Measuring waterways
 

Hello paddle people!

I have a question. Is there an app for measuring points on a river/creek? Tom and I paddled Tionesta Creek yesterday. I want to know how far it is from Nebraska Bridge down to the Tionesta Boat Launch on Tionesta Lake. I think this might be a nice trip for the club. The take out has lots of parking and restrooms!

Thanks,

Darla

Basic river mileage
 

approx. 4.2 - 4.3 miles

Google Map... use the measure tool and draw lines down the middle of river. The shorter the line segments the better accuracy.

Pre- "age of GPS" the river mileage was measured using a topo map with a string laid down the middle of the river. The string length was measured against the scale bar on the map. Really no different than using Google Map.

Sometimes you can find an old map with the mileage shown. Most of the new water trail maps have the river miles shown. River miles start at the end of a river or from the confluence with a larger river. To figure the mileage from point to point you have to do a little math.

---KenM

Thanks Ken! The string trick is really cool and it makes sense! I can't wait to try these out!

Measuring wheel
 

Another "tool" we used to use to find river mileage or hiking trail length was a measuring wheel. You rolled the little wheel down the "trail" and it read the distance in inches. Again, you compared that to the scale on the map. This was the "high tech" version of using a string.
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I like to use map my run. It allows you to make turns and follow the river on the map.