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JUL/AUG 2019
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ART|
TOPO TRAIL MAPS
BY TREVOR CROSTA
I started Topo Trail Maps a little over a year ago out of my garage here in Bend. I grew up
out on the Oregon coast in the small town of Manzanita. I grew up as that hyperactive kid
that always made weird things. I was WAY into legos, building model rockets, and anything
that got me outside. I went to Oregon State to study business & marketing and in the pro-
cess of figuring out college and the “real world”, I sort of lost my artistic side as I focused
more on trying to create other, more business-oriented, ventures.
I met my amazing wife Erica towards the end of college and I followed her as she went
on to further schooling. We ended up living in Las Vegas of all places for a few years so
she could finish up her program. As a result I needed to figure out what to do, so I ended
up working at REI as a bike tech. With no ocean nearby and the REI outdoor inspiration,
I took to mountain biking and hiking as my new outdoor hobbies. As anyone who spends
time out on the trails knows, looking at trail maps is a big part of it. There is something
about maps that’s always fascinating to me. I loved looking at the topography and the
squiggly trail lines, but that’s all they were, lines on a screen…
Fast forward to my wife getting a job in Bend. It was the perfect location to continue my
trail explorations. I was riding bikes more and more and one day, while looking at a trail
on my phone, I realized that while trail networks can look a little crazy and cluttered, if you
isolate a single trail you can really focus on the cool details. The idea started to develop
and I saw how this new style of art that lets you visualize your whole trail experience bet-
ter than a single picture or snapshot alone.
I’d been a steward at the DIY Cave here in
Bend for bit and they had just bought a hobby
laser cutter. I’d had some experience in Vegas
at another makerspace using lasers, so it quick-
ly became my new favorite toy. I realized it was
the exact tool I needed to create my concept. A
while back I remembered seeing a bathymetric
lake map somewhere and so started with that
general concept applied to topography. I quickly
realized contour lines alone were not enough;
if we don’t have a mountain peak or lake, the
average person couldn’t identify a section of
topo, but add in your favorite trail and every-
thing changes. Now you can connect the dots
and get your bearings.
I wanted these maps to be more like art than
just another laser cut widget so I’ve been using
various hardwoods in a way that the natural
grain patterns flow with the contours. Every
map is 100% made by me with support from
Erica. I’ve been through countless versions to
get to where we are now and I will say the first
versions were pretty laughable. Every single
map is now designed completely from scratch.
It’s much more work on the design side but it
keeps things very interesting and lets me dis-
cover trails I’ve never even heard of before! the contours and the final pieces are sanded and finished to bring out the beautiful grain
patterns unique to each piece. The trail inlays are made with contrasting wood colors
and the actual trail line is etched along the path to show as much detail as possible. The
3D maps are assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle with tweezers, time consuming but
very satisfying to put that last piece in! I call them live art because each angle makes the
contours lines and shadows look totally different. overwhelming. It proved the concept and allowed us to upgrade equipment to a much
larger and more powerful industrial CO2 laser. 2019 has been a killer year and we have
pulled off some of our largest custom work yet. We were contacted early on by Ruffwear
and finished a 9’ x 12’ Topo Wall of Crater Lake in their new headquarters. We’ve also
done a custom trailhead map for Trek Bikes Bellingham store and a huge 4’ x 5’ single
panel map of Oakridge in the lobby at Mill Point Dental.
The creation process goes something like this:
once the customer decides on a trail we start
by gathering the corresponding satellite data
and turning it into contour lines for the area.
The trail information is then used to generate
the statistics and trail profile you see at the
bottom of the maps. The design is cleaned up
and digitally rendered which allows all the piec-
es to be fabricated using our laser and other
various hand tools. The trail is then inlayed into 3D maps began as the main focus and what we offer now is the upgraded 2019 version.
All come in a substantial 24” x 30” x 2.5” size and can be ordered in portrait or landscape
orientation with black or walnut professional frame options. These 3D maps are truly one
of a kind and can take several days up to a week to design & assemble by hand. Also recently upgraded for 2019 are our 2D maps. They came about by wanting a more
affordable option that still lets you show off your favorite trail. The design was inspired
by the National Forest signs you see while driving and look absolutely stunning on your
wall. You can choose from three sizes with the original size starting at 19” wide x 16” tall
in multiple color options. The 2D maps still take a long time to design but are quicker to
assemble than the 3D version so we can offer them for less. We’ve had requests for Topo tables, benches, etc. We’ll be adding in ski maps as well
where the lift lines will be inlaid onto the mountain. It’s just so fun to see each map take
shape, the possibilities are endless. The top custom map request we keep getting is for
engagement or marriage maps. If you proposed to your sweetie on the trail we can mark
the exact spot on any of our maps with a heart and date creating the ultimate anniversary
gift!
Last winter we were the featured artist at Sisters Coffee Company and the response was
We’re finally setting up a larger studio with the goal of continually improving each day
while still finding time to hit the trails.
www.TopoTrailMaps.com