When I moved to Colorado Springs in the early 2000's I was very excited to be living near lots of open spaces and parks, the Pike National Forest and the Rocky Mountains which offer so many recreational opportunities. I am an outdoor enthusiast and fitness-oriented person who strives to be outside in nature, in the fresh air and sunshine, whenever possible, while at the same time getting in my daily cardio. My adventuresome spirit goes into overdrive when I'm discovering new outdoor areas and trails. I love exploring and the excitement of always wondering what's around the next corner. As I began seeking out adventures in my new backyard playground, I became a bit disappointed with the lack of good trail information for the Pikes Peak region. How many times have you been anticipating an exciting new adventure on the trails of Colorado and you can't locate the trailhead? Or you arrive at an unmarked trail intersection with no way of knowing which way to go in order to get to your desired destination? OH...and what about taking those cumbersome trail guide books or large over-sized maps in and out of your backpack over and over again during your trip? Or when you make a paper copy of a map and/or it's textual description prior to hitting the trails and after a little sweat / rain or folding and unfolding this paper map a few dozen times it literally ends up falling apart! Then there are the times when you try to retrieve digital trail data from a trail app only to find out that they don't offer data for that particular trail or the data is incorrect as it was collected by a random trail user who does not always know where they going. In addition, sometimes other digital trail maps only shows data for just that one trail, instead of the entire network of trails that are connected into this trail. Believe me, during all of my trail adventures through the years these types of things happened to me all too often. That is when I decided that there really was a need for better trail maps for Colorado, one of the major outdoor recreation meccas in the U.S.
I started this business in 2011 to better address the needs of hikers, mountain bikers, runners, backpackers and equestrians by developing more detailed, accurate and up-to-date trail maps for Colorado. Trail maps that are better made, more portable, and are available in both water-proof and tear-resistant paper and digital geo-PDF formats. It is also helpful that I have always had a natural, inborn fascination and interest in maps and cartography. I therefore went on to achieve a Master's degree in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) which basically is having the ability to use a variety of computer-generated map layers and their associated tabular data to develop a wide variety of geo-spatial analyses. As you can see, my skills, interests, and passions all aligned perfectly for this business endeavor. This is not just a job for me, but a true labor of love.
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, POCKET PALS has produced the premier trail maps for Colorado. Find out what else makes our trail maps unique by clicking HERE.
I hope to see you all out on the trails and thank you for your business.
Happy Trails!
Julie Raber
