Practice your GPS skills on the Midland Railroad Trail - Thurs, Aug 14
GARNA and AHRA have organized a special GPS field event on Friday, August 14. The 3-4 mile loop hike/GPS training will take place along the Midland Railroad Grade near the Collegiate Peaks Overlook/picnic area east of Johnson Village. Beautiful mountains and rugged shallow canyon scenery with sweeping views of the Upper Arkansas Valley are the backdrop for this trip.
This event will begin with short basic GPS field skills training and orientation for the utilization of the GPS and topographic map in the field to locate specific points specified by latitude and longitude locations. A short hike will be defined by three points and the start/finish location. Each team of participants will find their points in a particular order to define the loop hike. All hiking will be done on trails and/or roads and major washes in the area. A USGS 7.5 Minute Series topographic map of the specific hiking area will be provided for each team so that progress on the ground can be followed on the map.
The group will be led by Bob Hickey, AHRA volunteer naturalist. As an amateur geologist and GIS hobbyist, Bob is a true student of all-things geospatial and geological. He is continually building his knowledge of these fields to share with anyone interested. He has led many hikes to explore the rich and diverse geological phenomena of our area, and has led GPS field programs for Mueller State Park. The event will take place from 7:00 until 11:00 a.m. and the cost is $5 for GARNA members and $7 for non-members. Space is limited, pre-registration is required on or before August 12 by visiting garna.org/calendar/gps-midland. For more information, please call GARNA at 539-5106.