Getting the Track Back

Kyoto: Hiking from Kibune to Kurama

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Seventh in a seven-part series

Let's say you found a trail nobody else knows about, and you'd like to share your find with your hiking partners. If you have a GPS with a computer cable and some simple, reasonably-priced software and a minimally powerful computer, you can collect and share a treasure trove of navigation information about that trail.

Here's how it's done.

From the map screen, go into map setup:

First, be sure to select "North Up," or your map will be hard to use later:

Next, on the "track setup" screen you can choose either to stop recording location data once the GPS unit's memory is full or to "wrap," meaning your oldest track log points will be overwritten once memory is full. To make sure you get the whole trail into memory, set the recording time interval to maximize the number of points the unit records in the time you'll be on the trail without filling the GPS memory. (See the sidebar for a handy chart) To make a fresh map don't forget to clear the track log memory before you start recording.

Now get out on that trail. Keep your GPS where it can get a clear view of the sky. Right at the top of your pack usually works. Some units will accept a remote antenna, which you can put in your hat while the unit itself goes in a pocket or pack. This keeps your hands free for other important things.

While you're moving, your GPS is recording a lot of data and making a map of your progress on the screen.

Don't forget to shut off the track recording function when you've finished the trail to make a clean record of where you've been.