Rush Creek Wilderness Trail - neogeography

The Rush Creek Wilderness Trail is possibly the world's first computationally derived, unofficial public wilderness trail. It traverses the backcountry of far northeastern California, extending to near the border with Nevada. It was first "discovered" by a generative locative media computer algorithm called a "virtual hiker" that pre-explored the landscape by "hiking" through a virtual landscape consisting elevation data. The virtual hiker found a traversable hiking path between the trailhead and the terminus, both of which were very much arbitrarily chosen by Brett Stalbaum, the author of many virtual hiker algorithms for C5 Corporation. The results of the virtual hiker's exploration produce a tracklog (computer file) which can be uploaded to a GPS device and then followed by a real hiker through the actual landscape. There is no "trail" per se, only a rugged overland backcountry track that can be followed with the assistance of a GPS device. The trail provides beautiful views of the Great Basin desert environment, plentiful wildlife viewing opportunities, and the unique experience of comparing the wayfinding abilities of a virtual hiker to your own wayfinding skills and intuition. A locative media, new media art project.

The Rush Creek Widerness Trail has shown at Futuresonic 2006, 20-23 July 2006, Manchester, UK, and at CADREXXX at ISEA 2006,
During ISEA2006 Symposium/Zerone (Aug.7-13, 2006). See www.paintersflat.net

This is not gps drawing, but rather the other way, as in, being animated by database and gps.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• outdoor
• nature
• wilderness
• landscape
• gps
• art
• earthworks
• landart
• locative
• media
• neogeography
• virtual
• hiker
• land art