I am a member of a horseback trail riding club and have decided that it would be nice to get a handheld GPS system that we could use to make maps of the trails we ride. I would like to be able to take the GPS with me as I ride, then download the record of where we went, trail junctions, etc. to my PC in a format that could be shared with others or posted on the web. My question is, how sophisticated of a GPS unit would I need to do such a thing? A quick search of the web shows me that Garmin, Magellan, and Lowrance all seem to have a variety of products available, but the feature set I would require is not so obvious (at least not to me). Do I need a “mapping” system to produce maps (as opposed to loading ready-made maps, which is what they seem to be made for)? What additional software would I need? HELP!
Almost all GPS’ will produce the “trail of breadcrumbs” tracks that you need to produce your trail maps. Differences will lie in the number of points that you can record and maybe frequency of sampling. Note that GPS receivers are not at their best in the woods and sometimes lose the signal. Combine the stored track with a Topo map (e.g. National Geographic or others) or even Google Maps and you’ll have your trail map. While I prefer a mapping GPS, for your needs, you might even be able to get away with a fairly low-end Garmin or Magellan.
The nice thing about a mapping GPS is that you could, in theory, download a map that you or someone else created and follow it (rather than just following a series of waypoints which may not help if you stray off the path)
And after you get it and are used to it, go visit the two big geocaching sites.
www.Geocaching.com is more of a “quantity” site and www.Terracaching.com is more of a “quality” site. Both are dedicated to the sport of geocaching, they just go about it in different ways. TC requires sponsorship and I would be happy to be one of your sponsors; just e-mail me and let me know you’ve signed up.
The only thing I don’t like about my eTrex Legend is that there is no direct USB cable available and the adapter is a bit pricey. You shouldn’t need to get any additional software unless you need more detailed topo maps. The included software is pretty sophisticated for uploading and downloading tracks for the unit and defining routes. Routes allow you to let the GPS steer you to each defined way point. The display is a bit small but you’ll pay much, much more for a larger color display.
I got a Garmin GPSmap 60c, figuring I might as well shell out a few more bucks for a rich feature set.
It has a stronger antenna than the etrex, more memory, color screen and you can load roadmaps or topographical maps. It’s useful as an in car navigator that will provide directions to you, get a decent signal in the woods, etc.
Thanks all for the input. After posting this, I was talking to a friend of mine and she offered to let me try the one she got but never used. She didn’t know off the top of her head exactly what it is, but she thought it was one of the Garmin models from a couple of years ago. I guess I’ll try it out and see what all it will do. With any luck, it will be along the lines of what y’all were recommending.