Google Maps in the Backcountry

Google has shown us the street view in 3,000 cities of 43 different countries.  Now the Google Street View team are headed into the backcountry to show us the depths of the Grand Canyon.  Craig Robinson and James Hoffacker along with the Google Trekker are hiking the Bright Angle trail to bring accurate images of the trail to anyone online.

The Trekker is a new piece of equipment for Google, who previously had only used cars, tricycles and snowmobiles for their street-view images.  The Trekker, weighing in at 40 lbs., looks like a miniature Eiffel tower with a soccer ball stuck onto the top, and sits just above Hoffacker’s head as he carries it on his back.  It is made up of 15 camera lenses and shoots a photo every 2.5 seconds.  Everything is controlled by an HTML5 app running on a USB-attached Android phone called Trekker Interface. The app allows Googlers to not only start up the rig (which takes about 10 minutes in good weather) but also to see the shots they’re getting shortly after photos are snapped, for a bit of quality control.

These maps won’t include information about the weather or changes in the trail, but they will be panoramic.  Maureen Oltrogge, who runs public affairs for Grand Canyon National Park, is concerned that these maps will encourage people to wander into the wild with nothing more than a cell phone.  She said, “I think it’s an excellent idea to give people a broader perspective on what they’re getting into. What the images won’t tell visitors is how much water they should carry down the trails, how to prepare for temperature changes, what type of food to bring and how much, and how best to protect the natural resources.”

“It’s really important if you are going to be taking any kind of hike, to check in with our backcountry office, to do the research, to just come prepared,” Oltrogge states.