Topic
Best way to make maps for my blog?
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Home › Forums › General Forums › Philosophy & Technique › Best way to make maps for my blog?
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Mar 31, 2011 at 3:48 am #1271446
Does anyone have some recommendations how to make nice maps to post in my blog of trips that I go on?
I have Garmin 401 and Apple Computer. Thanks! :)
Apr 1, 2011 at 10:48 am #1718395The only tool I have experience with is Topo! from National Geographic. You can put waypoints and other things on the map, trace your trail and then export an image.
Apr 1, 2011 at 11:13 am #1718409Use Google Earth. You can turn on the terrain feature and tilt the view angle to get great bird's eye perspectives, and there's a tool for marking your route as a colored line. You can also import data from GPS, although I haven't done this myself. Images export with good resolution for screen, and okay for print. Google Maps has a lot of the same functions.
If you're hiking in US, you might also look at USGS website–good mapping tools there, including decent res scans of paper topos for the whole country. Unfortunately, the GeoPDF plug-in (which lets you play with layers on some of the topos) only works with Windows.
Best part: all of this is free. I think ArchGIS also has some free mapping tools online (just google it).
Apr 1, 2011 at 12:09 pm #1718454Note: google earth does not (for some unfathomable reason) come with the "terrain" feature available by default. A quick google search should turn up various "skins" you can download and apply to the program in order to get that function.
Apr 1, 2011 at 12:27 pm #1718479Hmm. I'm running version 5.2 on a Mac, and have never downloaded any plugins. I remember 3-d terrain used to enabled from the side bar menu. Now, it looks like you go to "preferences" (under Goggle Earth pulldown menu at top). Under "3D view" there a check-box for "show terrain" as well as a slider which lets you chose terrain quality and another box to specify vertical exaggeration.
Apr 1, 2011 at 1:01 pm #1718502Acme Mapper integrates Google maps with Topo maps. I use it quite a bit when looking for areas to hike.
Apr 4, 2011 at 8:26 pm #1720121Yeah, I've played around with that, and I can view it in 3-D view just fine, but that doesn't give me the topographic view with isolines that you get from the "terrain view" in web-based google maps, unless I'm missing something. Since that's my favorite view, plugins it is.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Our Community Posts are Moderated
Backpacking Light community posts are moderated and here to foster helpful and positive discussions about lightweight backpacking. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting.
Get the Newsletter
Gear Research & Discovery Tools
- Browse our curated Gear Shop
- See the latest Gear Deals and Sales
- Our Recommendations
- Search for Gear on Sale with the Gear Finder
- Used Gear Swap
- Member Gear Reviews and BPL Gear Review Articles
- Browse by Gear Type or Brand.