Canoeing with GPS - 60CSx

[sreutzel]

If anyone can help me, I would greatly appreciate it. I bought a 60CSx (first handheld GPS I've owned or used) and used it for the first time last weekend. I have U.S. topo 2008 successfully installed. I've read the instruction book thoroughly and have a question that I thought would be a basic GPS operation.

 

We went canoeing on the Clarion River in Western PA. We had a paper map and had a decent idea of the amount of miles we were trying to do each day between campsites. I thought I could set my GPS to follow the river we were paddling in the same way we would use our car GPS to follow a road, but could not find any way to do this. Our purpose was to know not just how many miles we had traveled, but to know how many miles were ahead of us to our target destination. Because the river bends back and forth continuously, the miles to destination meant nothing to us (it only gave a straight line measurement). I would assume these same issues would be desired by hikers and mountain bikers.

 

Also, I've seen that Garmin has some kind of trails and streams or something map available. Can anyone tell me if there is really an advantage to buying additional maps other than the topo 2008?

 

Thanks a lot for any help you can give!

 

Steve

[+Waterlogged]

Hi Steve,

 

I have not had a chance to try my 60Csx out on the canoe yet as too family too young for me to get away at the moment, so lucky you.

 

If you turn your record track function on you will have an acurite trip log of each day to down load back to Mapsourse or reset your trip meter on the GPSr each day. You may need to play around to get it right as not sure myself.

 

The only way I can think of creating a routable track that follows the creek, is to trace the creek in Mapsourse and then sent the track to your 60Csx, then use the follow track function.

 

Not sure about routable topo maps as we don't have any for Down Under, yet.

 

Cheers

Gavin

 

 

 

If anyone can help me, I would greatly appreciate it. I bought a 60CSx (first handheld GPS I've owned or used) and used it for the first time last weekend. I have U.S. topo 2008 successfully installed. I've read the instruction book thoroughly and have a question that I thought would be a basic GPS operation.

 

We went canoeing on the Clarion River in Western PA. We had a paper map and had a decent idea of the amount of miles we were trying to do each day between campsites. I thought I could set my GPS to follow the river we were paddling in the same way we would use our car GPS to follow a road, but could not find any way to do this. Our purpose was to know not just how many miles we had traveled, but to know how many miles were ahead of us to our target destination. Because the river bends back and forth continuously, the miles to destination meant nothing to us (it only gave a straight line measurement). I would assume these same issues would be desired by hikers and mountain bikers.

 

Also, I've seen that Garmin has some kind of trails and streams or something map available. Can anyone tell me if there is really an advantage to buying additional maps other than the topo 2008?

 

Thanks a lot for any help you can give!

 

Steve

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

The only way I can think of creating a routable track that follows the creek, is to trace the creek in Mapsourse and then sent the track to your 60Csx, then use the follow track function.

 

Or you may be able to download a track someone else has recorded of the same trip. try doing a search for river name + .gpx.

[sreutzel]

The only way I can think of creating a routable track that follows the creek, is to trace the creek in Mapsourse and then sent the track to your 60Csx, then use the follow track function.

 

Or you may be able to download a track someone else has recorded of the same trip. try doing a search for river name + .gpx.

 

Thanks, I will try both of these options. Either way though, the legwork has to be done from my computer at home before I ever leave for a trip. If i'm out on a canoe or bike or hike and see an alternate route I'm considering exploring that is not part of my original plan, there is no way for me to choose a "follow trail" type option to find distance while I am already in the field? I'm new to this, so obviously my expectations were wrong, but I thought that was a big part of the purpose of the GPS, route planning instead of just hindsite record keeping.

 

I do appreciate the advice. As long as I can plan my trips exactly and don't veer away from them (which is probably doable most of the time), these give me options at least that will help me out a lot.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

[CenTexDodger]

The only way I can think of creating a routable track that follows the creek, is to trace the creek in Mapsourse and then sent the track to your 60Csx, then use the follow track function.

 

Or you may be able to download a track someone else has recorded of the same trip. try doing a search for river name + .gpx.

 

Thanks, I will try both of these options. Either way though, the legwork has to be done from my computer at home before I ever leave for a trip. If i'm out on a canoe or bike or hike and see an alternate route I'm considering exploring that is not part of my original plan, there is no way for me to choose a "follow trail" type option to find distance while I am already in the field? I'm new to this, so obviously my expectations were wrong, but I thought that was a big part of the purpose of the GPS, route planning instead of just hindsite record keeping.

 

I do appreciate the advice. As long as I can plan my trips exactly and don't veer away from them (which is probably doable most of the time), these give me options at least that will help me out a lot.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

 

The short answer is no. In order for a GPS to do routing, you must have routeable maps. Topo 2008 is not routeable. The new Topo 24K maps are routeable on road and trails. AFAIK, Garmin does not make a mapset with routeable streams.

[yogazoo]

Hmmm, Routable Streams...

 

That sounds like an excellent project for some ambitious Garmin Mapmaker. One could use the NDH for the entire US and make a routable stream transparent map. But, of course you would have to own the version of CGPSMapper that allows you to route.

 

WOW, what a cool concept! A routable map of streams and rivers (using "artificial paths" for rivers) to allow boaters and fisherman the ability to route on the water body.

 

Alright who's up for it? I'd do it but I don't own that version of CGPSMapper.

 

It might be better not to color the streams in the routable layer. Color them transparent with a special TYP file and build the map to be transparent. Just a thought.

Edited April 28, 2009 by yogazoo

[+sodajerk]

A article published in the Dallas Observer this week (April 22, 2009) is about a reporter and his son canoeing down the Neeches River. The article is about how the City of Dallas wants to dam up part of the river, but as a side view (and the point of my reply) is how they got lost even with a GPS. His conclusion was to read the river instead if following the GPS. He did not say what kind of receiver and maps.

 

I surely would use all available resources if I was taking a trip like that. Have fun.

[+Red90]

Alright who's up for it? I'd do it but I don't own that version of CGPSMapper.

 

It might be better not to color the streams in the routable layer. Color them transparent with a special TYP file and build the map to be transparent. Just a thought.

 

It could be done. You just need to publish them on Mapcenter to make them routable. No need to own the routing version.

[yogazoo]

Thanks for the MapCenter suggestion Red90! Ive got to make sure the polyline nodes are all connected but after that I'll be posting one for Montana!

 

Ohh BOY I can't wait!!!!!

[+Red90]

Yah, my trail maps are routable.

 

It can take some work if the base map does not have coincident nodes at the intersection.