Comments on: Sharing Tracklogs http://eric.jain.name/2009/11/12/sharing-tracklogs/ Eric Jain's Blog Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:27:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Eric Jain http://eric.jain.name/2009/11/12/sharing-tracklogs/comment-page-1/#comment-57 Eric Jain Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:40:56 +0000 http://eric.jain.name/?p=68#comment-57 I now use the free Northwest Topo maps a lot, and submit corrections when I notice major discrepancies with the trails on the maps. But I don't see that as a substitute for publishing the raw tracklogs, which document a trip in detail, including detours I might have had to take (e.g. because a river was too high to cross at the official location), how long it took me to get from one place to another, where I missed a junction and had to backtrack, etc. Also, keep in mind that not all hiking is done on trails (especially in winter). I now use the free Northwest Topo maps a lot, and submit corrections when I notice major discrepancies with the trails on the maps. But I don’t see that as a substitute for publishing the raw tracklogs, which document a trip in detail, including detours I might have had to take (e.g. because a river was too high to cross at the official location), how long it took me to get from one place to another, where I missed a junction and had to backtrack, etc. Also, keep in mind that not all hiking is done on trails (especially in winter).

]]> By: Samat Jain http://eric.jain.name/2009/11/12/sharing-tracklogs/comment-page-1/#comment-55 Samat Jain Sat, 04 Dec 2010 05:58:26 +0000 http://eric.jain.name/?p=68#comment-55 For casually sharing GPS tracklogs, I like to use <a href="http://gpsies.com/" rel="nofollow">GPSies</a>. It's very "Web 2.0"-ey, and allows export of tracks to KML, GPX, etc. E.g. see <a href="http://www.gpsies.com/mapUser.do?username=tamasrepus" rel="nofollow">my trekking around southern New Mexico</a>. It's not particularly easy to find "real" tracks on GPSies, which moves onto my next point… How useful is a raw GPS tracklog, by itself, anyway? Often, they contain too much noise (wandering off trail, walking over here and there, etc) to really be useful to other people. What is more useful is a map. To that end, I recommend submitting your tracks to <a href="http://openstreetmap.org/" rel="nofollow">OpenStreetMap</a>. OpenStreetMap does not (yet) coalesce GPS tracks into a "best" route, but it does allow users to trace over tracks to create maps, maps that can be structurally and semantically encoded properly (e.g. you can easily indicate the surface type of a trail), and, best of all, be available to the world with a free and open license (currently CC-BY-SA 2.0, soon to be ODbL). For casually sharing GPS tracklogs, I like to use GPSies. It’s very “Web 2.0″-ey, and allows export of tracks to KML, GPX, etc. E.g. see my trekking around southern New Mexico. It’s not particularly easy to find “real” tracks on GPSies, which moves onto my next point…

How useful is a raw GPS tracklog, by itself, anyway? Often, they contain too much noise (wandering off trail, walking over here and there, etc) to really be useful to other people. What is more useful is a map.

To that end, I recommend submitting your tracks to OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap does not (yet) coalesce GPS tracks into a “best” route, but it does allow users to trace over tracks to create maps, maps that can be structurally and semantically encoded properly (e.g. you can easily indicate the surface type of a trail), and, best of all, be available to the world with a free and open license (currently CC-BY-SA 2.0, soon to be ODbL).

]]> By: redtrails http://eric.jain.name/2009/11/12/sharing-tracklogs/comment-page-1/#comment-42 redtrails Thu, 08 Apr 2010 03:02:40 +0000 http://eric.jain.name/?p=68#comment-42 Redtrails is not based on Northwest Trails, but rather the opposite is more true. Redtrails is not based on Northwest Trails, but rather the opposite is more true.

]]>