<\/p>\n
In the age of GPS and smartphones that read aloud directions, it can be easy to forget that at one point people had to read and interpret maps, which may not have been updated at the pace of development and expansion.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Geological Survey was established in 1879 with the goal of classifying and mapping public and private lands. Part of the process was the creation of topographic maps that use lines to show the elevation change of a particular feature and give a sense of just how much a mountain towers over the surrounding plains.<\/p>\n
Many of those maps haven\u2019t been updated in decades \u2013 and that\u2019s were Shari Erickson, 45, and her Apogee Mapping, come in.<\/p>\n
Erickson, a native Californian who moved to Colorado in 2008, said she started mapping through a data entry job in Tucson, Arizona, where she input geographical information, such as roads and subdivisions, onto government maps.<\/p>\n
She also was a volunteer for Superstition Search and Rescue in Pinal County, Arizona, and from 2001 to 2006, she focused on updating search and rescue maps to include trails, both official and unofficial, as well as other features the members of the team commonly referenced in the backcountry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of intel that people had in their minds, like a lot of the group would hike all the time and they knew exactly where the trails were and likely campsites, but it was all in their head,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t help new members who didn\u2019t know the terrain as intimately, or when the group collaborated with other organizations, she said.<\/p>\n
The work of combining data sets, pools of geographical and development information drove her to create the one-woman business she runs out of her home in Edgemont Ranch.<\/p>\n
When she started Apogee Mapping eight years ago, Erickson had 45 unique maps. Now, the count is just short of 300 that she offers local retailers or outdoor enthusiasts who seek out her products online.<\/p>\n
Each of the maps contains an average of 15 data sets and it took up to a week to produce each one.<\/p>\n
An example is a map of the Durango area that shows the boundaries of sections of public lands, private inholdings, trails, roads, houses, oil and gas sites, mines, cell phone towers, topographical changes, and campsites and is updated with new developments, such as housing or trail projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what sets my maps apart from other people\u2019s maps. A lot of people just regurgitate the same government data, and I actually sit there and fuss with it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Some data Erickson uses can be simply overlaid, and some she must manually input, essentially drawing roads into the map files using aerial imaging as a basis.<\/p>\n
The practice leaves her with little competition because of the labor costs, she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of man hours for very little reward.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say there is no monetary gain from producing the maps, which she said has grown with her offerings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not enough to pay the mortgage, so right now obviously my husband (Ian Erickson) is paying the big bills,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n