• PINTEREST: PINTEREST ISN'T JUST MOM BLOGGERS WITH INSTA-POT RECIPES AND IKEA HACKS. PINTEREST ACTUALLY HAS A VARIETY OF CONTENT ON ALMOST ANY TOPIC YOU CAN IMAGINE- INCLUDING OFF-ROADING AND OVERLANDING. 

• GOOGLE EARTH: OFTEN TIMES WE WILL FIND A GENERAL AREA THAT WE ARE INTEREST IN GOING AND THEN SPEND HOURS SCANNING GOOGLE EARTH TO FIND CAMPSITES AND LESSER KNOWN TRAILS.

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BEST RESOURCES FOR DETAILED INFORMATION:

• BLOGS/WEBSITES: ONCE YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, DO A GOOGLE SEARCH OF THE LOCATION. WE FIND PERSONAL BLOGS PARTICULARLY HELPFUL, BECAUSE YOU GET SOMEONE'S FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF A LOCATION.

 

BEST RESOURCES FOR CURRENT CONDITIONS:

• AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES: IF THE LOCATION WHERE YOU ARE GOING IS A NATIONAL OR STATE PARK OR MANAGED BY THE NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE OR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, THOSE AGENCIES ARE A GREAT SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON CURRENT CONDITIONS, INCLUDING ROAD AND TRAIL CLOSURES AND RESTRICTIONS. LOOK AT THEIR WEBSITES, AND ALSO GIVE THEM A CALL IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. THE RANGERS AND PEOPLE THAT CARE FOR OUR PUBLICS ARE A WEALTH OF INFORMATION JUST WAITING TO SHARE WITH YOU. THIS IS ALSO THE BEST RESOURCE FOR DETERMINING WHAT RULES OR RESTRICTIONS MAY EXIST IN A LOCATION, SUCH AS FIRE REGULATIONS, RESTRICTED AREAS, ROAD CLOSURES, AND PERMIT REQUIREMENTS.

• SOCIAL MEDIA: SOCIAL MEDIA IS A GOOD WAY TO GET MORE INFORMATION ON THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF A LOCATION FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS PERSONALLY BEEN THERE. WHILE A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T POST IN REAL TIME (ESPECIALLY WHEN THE LOCATION IS REMOTE AND OUT OF RANGE OF RELIABLE INTERNET), BUT DIRECT MESSAGING PEOPLE WHO HAVE POSTED RECENT PHOTOS OF A LOCATION ON SOCIA MEDIA IS AN EXCELLENT TOOL TO GET THE MOST UP TO DATE INFORMATION. 

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BEST RESOURCES FOR SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE RECREATION:

• ROUTE PLANNING AND MAPS:

  • GAIA GPS: WE USE GAIA FOR BOTH CREATING A PLANNED ROUTE BEFORE A TRIP AND ALSO RECORDING OUR TRACKS WHILE WE ARE ON A TRIP. BEFORE A TRIP, WE CREATE THE ROUTE IN THE GAIA GPS APP. ON OUR IPAD. THEN WHILE ON THE TRIP, WE START RECORDING A TRACK. THIS MAKES IT A LOT EASIER TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRAIL AND HEADED TO WHERE WE WANT TO GO BECAUSE WE JUST WATCH THE LITTLE ARROW THAT REPRESENTS OUR LOCATION  AND MAKE SURE THAT IS FOLLOWING THE ROUTE THAT WE CREATED IN ADVANCE. WE DOWNLOAD THE OFFLINE MAP FOR THE AREA OF OUR PLANNED ROUTE BEFORE LEAVING. ANOTHER GREAT FEATURE IS BEING ABLE TO SWITCH BETWEEN LAYERS OF DIFFERENT MAPS IN GAIA GPS, SUCH AS FOREST ROAD MAPS, TOPO MAPS, AND SATELLITE IMAGE MAPS. GAIA GPS ALLOWS YOU TO ADD WAYPOINTS, SO OUR MAPS ARE FILLED WITH POTENTIAL CAMPSITE AND OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST.

  • NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE MAPS: THE NATIONAL FOREST SERVICE HAS MOTOR VEHICLE USE MAPS AVAILABLE ON THEIR WEBSITE, WHICH IDENTIFY ROADS, TRAILS, AND AREAS DESIGNATED FOR VEHICLE USE. WE HAVE MVUM DOWNLOADED ON OUR IPAD FOR THE NATIONAL FOREST AREAS WE VISIT MOST FREQUENTLY.

  • GOOGLE EARTH: WE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED GOOGLE EARTH AS A TOOL TO FIND LESSER KNOWN TRAILS AND POTENTIAL CAMPSITES, BUT THAT ISN'T ALL IT IS GOOD FOR. GOOGLE EARTH CAN BE USED TO ACTUALLY CREATE ROUTES. YOU CAN CREATE A PROJECT IN GOOGLE EARTH A PLOT A ROUTE ON A DIRT TRAIL THAT YOU WANT TO EXPLORE. ONCE YOU FINISH PLOTTING THE ROUTE, YOU CAN EXPORT THE PROJECT AS A KML FILE AND THEN IMPORT THAT FILE INTO AN APP. LIKE GAIA GPS SO YOU CAN FOLLOW THE ROUTE ONCE YOU ARE ON THE ROAD. SOMETIMES ROUTE FINDING CAN BE DIFFICULT WHEN YOU ARE AT GROUND LEVEL, SO KNOWING WHERE THE TRAIL GOES BASED ON GOOGLE EARTH'S SATELLITE IMAGES IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL IN AVOIDING GETTING LOST.

• WEATHER: ALWAYS CHECK THE WEATHER BEFORE YOU HIT THE ROAD. THIS WILL ENSURE THAT YOU PACK EVERYTHING YOU NEED AND ARE PREPARED SO THAT YOU CAN ENJOY YOUR TIME ON THE TRAIL. 

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NOW WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO PLAN A TRIP AND GET OUTDOORS!

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