Hey everyone,

I've been using Google Earth a lot recently for hiking related pursuits. If you aren't familiar with it, it's a mapping program that generates a 3D relief view you can move around in and pan, swivel, zoom, etc. Google Earth Download (Free)

I've been using it to first spot trails through the trees, then to identify distant ridges, parks, and mountains. This is one of the most useful features for me. I can stand at a vista point in reality and memorize the terrain layout (or take some pictures), noting especially distinctive ridges, hilltops, mountains, etc. Later at home I will load up Google Earth, find the vista point I was standing at earlier, tilt the view to 'look' where I was seeing in reality, and then move to a distinct ridge in the distance. It let me find out what's around the ridge or peak, the name of it, potential trails or parks, and distance measurements. Sometimes there are pictures from public photo collections and Wikipedia articles.

I've found a lot of fascinating things like reservoirs, trails to hills a few miles distant, creeks, and even a potential very long route to Mt. Diablo, a local landmark. I've hiked to several of these features, it's a great thing to get a glimmering of something in Google Earth and then walk to see the reality of it! You can also use the ruler to measure distances; I could see about 40 miles two days ago, to a short mountain in the north. You also can measure altitude and position exactly, under the mouse cursor.

Finally, I just started overlaying hiking maps from my local parks onto the terrain provided in Google Earth. It's a pain to get right, but lets you see the trails otherwise hidden or not shown.

Anyone else use GE (Google Earth)?