Trail Maps for PN40 GPS

[+sabartolic]

Hope this hasn't already been posted a couple hundred times, but I've been looking for trail maps that have already been made that I could simply load to my GPS to show me where some caches are in relation to pre-existing trails. I do a lot of caching near a state park here in AL but there are several diffrent trail heads that could lead to the same place. I'm always struggling to figure out which one is best... I've sat and studied maps and tried to pinpoint using topographic clues, but when there a dozen mountains and hilltops that all look the same...it gets frustrating.

So, any links or advice would be great. I'm on the verge of simply hiking every single trail and just tracking them and saving them on the unit, but I would prefer an alternative.

Thanks.

[+Mongo1965]

Have you tried some of your local groups? I don't think we have any central areas that we can download trail maps. Right now I am working with our DNR to make some maps of trails around here but this means for the DeLorame I will have to hike the trails and map them myself.

[+sabartolic]

I've been asking around, but I'll keep looking. I believe you and I will be doing the same thing though. Hopefully I will eventually be able to load the track files from the unit onto a new forum post for others to use? May they could start getting spread that way.

[+UncleJohn1]

I have a Delorme PN-60 and I've had the same need for trail maps. I use Open Street Map (www.openstreetmap.org). I export a section from the map on the OSM web page, convert it to .GPX with GPSBabel 1.4.3 (www.GPSBagel.org) and import it into Delorme Topo North America 9.0 (TNA9).

 

In TNA9 the routes are edited. It seems that there is always more than what I need in an exported file from OSM. I have to uncheck the routes that I don't want and save the routes that I do want into an open Draw file in TNA9. When this is all done the new Draw file is synced with the PN-60 and becomes a layer in the PN-60 with the layer of caches downloaded from Geocaching.com as a Pocket Query.

 

This is an involved process but it works. What I have described here is an outilne of the process not a step-by-step description. The result is a layer on the PN-60 map that has labeled trail names and shows the relationship to contour interval lines and geocaches too.

 

I don't have a PN-40. I believe that the PN-40 will show map layers. If this is true then this process will work for you.

 

I hope that this helps.