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| Gem Trek Publishing is the only company that specializes in producing detailed maps of the Canadian Rockies. We're based in Cochrane, Alberta, about 20 minutes northwest of Calgary. Map orders, map-making and administration is all done out of our office, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies. | |
| How We Got Started | |
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We got into map publishing almost by accident. In 1989, we opened Map Town, a retail map and travel book store, in downtown Calgary. Soon we were deluged by requests for recreational maps of Kananaskis Country, since all that was available were the out-dated government topographic maps. We responded with two manually-drafted 1:50 000-scale maps in 1992 - the Spray Lakes and Kananaskis Lakes maps, both of which are now collector's items. From there, we expanded our range of topographic maps to include Lake Louise, Banff, Jasper and Kootenay National Park. Concurrently with our recreational maps, we have developed our touring maps that now extend west to Vancouver Island, south to Northern Washington and north to Edmonton. To date, we have 15 maps on our product list. |
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| How We Make Our Maps | |
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We do everything on computer now. After we've selected the area we want, we start in AutoCad, digitizing the roads, drainage, contour lines and so on, all on different layers. We supplement that with aerial photographs, aerial survey and lots of on-the-ground research and proofing as well as consultation with the Parks. |
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| Who's Who | |
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Denice McKinnon Denice is the pleasant voice on the end of the phone when you call. Her talents also extend to keeping our accounts in order, helping with sales and marketing and assisting in production. After a busy day in the office, she goes home to her two young lively kids. |
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Louise Hodgson-Jones Louise is our sales and marketing leader. She coordinates sales and distribution in the parks, and is our PR liaison with the media and the tourism industry. A qualified YMCA Strength & Conditioning instructor, she likes hiking and running with her dog Shadow. |
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Doug Shaw Doug is our mapmaker. He works on revised and new editions of maps on AutoCAD, and when necessary conducts research in the field with GPS. He knows the parks well, particularly Jasper, where he often spends weekends cross-country skiing and telemarking. |
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Donna Nelson Donna heads up our operations in Cochrane. She handles the day to day running of the office, as well as getting involved with the hands-on production of the maps. Very knowledgeable about the parks, she likes to spend her weekends hiking. Donna is co-owner of Gem Trek Publishing with her husband, Roger. |
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Roger Nelson Roger founded Gem Trek Publishing. He works out the kinks in the digital map-making and is the computer whiz behind the 3-D relief shading. When he isn't coming up with leading-edge ideas, he enjoys finding new adventure sports to fill his leisure time. |
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Last Update: Thursday December 16, 1999 © Copyright 1999 Gem Trek Publishing |
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Gem Trek Publishing P.O. Box 1618, #6, 245 - 2nd Ave. E. Cochrane, Alberta Canada T0L 0W0 |
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Phone: Fax: E-mail: |
(403) 932-4208 (403) 932-4893 maps@gemtrek.com |