I’m using the Everytrail ( free) on my iPhone, Does take a lot of battery to have it run all day.
One of my trails as I’m learning how to use this
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1687016&code=650123cfbea517beae9f8d5631e762c1
As much and as far as you ride, PH, you might be better off with a GPS receiver…one that you can put fresh batteries in when/if it dies out on the trail.
“Libby’s Loop” looks like a beautiful place to ride.
To make a “trail map” from EveryTrail (or Google Earth), (1) I zoom in until each portion of the trail is legible, (2) then hit PrtScr, then paste (Ctrl + V or Edit, Paste) into PhotoShop or Pixlr.com (free) and (3) crop out the peripheral stuff (or paste in and connect together more zoomed in, cropped aerial shots to make a complete map)–then print it out, (4) be sure to “save as” a .jpg
For Step 2, you can skip the PS or Pixlr programs and convert .png files (and other formats) to .jpg by either using “PrtScr” and/or right-click, and then pasting into a word processing file (MS Word or OpenOffice, for instance), then right-click on the image and use the drop down menu to “save as” a .jpg
I’ve found that I need to zoom in to about 2 mile sections in order to be able to follow a trail from the aerial shot.
Barbaric, perhaps, but this has served its purposes for me. Saves having to buy a costly surveyor’s GIS program that would easily convert gpx files to aerial jpgs.
Even though I have a “smart phone” on which I could view EveryTrail, Google Maps or my .jpg map creations, it’s difficult to see the detail and bothersome to keep zooming in and out; looking at a 8 1/2" by 11" image is so much easier on my eyes and cuts down on the stoopidsmartphone frustration, and saves phone battery charge too.
[QUOTE=HorsingRound;6488138]
As much and as far as you ride, PH, you might be better off with a GPS receiver.[/QUOTE]
I have a GPS and used it extensively when I used to put on CTR and Endurance rides. But now days, I don’t want to carry any anything extra. I do carry a point and shoot camera and my cell phone and think that is enough.
If I was going for an over nighter or something longer than 6-7 hours, I’d take the GPS. But most the time I don’t care, It’s more just for the mileage see how far I wandered. I’m not using the programs to find where I am at, or which way I need to go. Or even to show others where I’ve been.
I am part of a team persuing a trails RFP, which will be decided in a couple weeks. If my team wins, I will be able to get help from their GIS expert (darn good thing). In emailing with the BCN owner, he wrote that BCN uses GPX or KML files, which are easily transfirable to most software. I will need to import these individual trail maps into an overall GIS master plan file, which he said could be done fairly easily. He also said BCN does not work well on my Windows XP desktop computer and not on iphones. It is specific for Android phones and Google, and not Microsoft products.
It sounds like using Every Trail to track would be easier all around as it works on iphones or Droids, and is one less step.
