        • Day 80 - Tuna Cookies
        • Day 80 - Diamond Dance - The Oasis
        • Day 81 - CarlyQuinn Crag
      • Calico 2 (2nd Pullout) >
        • Day 13: Meetup & Black Corridor
        • Day 28: Retirement Plan
        • Day 52: The Walrus, Running Man, & Sweet Pain
        • Day 54: USS Crag & Tsunami
        • Day 56: Great Red Book Wall
        • Day 66: The Gallery
      • First Creek Canyon >
        • First Creek Slabs >
          • Day 40: Falling Stars & Bad Moon Arising
          • Day 67: Smiley Face
        • Lotta Balls Wall >
          • Lotta Brews
        • Romper Room >
          • Day 42: Algae on Parade
          • Day 67: Romper Room 2
        • Schoolyard >
          • Day 44: School Yard 1 - Deja Vu & Short Subject
          • Day 77: School Yard -Sunday School & Dunce's Corner
          • Day 89: Schoolyard Bully
        • Slot Club Area >
          • Day 78: Escondite
        • Strawberry Hill >
          • Day 43: This Ain't the F'n Way!
      • Icebox Canyon >
        • Day 12: Sunnyside & Frigid Air
        • Day 39: Necromancer - Hop Route
        • Day 57: Tarkus Crack (Tiki Cliff)
      • Juniper Canyon >
        • Jackrabbit Buttress >
          • Day 16: Myster Z
          • Day 35: Mz. Why
        • Rose Tower >
          • Day 64: Canola Cracks
          • Day 87: Olive Oil
      • Kraft Mountain >
        • Day 6: Conundrum Crag
        • Day 7: Caligula Crag
        • Day 4: Three Peaks and Yin & Yang
        • Day 10: Winter Heat
      • Mt. Wilson >
        • Day 41: Limon
        • Day 72: Gentleman's Club - Silicone Sag
      • Oak Creek Canyon >
        • Day 37: Johnny Vegas
        • Day 65: Tan Line
        • Day 68: Byrd Pinnacle
      • Pine Creek Canyon >
        • Day 22: Mescalito E - Too Many Tantrums
        • Day 23: Mescalito E - Pauligk Pillar
        • Day 27: Straight Shooter Wall
        • Day 31: Robin Trowel (Abutment) & Stick Gully 1
        • Day 32-34: Flight Path
        • Day 34: Stick Gully 2 - Prelude
        • Day 36: Birdland
        • Day 38: Diarrhea Dialect (Bullnose Wall)
        • Day 48: Cat in the Hat
        • Day 62: Stick Gully - Box of Rain
        • Day 63: Cookie Monster
        • Day 69: Soloist Crack
      • Red Springs >
        • Day 2: Cowlick and Cannibal
        • Day 1: Cut Your Teeth, Hide & Seek, Happy Acres
        • Day 3: Dickies (Seems Like a Butt)
        • Day 8: Fringe
        • Day 5: Moderate Mecca
        • Day 9: Reptile & Fox Walls
        • Day 45: Gnat Man
        • Day 55: Coco Crag
        • Day 58: Ridinghood - In Through the Out Door
      • Sandstone Quarry >
        • Day 29: High Scalin'
        • Day 47: Man's Best Friend & Americrag
        • Day 66: Hall of Fame - Ms. Adventure
      • Southern Outcrops >
        • Day 70 & 71: Chocolate Rocks
        • Day 82: Illusion Crag - Part 1
      • White Rock Springs - Angel Food Wall >
        • Day 11: Group Therapy
        • Day 25: The Ledger
      • Willow Springs >
        • Day 15: Mother's and Outhouse
        • Day 18: Mossy Ledges - Pussy Nuts
        • Day 19: Mossy Ledges 2
        • Day 26: Graduate Cliff - Pre Skool Part 1 >
          • Day 46: Pre Skool Part Deux
        • Day 60 & 61: Graduate Cliff 2
        • Day 30 - Gold Digger
        • Day 61: Ragged Edges - Footloose
        • Day 62: Case Face - Space Case
        • Day 73: Ragged Edges Area
        • Day 74 Peaches (Children's Wall)
        • Day 75 N' Plus Ultra 1 - Geezer Face & Lucky Charms
        • Day 76: N'Plus Ultra 2 - Pillar Talk & Chocolate Tranquility Fountain
        • Day 84: N'Plus Ultra Part 3 - Cereal Killer
        • Day 84: Lost Creek Canyon - Grey Matter
        • Day 85: Communist Plan at Lost & Found
    • Meet Our Tools >
      • GPS Units
      • Lifeproof Phone Cases
      • Van Life: Tankenstein >
        • Tankenstein Gets Gutted
        • Van Life: Rebuilding Tankenstein >
          • Glowing Disco Counter Top
          • Cold Food Storage
          • Bouldering-pad-bench
          • Insulation and Vent Fan
          • Quick Fixes
          • Kingsized Pullout Bed
      • Ultralight Exposure Protection Gear
    • For the Ladies >
      • Cry
      • Getting Women Climbing Outside
      • Women's Resources
    • Red Rock Canyon, NV >
      • Camper Van Epic in Vegas
      • Mapping with Lady Lockoff
      • Vegas-epic-2
      • Vegas Mini-epic 3: Really?!?
    • Joshua Tree, CA >
      • Caterpillars! Van Rescue!
      • Gram Parsons' Logbook
      • Oh Shi*! Bees!
    • Hmmm or Haha >
      • Althea Crag & Mapping Dog
      • Exposure!
      • Realities
      • Silliness
      • Utterly Heinous Approaches
      • Podcast Interview: Ogden OUtdoor Adventure
  • Contact
    • Feedback
  • Retail Stores
  • Media Coverage
  • Calendar