Unlostify - Jeffrey McMurtrie is back!
It’s no April Fools joke. Jeff is making paddling maps again! Forming a new company - “Unlostify”, with a dedicated business partner, Jeff has released a bunch of new maps online! Physical maps will be made available very soon and with many new features, some that will surprise you!
The online versions of the maps are the best yet Jeff has ever made. Jeff has made the maps so clean and easy to look at that I doubt anyone could ever get lost using these maps. Canoe routes are now colour-coded to indicate level of difficulty. This can be real handy if you are worried about a route that has many contour lines yet are un-sure of what actual ‘on the ground/water’ expectations could be.
Travel time indicators are also neatly displayed along every portage and canoe route. Not knowing what those colour-coded boxes were I studied the new legend (Which is very easy to grasp). Almost immediately I familiarized myself with the new system that Jeff has implemented in his maps. I must admit I like the old system, where approximate times were written down. Now I have to read symbols and convert them to minutes in my head, a little more work than I think should be needed in reading a map, but that’s just me.
“Owl Vision” is a new feature of the map, where hard to see compact & complicated areas of a canoe route are magnified for one to clearly see what is going on. A new spin on an old format; the zoomed window.
The POIs (Points of Interest) feature in the map is really handy; Want to know where to go to look for geological features? Moose viewing? Even ruins? No problem, the maps clearly have these depicted in all the maps.
Portages! Yes, I know, many cringe at that word, I don’t for the most part, as I look forward to traversing through the forest. However it is handy to know beforehand what one might face along a portage. i.e. Is it steep? Are there any low water extensions to possibly deal with? Is it even signed? All these and more can be answered at a glance under the new portage markings seen on the maps. The all new map legend is clearly and cleanly laid out. I think everyone is going to love the new legend system on Jeff’s Unlostify maps.
There’s more: The physical maps will have “glow-in-the-dusk” ink! The sun is going down and you can’t find your headlamp and you need to read the map? No problem, these new maps will guide you there in the dim light of twilight.
But wait! Where was I going, what was the plan for my trip? Easy, flip over the map to the “Plan Map”. Wait! What? Yeah that’s right, the ‘Plan Map’. Each map now has two maps… why not? There are two sides to paper so why not utilize them to your advantage. Each map has a “Trip Map” and a “Plan Map”. The plan map has a whiteboard coating! In this way you can sketch out your route. I have to check with Jeff, but I assume that this will be erasable, provided you don’t use permanent markers. But how awesome is that? Finally, a map that can be used over and over again. Genius!
Jeff has told me that he hopes to have a new Algonquin Park map out by the fall, possibly later. I can’t wait of course. until then, I think I’ll order the Kawartha Highlands Map. Can’t wait to get it. Haven’t been this excited about a map in a long time.
unlostify.com is the web site address to explore and order maps online. Currently, Jeff has four maps on offer; French River, Killarney, Kawartha Highlands and Massasauga. More maps are to come in the future, including Algonquin Park.
blog comments powered by Disqus