There Still Be Dragons: Be Wary of Modern Mapping Devices

At 8,750 feet above sea level, autumn in Telluride, Colorado, is characterized by wild swings in the weather. Last week, it snowed four inches in town, but over the weekend, I went mountain biking in shorts and a t-shirt. Today, it's sleeting. This schizophrenic season catches some trees still clinging to their golden leaves, while others have been bare for weeks. A few elk and deer still nibble in the high country, but most have already descended. Several stray birds are hopping around my front yard, but they won't be here long. It's migration time -- even for people. If you don't ski or enjoy a long snowy winter, it's time to follow the animals to warmer climes.

Historically, the Yuta (later known by Americans as the "Utes") were the first people to migrate in and out of this valley. They came to hunt in the summer and then wintered at lower elevations. The Yuta were the first men to navigate the San Juan Mountains, but the Spanish explorers, who arrived in the second half of the 1700s, were the ones who mapped the mountains and Yuta paths. These Spaniards were intent on pursuing legendary mountains of virgin silver, and maps proved an important tool for treasure seekers.

Telluride's treasures have changed over the years. A town that was once rich in mining ore is now a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts and festival goers, but maps are still an integral part of modern life. The local bookstore is full of guidebooks and topographic maps for adventurers. The atlas is my car is battered from road trips. And with computer technology, we can navigate anywhere with ease. Or can we?

While GPS and geocoding technology is no doubt helpful in some places, it can get you in trouble in the mountains. I've heard tales from visitors who arrived white knuckled in Telluride after their website of choice guided them here via a gnarly 4WD road in their Ford Fiesta rental car. A Blackberry's directions, for example, will offer the "fastest route" or "shortest route" between Telluride and nearby Durango. Both options lead over Ophir Pass, a rocky mining road that rises to nearly 11,800 feet and boasts consequential drop offs. It is closed in the winter -- buried under feet of snow -- but, regardless of the season, it's not the route of choice for a passenger car.

Medieval cartographers drew fantastical mythical creatures at the edges of their known world to indicate the dangers beyond. Now that we know the world is round and exactly what lies around every corner, lions and dragons no longer decorate the borders of our maps. But maybe these illustrations should be incorporated into cell phones, mapping websites and GPS devices. Unless you've got migratory paths ingrained in your DNA -- there still be dragons.

Follow Lise Waring on Twitter: www.twitter.com/VisitTelluride

Comments

[Jamie Starr - Huffpost Blogger]

So very true Lise. In recent (technology aided) years there have been a lot of issues in Crested Butte with people trying to get to Aspen. As you know, the summer route is over Kebler Pass, and the winter route is through Gunnison. But Google Maps prescribes neither of these routes--it suggests the Pearl Pass route. Pearl Pass is the most direct way, no doubt; problem is, it goes directly over the Maroon Bells, and is barely passable for snowmobiles in the winter and dirt bikes in the summer. Walk it in the summer and you'll have one of the best hikes of your life; drive it ANYTIME and be prepared for - at a minimum - an anxiety attack.

Here's the Google Maps route (do not follow this):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Crested+Butte,+CO&daddr=W+Hallam+St+to:Aspen,+CO&hl=en&geocode=%3BFbAQVgId9OOh-Q%3B&mra=ls&via=1&sll=39.023555,-106.893785&sspn=0.562248,1.172791&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=10

[Ariadne]

My husband and I, on the advice of a "friend" drove from Lake City to Silverton via a so-called short cut that took us over Cinnamon Pass in a Plymouth Champ. It was in late June on our way to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. It was absolutely harrowing and was still being plowed out. The guys doing the plowing pulled us out of a stream bed and chuckled at our gullibility and our vehicle. We were very grateful despite the teasing. The rest of the ride was terrifying with enormous drop-offs and hair-pin curves but we eventually made it. Unforgettable.

[cedy]

I love a lot of technology, but when a computer tells me what to do, there are going to be problems. I've heard of stories where a guy goes to a Taco Bell and the cook cannot make a taco without the little screen telling him to. I understand that, that is how the staff is trained, but that is silly.

It is becoming more and more common to see things fall apart when the technology falls to do it's job.

It's not that the technology is bad, but that we now depend on it.

The saying that computers make wonderful slaves, but horrible masters has never rung truer.

[Jim Thomas - Huffpost Blogger]

Love it! I've driven Ophir in a 4x4, in the summer, for the journey and not a destination. Unfortunately modern mapping isn't much better even in Denver. Google maps receently insisted that my route should use a road that was closed a few years ago. Glad I know how to read a map.