Originally Posted By: hikermor
When it comes to new tech, I find Google Earth and Google Earth Pro more useful in many situations than a GPS topo map. This is because the most significant failing of the standard USGS 7.5 quadrangles is their historical nature. They frequently do not show roads and other significant cultural features correctly and the location of trails may be ludicrously inaccurate. GE is a very useful adjunct, although you must do your homework before you are in the field.
Google Earth is definitely useful.

The program I use a lot, perhaps even more than GE, is CalTopo). (Actually I use SARTopo, which is the exact same program with a few extra bells and whistles for SAR use.) CalTopo/SARTopo has generally the most up to date trail and road info of anything I've seen. You can use USGS maps as the base, or the CalTopo contours. You can also use satellite imagery as the base. You can even overlay contours on the imagery. For more info see CalTopo: About. In my experience it is an extremely versatile tool for trip planning, making your own maps, displaying GPS tracks, etc etc.

As I mentioned, CalTopo has a satellite imagery layer. However, GE has the advantage that in many areas it has multiple layers of imagery. With GE, you can sometimes find a different vintage of imagery (perhaps from another season) that better shows the features you are interested in. So in that respect GE is better. However, for most mapping functions, CalTopo/SARTopo is my tool of choice.
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