Then the trail data disappeared from the GIS server.
Apparently USFS management was clueless that anyone who (1) knew the address ("endpoint") for the GIS server and (2) had GIS client software, could display (gasp!) the trail data.
I have seen the trail data. Is it perfect? No, of course not - and it never will be. Is it more right than wrong? Absolutely!
Certainly the USFS could provide that data to the USGS so many more trails could be included on the new digital topos but so far the USFS has refused to do so.
Naturally I filed a FOIA for this trail data and naturally it was denied. My FOIA appeal is currently pending before the USFS Chief.
Here's a bit of good news. Before the trail data disappeared from the GIS server I downloaded the data for trails in the national forests in WA, OR and CA. I then processed that data with some custom code to make it more useful and produced a series of trail maps with mileages. If you are curious you can visit the Gmap4 examples page and look down just a bit for the link to the national forest maps. http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4_examples.html
Joseph, the Gmap4 guy
And the trails are in the layer "Map Frame -> Transportation -> Road Features".
And the Trail names are present in the layer "Map Frame -> Transportation -> Road Names and Sheilds".
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Still, it's nice. But a lot of mapping/trail apps will probably still be charging you money to download topo maps, since it's a significant source of revenue. Topo maps have actually been available for free for a long time; it's just really god damn aggravating trying to put them on your device and load them into your program of choice. Plus, the new PDF format sounds incompatible with old apps.