Resources

This is a list of tools and resources that I have found useful in planning various adventures. Updated occasionally.

My Western Webcam and Weather Map – I made this to quickly get weather and an on-the-ground look at areas that I frequent across the west. EDIT: This no longer works due to the death of gmap4


Trip Planning
Americansouthwest.net – A comprehensive resource for points of interest in the southwestern USA.
How Far Can I Go? – A nice way to see where you can visit within a given time frame.
US Campgrounds interactive map – ❤️Interactive map displaying developed campgrounds in the US. Very useful for figuring out where to sleep 🙂

Maps and Mapping
Gmap4 – ❤️❤️My favorite web-based interactive mapping solution. Various topo maps and google maps all in one place. Plan, draw, tag, import, export, embed etc. Indispensable.
Accuterra Preview – Good for locating BLM land and identifying land parcel ownership
Cal Topo – Another great interactive topographic map. Print, view, plan etc.
National Geographic Topo PDFs – Print your own topo maps!
National Strava Heatmap – Can be useful for trail finding

Essential Google Earth Overlays
Earth Point Topo Map Overlay for Google Earth
Nat Geo Topo Overlay for Google Earth
BLM Land Overlay Generator for Google Earth (updated August 2017)

Weather and Atmosphere
GOES West Satellite Imagery – ❤️A great resource to see looping satelite imagery from GOES.
NOAA Hazard Mapping Smoke and Fire – ❤️A great resource to quickly check out atmospheric aerosols and smoke.
NOAA View Global Data Explorer – An interactive map where you can explore a range of data sets.
NOAA Area Forecast – ❤️Interactively define an area and get a precise weather forecast for that location.
Intellicast interactive weather map – My favorite interactive weather map with radar, satellite, etc.
Clear Skies Chart – ❤️❤️Great for predicting haze, cloud cover, visibility and darkness in one place.
US Air Quality – Good way to get an idea of air quality / visibility of a given location.
US Wildfire Interactive Map – Useful resource for planning around wildfires.
Inciweb – Good resource for keeping track of wildfires
NASA Earth Observatory – NASA Satellite Imagery of various weather and atmospheric phenomena
Sunset WX – Sunset Prediction!
NOAA Snow Analytics – What is the snowpack like?

Tools for Astrophotography
Moon Phases Calendar – Current moon phase.
Light pollution interactive map – ❤️Useful for finding areas with dark skies for astrophotography.
Blue Marble Night Lights – Another resource for finding dark skies.
Light Pollution Map – Yet another resource for finding dark skies.

Useful Webcams
Sierra Cam Network

Useful Android Apps
Orux Maps
Backcountry Navigator
Google Sky Map

Misc
Census Eplorer