nvsteve

Didn't have much of a choice for the Colorado, so I got the Garmin auto mount for it and mounted it to the small dash tray in my '07 Pathfinder.

A big thank you! I was contemplating doing this myself, but just ended up doing smaller sections of UT that I frequent instead. One of the problems I had was getting all of the correct stream data. I had to download pretty much the entire watershed for a couple of areas just to get the streams that should be there as streams. One area, for example, is a narrow canyon that includes Jacob Hamblin Arch. On the Topo2008 and NP West, a stream is shown. Yours didn't pick up the stream, which is a pretty important feature for those of us who rely on water for backpacking. It's much lighter to filter water as you go than to pack in 8 or 9 liters. I don't know enough about getting the stream/water data to offer any solid input, as everything I created has been by following instructions posted elsewhere on creating one's own maps. I'm guessing the NHD database is to blame, if that is where you are getting all your hydro info from. There are so many classifications to choose from... Cartography was my emphasis as both an undergrad & grad student, but that was sooo long ago (at least to me), and none of these great tools existed. I'm sure if I spent more time messing around with things I could get a better understanding of everything, but I'm only plan on doing this sporadically whenever I need more detail in a map. I really appreciate the map & all the effort you are taking to make them, so keep up the good work. I look forward to the CA map.

I emailed them the same question. This was their reply: Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I'd be happy to help you. The maps cannot be taken off of the unit to be viewed on the PC. The only way to get them on the PC is to purchase the DVD. Please let me know if there's anything else I can assist you with. With Best Regards, Debbie B

I really do hope it is possible at some point. I'll have to shoot off an email to Garmin and see what they say. Having the topo software on the unit is great, but it becomes pointless when trying to plan a trip/route.