Seventh in a seven-part series

Here's my system: a little, old antique Mac laptop with just enough oomph to run the software. It works just fine at home or in my truck if I want to download and save the GPS data from my morning trek before making a new recording for the afternoon.

GPS-to-PC computer cables are available from the GPS manufacturers (they also have GPS-to-Mac). Downloading your navigation information is easy, and the consumer software comes with a blessedly short learning curve.

I like to keep the topo map of the area I'm recording handy for reference. The square plotter also helps to check bearings and distances.

Once the track data is in your computer there are lots of things you can do with it.

This is a screen map captured one afternoon in late February while Mack (a chocolate lab) and I checked the buckets collecting sap in our maple bush. The whole route took about 25 minutes on snowshoes. Well, the whole route actually took 23:43, which I know because my GPS was timing our walk.

Move on to Time and Speed Stamps

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