OFSC Trail Guide

[zoso]

7 minutes ago, Muskoka Man said:

Be done for April

i spit my beer

[Muskoka Man]

Going to stick to the paper maps and the blue sign thingys at the intersections for the start of winter

[Crow]

I was trying the ITG today and found it very slow. Maps don't seem to be fully updated, maybe still waiting on clubs to submit updates?

But compared to the Quebec ITG there is no comparison. It's waayyy better.

I wonder why OFSC couldn't have had their maps done by the same company?

 

Maybe it will be better when the testing is done????

[paulslund]

3 hours ago, Crow said:

I was trying the ITG today and found it very slow. Maps don't seem to be fully updated, maybe still waiting on clubs to submit updates?

But compared to the Quebec ITG there is no comparison. It's waayyy better.

I wonder why OFSC couldn't have had their maps done by the same company?

 

Maybe it will be better when the testing is done????

The Quebec map doesn't show both trail network and trail status so maybe that's why they didn't?

[manotickmike]

Hi Paul!

[Canuck]

Some sites are doing away with Apps and simply improving the mobile (smartphone) experience.

 

Basically, no App - just store url, click (via data or wi-fi) and you're on.

 

The actual trail guide appears to be a work in progress. The App is 'stay tuned'. 

 

Wonder if resources shouldn't be thrown at the website...put the App on hold for now.

 

Chuckled at the 'paper maps'/blue signs approach. Back to the Future.

[Crow]

10 hours ago, paulslund said:

The Quebec map doesn't show both trail network and trail status so maybe that's why they didn't?

Thanks Paul. I got looking at all the other features they had and missed that. DOH!

Seems weird to not have that information. 

[paulslund]

1 hour ago, Crow said:

Thanks Paul. I got looking at all the other features they had and missed that. DOH!

Seems weird to not have that information. 

A member posted last spring (I believe it may have been Slomo?) a detailed outline of how to use the Quebec mapping system.  If I recall there are separate maps to go through depending on if you are routing your trail and looking for which trails are open (I think 3 different sources were needed?  Not sure anymore). It's not a one-stop shop like the OFSC ITG is trying to achieve..

[slomo]

56 minutes ago, paulslund said:

A member posted last spring (I believe it may have been Slomo?) a detailed outline of how to use the Quebec mapping system.  If I recall there are separate maps to go through depending on if you are routing your trail and looking for which trails are open (I think 3 different sources were needed?  Not sure anymore). It's not a one-stop shop like the OFSC ITG is trying to achieve..

Here you go:

 

http://ontarioconditions.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18968-quebec-trails-map-info/

 

I have noticed over the past couple of weeks that certain of the Quebec sources work better in one browser (no consistency) than another, so if a map doesn't show up in one, try loading it in another. I believe that this is due to updating process. Requires a bit of work organizing in your head the various tourism regions - went on a little road tour last August and actually getting treads on the ground in areas in which I was interested helped. Also found the Quebec trail map that allowed your GPS positioning on smart phone (Android) quite serviceable.

 

 

[FROSTYNUTZ]

Tried getting on the regular OFSC Trail Guide, on my laptop, and even getting into the Guide is a PITA.

Last years version worked much better. And I hope they remember, not everyone has a smartphone, so we still need the old laptop version to be easy to use. Hopefully they learn to use the K.I.S.S. theory, at least for the laptop version. If the OFSC expects people to respect the use of the trails, they need to keep a very current real time trail condition status.

[02Sled]

3 minutes ago, FROSTYNUTZ said:

Tried getting on the regular OFSC Trail Guide, on my laptop, and even getting into the Guide is a PITA.

Last years version worked much better. And I hope they remember, not everyone has a smartphone, so we still need the old laptop version to be easy to use. Hopefully they learn to use the K.I.S.S. theory, at least for the laptop version. If the OFSC expects people to respect the use of the trails, they need to keep a very current real time trail condition status.

I can get on it easy enough. What was hard about it for you. I saved it as one of my favourites. Open the browser, click favourites, click OFSC Trail Guide, click agree to terms and conditions and it's there. Pretty common to have to accept terms and conditions. Was that the part that was a pain?

[FROSTYNUTZ]

o2sled, can you post the exact link you used to get there ?

[02Sled]

4 minutes ago, FROSTYNUTZ said:

o2sled, can you post the exact link you used to get there ?

https://trails.evouala.com/ofsc/

 

When I am in the ITG I click on Favourites in the top left tool bar and then add to Favourites. Then it's on the list to choose from when I click on favourites

[FROSTYNUTZ]

That,s the same one I have been trying to use on my laptop. When I open it, it shows many states of the USA, and many other provinces as well, on the screen page. At the top, it asks me to type in a location I,m looking for. Last year, I use to be able to pick the district I was interested in checking out the trails for their status. What am I missing, and why did they change from last year ? The only thing that I didn,t like about the way last years worked was that the trail status wasn,t updated by the various clubs often enough. I would think they should be updated at least one every 24 hrs, during the sledding season.

[02Sled]

I seem to have found an idiosyncrasy on the ITG. On the legend list I selected Food, Fuel, Parking and Restrooms....(didn't know we moved to the US. isn't it the Americans that call them restrooms)  Anyhow... when I zoom in on the Midland area I see

 

 

Then I click on one of #3's (there are two of them) to find out what it is. Since I selected multiple services it would be much better if like most other online tools parking would show as a P, fuel as a gas pump and so on. It now shows #3 as Race Trac Gas.

 

 

Then I zoom in to get a better view of Race Trac Gas, location and what happens. There's another #2 that shows up on the screen that wasn't there until I zoomed in.

 

 

The other #2 on the ITG is The Beacon Food and Fuel Emporium Hwy 400 Port Severn that you see if you zoom out.

[Poo Man]

I'm going to just do what I did last year, save screenshots to my phone and use that if needed.

[02Sled]

17 minutes ago, FROSTYNUTZ said:

That,s the same one I have been trying to use on my laptop. When I open it, it shows many states of the USA, and many other provinces as well, on the screen page. At the top, it asks me to type in a location I,m looking for. Last year, I use to be able to pick the district I was interested in checking out the trails for their status. What am I missing, and why did they change from last year ? The only thing that I didn,t like about the way last years worked was that the trail status wasn,t updated by the various clubs often enough. I would think they should be updated at least one every 24 hrs, during the sledding season.

Are you going to volunteer to do the updates every 24 hours for the club in your area? Don't forget these are volunteers. What you are suggesting is that someone from the club qualified to assess the trails travel all of their trails every day 7 days a week and then report to the district to have them updated on the ITG.

 

You can zoom in by rolling the wheel found in the middle of most mice and if you left click and hold you can drag the image to centre a point on the screen. As for the districts you can still do that. There is a drop down in the top right corner that allows you to select a district or a loop and change the map view.

 

[FROSTYNUTZ]

Thanks for the updates. Not qualified to provide trail updates. Maybe each club can get some some techy guys to check out the trail conditions via satellite and update them. LOL

[02Sled]

7 minutes ago, FROSTYNUTZ said:

Thanks for the updates. Not qualified to provide trail updates. Maybe each club can get some some techy guys to check out the trail conditions via satellite and update them. LOL

You want consistency and yes qualified to make an assessment based on the standards for the varying trail status. You get one person who thinks that a 12' wide 18"' deep water washout isn't a challenge and says the trail should show green. Or another who doesn't have a problem with clicking rocks all along the trail. The key point is they are all volunteers.... this is not their job. Not all trails are groomed daily so you can't rely on that either for a DAILY update.

[paulslund]

2 hours ago, 02Sled said:

I seem to have found an idiosyncrasy on the ITG. On the legend list I selected Food, Fuel, Parking and Restrooms....(didn't know we moved to the US. isn't it the Americans that call them restrooms)  Anyhow... when I zoom in on the Midland area I see

 

 

Then I click on one of #3's (there are two of them) to find out what it is. Since I selected multiple services it would be much better if like most other online tools parking would show as a P, fuel as a gas pump and so on. It now shows #3 as Race Trac Gas.

 

 

Then I zoom in to get a better view of Race Trac Gas, location and what happens. There's another #2 that shows up on the screen that wasn't there until I zoomed in.

 

 

The other #2 on the ITG is The Beacon Food and Fuel Emporium Hwy 400 Port Severn that you see if you zoom out.

The #2 for Beacon Food and Fuel Emporium are part of the #3 above..  you just zoomed in enough that it can be separated on the map.  The pop up that shows "Race Trac Gas" also says "result 1 of 3 below it..  if you click the right arrow it will scroll through the 3 items at that location...  it just wasn't zoomed in enough to show them separately..

[Muskoka Man]

Can't wait to pull over at the trail Side take my gloves off pull out my phone and play app games .click this.click that 

Sorry I'm staying old school .been sledding for 20 years all over Ontario .never been lost 

[catinental couch]

4 minutes ago, Muskoka Man said:

Can't wait to pull over at the trail Side take my gloves off pull out my phone and play app games .click this.click that 

Sorry I'm staying old school .been sledding for 20 years all over Ontario .never been lost 

I have never been lost either. People keep telling me where to go.

[02Sled]

1 hour ago, catinental couch said:

I have never been lost either. People keep telling me where to go.

Especially my wife

[catinental couch]

45 minutes ago, 02Sled said:

Especially my wife

I don't even know your wife. lol

[Canuck]

I use the  interactive guide to plan trips. 

 

On trail, use of the IAFTG has been limited due to lack of ' follow me' function.

 

Concur with above - paper  trail guides and blue signs (for now)