I'm brand new to gps. Got an Oregon 550T. I've loaded one map on it, but I'm interested in creating custom maps for backpacking trips. I've ordered the 24K dvd from Garmin for my area
Q: In creating maps for backpacking, what type do you find most useful? Google Earth, something with trail info, just use the Garmin dvd?
Q: If I overlay , is there a combination of map types that will be the most useful for backpacking?
Backpacking where?
There are lots of good trail maps (My Trails NW Trails, and others) For backpacking, topo, trails, and POIs is what you need. If you ordered the Garmin DVD, I would say use it with a trail map overlay.
Another good reference tool is TopoFusion. Seamlessly move between topo and Sat. and or aerial pictures.
And there is a difference between making a route and map making. You might want to rethink the making a map thing.
I downloaded My Trails. I think there's very little near me (Memphis, TN). I'm having a very hard time searching for trails. When I zoom in enough to see anything, all I see is dots. I don't find any state borders or anything else to try and tell what area I'm looking at. The only thing I figured out was to zoom in far enough to get the name of a trail and do a web search to see where that trail is.
Am I missing something?
Anybody know of any other good backpacking trail map sources? I'm looking for the western half of TN, the northern half of AL , AR, and MS.
My Trails is a transparent overlay map. It is designed to work with other maps on your GPS. Basically all it has is trails and POIs like parking, restrooms, etc. It does not have roads, state boundaries, etc. You need to load another map on your GPS for that. My Trails shows on top of the other map. In MapSource, to figure out where you are, swithc to another topo/street map. Find the area you are interested in and then switch to My Trails. My Trails has the National Forest Trails for the areas you mention.
If you gp somewhere that is not on My Trails, you can GPS it and send it to me and I will add it. If you can see a missing trail in GoogleEarth, you can trace it there and send it to me and I can add it. Or if you find a track somewhere for a missing trail, you can send it to me.