1. (Using Mostly Free Software to Make Some Very Detailed Maps)
Keystone Capers Maps
(Using Mostly Free Software to Make Some Very Detailed Maps)
By Jim Wolfe
This is a description of how the Keystone State Park map was created for the A-meet, using OCAD-6, OCAD-10 viewer, Condes (unlicensed version), Clue and Global Mapper (the only software that was not free).

2. PASDA is operated by Penn State University
PASDA is operated by Penn State University. It provides free spatial data in three forms for the entire state of Pennsylvania. DEM files are based on LiDAR data and can be used to generate contours at any interval you like. SID files are leaves-off orthophotos with very good resolution. There are also SHP files containing 2-foot contours. The state has been divided into tiles 10,000 feet on a side and there is one file of each type for every tile. You can download the files; zipped, they generally are about MB in size. Most files are from 2006, although a few are newer. All files are oriented to true north.

3. This is a SID image for Keystone State Park; multiple tiles are shown in this image. The outline is the park boundary. Shape (SHP) files of the state park boundaries are also available at PASDA.

4. This shows several DEM files (several tiles) that cover Keystone State Park. Using Global Mapper, I have drawn a rough boundary around the park (including some area outside the park boundaries), and generated 5-meter (16.4-foot) contours. I also did this to generate 2.5-meter contours. I save the contours as a layer that I can use in Global Mapper and also export as a DXF file that I can load into OCAD.

5. This shows just the contours that are to be exported as a DXF file
This shows just the contours that are to be exported as a DXF file. Please ignore the scale on this image. The way I loaded it to create this slide confused Global Mapper.

6. Here the image (SID file) has been overlayed with 2. 5 meter contours
Here the image (SID file) has been overlayed with 2.5 meter contours. Then, a section of the area that I wanted to start making a base map of was saved as a BMP file. BMP files can be loaded into OCAD as templates so the visible features can be drawn. Generally, I used templates that covered one quarter of the area shown in this image; this allowed fairly clear images even at 16x magnification in OCAD.

7. This is an early version of the base map
This is an early version of the base map. This was drawn using only the images from Global Mapper and OCAD-6. The trails are guesses based on early interpretation of the images; at this point NO FIELD CHECKING has been done. As you will see, the trails shown here are not accurate.

8. This is after traditional field checking in early 2009
This is after traditional field checking in early At this point, WPOC intended to use the map only for local meet purposes; consequently, the vegetation mapping is fairly rough. The trail system is pretty well mapped.

9. Before looking at how the map was upgraded to A-meet standards, consider the hazards of generating contours in a relatively flat area. Notice how ragged the contours become in this template image, especially those just south of the horizontal road. Some of this can be removed by asking Global Mapper to generate contours with a higher simplification factor; but much of it needs to be dealt with in OCAD through smoothing and converting the contour vectors to Bezier curves. The OCAD actions will be handled later because having the OCAD contours match the Global Mapper contours is critical to adjusting the position of the templates. As long as the contours match, it is possible to use a single adjustment point to position a template.

10. Here we see some of the GPS track data (recorded using a ForeRunner 305) used in preparing the A-meet map. The small loops in the open area are the result of walking around the edges of rough open areas.

11. Here we see these rough open areas on the final map.

12. Here is a second example of using GPS tracking to deal with vegetation boundaries. Take note of the two deviations in the roughly horizontal tracks near the center (one up and one down). The yellow dots are waypoints recorded with the GPS and noted by hand in the field notes so that steam positions, dark green elements, and rootstocks can be kept track of.

13. This is the resulting map
This is the resulting map. Note the two light green protrusions into the medium green near the upper center of the image. These match up with the tracks in the previous slide.

14. Now, back to the portion of Keystone State Park we began with
Now, back to the portion of Keystone State Park we began with. The white and yellow numbered dots are waypoints. I did not regard a waypoint position of a feature as absolutely correct. I coordinated these with the field notes I was making. Using the number of the waypoint, I wrote in my field notes additional information about the feature – size of a rootstock, relative position of the feature to the vegetation or to other feature, etc.

15. This is the same section of the park with many of the tracks filled in
This is the same section of the park with many of the tracks filled in. The straight-line segments are not part of any track; they are connecting two tracks recorded between history downloads.

16. Now, let’s compare the evolution of this segment of the map
Now, let’s compare the evolution of this segment of the map. This is again the map as created for local meets in early 2009.

17. This was nearly the final version of the map in 2011
This was nearly the final version of the map in Note the greater detail in the vegetation. There are also a number of other details that were added. Although the OCAD captured slides show the map oriented to magnetic north, the change from true north to magnetic north did not happen until late in the process. Because all GPS tracks and waypoints entered OCAD by first going through Global Mapper and its files were oriented to true north, it made sense to keep a true-north version of the map until near the time the map was final. Magnetic north lines were put on the map early on so that traditional field checking techniques could be used at the same time as using the GPS. Smoothing of the contours was also done late in the process so that positioning templates would be simple.

18. Rootstocks were divided into three classes for the final map
Rootstocks were divided into three classes for the final map. I simply added two non-standard rootstock symbols – a half brown, half purple one for medium sized rootstocks and an all purple one for small rootstocks. The brown X was used only for larger rootstocks. There was never any intention of including anything but the larger rootstocks in the final map; however, a map like this one was given to the course setter so he could avoid choosing a rootstock control location in an area that had a lot of smaller (and therefore confusing) rootstocks. You might compare this image to the 2009 map; you will notice that some rootstocks from were not large enough to stay on the final map.

19. This is the OCAD map as it was printed; note the color differences from previous slides. The map was to be laser printed from a .pdf file and various colors needed to be adjusted to try to get the printed colors to approximately match the standard ones (as shown in the PrintTech examples from IOF). There was some trial and error testing to get the colors closer to the standard. The OCAD files were converted to .pdf files using OCAD 10 Viewer.

20. The course setters both had access to Condes for setting the courses; but WPOC did not have a Condes license. All we could work with was the non-licensed version; this limited what we could do to get the course on the final map. The non-licensed Condes was used to export an OCAD file for each course; here we see the brown course. Note that the line and circle breaks area also exported.

21. Then in OCAD, each course was imported into a clean copy of the Keystone map file. By selecting the course, it was then possible to move it as a whole into its proper place on the map. Note: before importing the course file, a color adjustment had to be made to the Condes generated OCAD file; basically this was to equate the notion of “Purple” for the two files.

22. Here the brown course has been moved into place
Here the brown course has been moved into place. The file is ready to print. Course descriptions were not printed on the map; only a licensed version of Condes could have been used to do that. So, each course’s descriptions were transcribed into Clue.

23. This is the Clue course description for the brown course.