Trail lines on a map

[joezha]

I'm not sure if this belongs in this section but hopefully you guys can help me out. Im planning on getting the etrex summit hc, it comes with the basemap but not the topo map. For my uses I'm more concerned about trails being marked than elevation changes and things like that. Will the basemap have trails marked on it? What exactly is will a topo map have in addition?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I'm not sure if this belongs in this section but hopefully you guys can help me out. Im planning on getting the etrex summit hc, it comes with the basemap but not the topo map. For my uses I'm more concerned about trails being marked than elevation changes and things like that. Will the basemap have trails marked on it? What exactly is will a topo map have in addition?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give.

 

You can get a preview of what the Garmin Topo maps look like by going here:

 

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=282...597#coverageTab

 

That page should provide any information that you need regarding what is on them.

[+Prime Suspect]

I'm not sure if this belongs in this section but hopefully you guys can help me out. Im planning on getting the etrex summit hc, it comes with the basemap but not the topo map. For my uses I'm more concerned about trails being marked than elevation changes and things like that. Will the basemap have trails marked on it? What exactly is will a topo map have in addition?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give.

The basemap barely has roads on it. Trails? Noooo. Topo maps have some trails. The more specialized the map set, the more likely it is to have trails.

[+rlridgeway]

There is an work-around for putting trails on a Garmin.

This method has some limitations but its how I have put trails on a GPS 76 CSX and I think will work in your unit. Its been awhile since I have done it but this is how I thinks its done.

 

The basic idea is, using your PC , draw a trail with a mapping program , and then exporting the file into the Garmin.

 

This method is a little cumbersome but really not that bad and its all free. After the initial downloads and setup the process shouldn't take no more than 10 minutes

 

First download Google Earth, if you haven't already.

 

Then obtain 24 K topographic maps (which normally has many trails in printed on them) that can be used in Google Earth

I use Google Earth plus a Google Earth add-on called gpsvisualizer to do this. (Both are free)

 

1. Go to www.gpsvisualizer.com and select the Google Earth overlays option

2. In the overlay page select the area you want to have a topo map of. I usually type in a nearby town and state or a prominent place and state. Be sure the USGS Topo maps is chosen in the map menu andKeep the map size under about 15 x 15 KM. Click overlay.

3. You should then get a page which automatically opens that gives you the option to download the overlay

4. Download the overlay on your PC

 

The next stage is to open the overlay in Google Earth and draw the trail in Google Earth

1. Double click the overlay file

2. Google Earth should open to with the overlay. (it may take the overlaya minute or so to appear properly)

3. On the menu bar in GE select "Add" then "path"

4. From here you can name the path and then trace the trail

5. Click OK

6. When finished you will see the file's name in the to the left, in the sidebar.

7. Right click the file and save as a KML.

 

Now send the KML to your Garmin:

 

Download a program called DNR Garmin at: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mis/gis/tools/a.../DNRGarmin.html

 

1. Connect your unit to the PC

2. Make DNR Garmin reconizes your unit

3. Go to "File" then select "Set Projection" the under "Datum" select "WGS 84" and under projections select

"No projections" Select OK (you will not have to repeat this step after the intial setup)

4. Under File select "Load From" then "File"

5. When the Navigation box appears in the "Files of Type" menu select "Google Earth Format" and navigate, select, and the KML file you created.

6. A box should appear select Line

7. From the Menu Bar select upload

8. The file should upload to your unit as a track. Your trail will be called a track in Garminese.

 

There are limitations to how many tracks the Garmin can hold. I think 20, but I may be mistaken.

Edited April 4, 2009 by rlridgeway

[+gelfling6]

Not all topo maps have the trails either.. I just started tinkering with a freeware program called "MyGPS", made by a guy in Italy, loading scanned paper maps from a group's "Walk Book".. After placing a few calibration points, (using the lat/lon on the map itself) I've been able to trace a couple sections of the blazed trails here in Connecticut, export them in GPX format, and import them into programs like EasyGPS, Garmin Mapsource Topo-USA, etc.. for feeding to the various GPSr's I own.

 

Also, I seem to be able to lay out the trails in programs like DeLorme Street Atlas USA, & Microsoft Streets & Trips, and show the Geocaches along them by importing the trail tracks and the Geocache GPX files.

 

Drawback, You're limited by the calibration points (2 at a time..) input is decimal degrees, No minutes. Which requires converting the decimal minutes to decimal degrees. Sometimes end-up with a 80-meter error factor.

 

sometimes, the only calibration points can be on a single longitude or single latitude (instead of a diagonal, a flat line.)..

 

Though not perfect, I've been able to trace-out 80% of the "Metacomet" trail, convert it to a single (zero) altitude track, and be able to follow it like a road map on the GPSr.

 

The home page for MyGPS is http://www.faureragani.it/mygps/indexeng.html

 

Waypoints ant Route points are able to be dynamically created, but track points are only importable (via GPX file or from a GPSr.) Work-around you export a dynamically created route in the native text file format, (CSV style) and chage "RP , xxx ," to "TP , " (change the type, and eliminate the label.). next time you import it, it's now a track file. export as a GPX..

 

I have had Mapsource reject the GPX format from MyGPS though, But a simple load and resave under EasyGPS seems to fix it.

 

I've also found another freeware program to help in calibrating the maps via other points on the map. Microsoft apparently has their own "Map Cruncher" which uses their "Live Earth" SDK. in a side by side, you can place pins on each map that match. then lock, and it tells the lat/lon of those pins. I've been able to tighten the 80-meter error factor down to as low as 9-meters.

 

Map Cruncher can be obtained from

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/red...ts/mapcruncher/

[+Merlin1978]

For what it's worth I have an application on my iPhone called Motion X GPS and the maps this uses have tracks on. I know because we used it all last week.

 

Also has topography, lakes, streams etc. Hope this helps

[+briansnat]

With base maps you are lucky to see roads, never mind trails.

 

Actually few mapping programs show trails, and when they do it is only a small number of long standing trails...and the data is usually stale. For instance National Geographic Topo!, one of the more acclaimed mapping software packages available shows the Appalachian Trail - and it's wrong in many places (miles off in some) because the Appalachian Trail is constantly being re-routed.

 

Trail systems are in a constant state of flux. New trails are constantly being opened and old ones rerouted or closed. Any mapping program that included trail data would be out of date before it hit the store shelves.

 

There are some places online where GPS users send trail data for others to use.

[greenworldfeather]

With base maps you are lucky to see roads, never mind trails.

 

Actually few mapping programs show trails, and when they do it is only a small number of long standing trails...and the data is usually stale. For instance National Geographic Topo!, one of the more acclaimed mapping software packages available shows the Appalachian Trail - and it's wrong in many places (miles off in some) because the Appalachian Trail is constantly being re-routed.

 

Trail systems are in a constant state of flux. New trails are constantly being opened and old ones rerouted or closed. Any mapping program that included trail data would be out of date before it hit the store shelves.

 

There are some places online where GPS users send trail data for others to use.

 

I wouldn't know. This is just for laughs. I own a Magellan Triton 400 and I have a couple of TOPO! maps on mine. Maybe you should get a Magellan or a better Garmin. Thanks and have a great day. gwf