How-To: Download GPS Tracks and Waypoints from WIKILOC

This document will help you to download tracks and waypoints from the WIKILOC website. It should also help you with other hiking websites that allow downloading. Once the data is downloaded and loaded to your handheld GPS unit it can be used to follow the same route as the original hiker. FYI - GPS units store tracks as track "points". Track points are recorded at predetermined intervals (time, distance or both). Each track point contains all the data about that recorded spot (time, Lat/Lon and other stuff). To display a track "path", the track points are a linked together with a line (the line does not actually exist, it is just for display). So, during this writeup I will mention "track" or "track points", they are both the same. Every unit has a certain number of track points it can store, 10,000 being a common number. One problem is that many GPS units (Garmin I know of) allow only 500 track points to be loaded per segment (my 60cx for example). This is a major problem because the 500 track point limit causes large hikes to be truncated. If you download a hike with say 2000 track points and then try to load that to your GPS, you will only windup with the first 500 track points of the 2000 (thus you will only get the first 25% of the original hike). One way to get around this is to break the 2000 track points into 4 groups of 500 (called track segments). FYI - the problem with those Garmin units with 500 track point segment limit is that they have two areas where track points are stored -

• Active Log Area - this is where the actual track points recorded by the GPS unit are stored - this area allows 10,000 track points to be stored (once the 10,000 limit is reached, recording either stops or it starts wrapping around (user setup)
• Saved Log Area - This is where the unit saves tracks requested by the user (menu function). It allows multiple segments, but each segment can consist of no more than 500 track points, also no date/time data is stored with the track points

Now some people advocate that you load the downloaded hike in the "Active Log Area" (this is done by creating a "fake" Active Log) - if you do this you will pollute the area used by the GPS unit to store actual active tracks, so this is not recommended. As I stated earlier, what I recommend is to store downloaded tracks in the "Saved Log Area", using the segment feature of WIKILOC downloading. The WIKILOC download function has been modified to give you a number of options to handle track points, this was done so that all GPSs can handle downloads. The problem for you is to find out what your GPS can handle and select the correct option. Here are the options available - (note: these options only apply if the download contains more than 500 track points)

• Original uploaded track points - select this if your unit has no problem with large track point files
• Simplified track points - This option actually takes the big track point file and tries to compress it into 500 points. I do not recommend this selection, but it does work if your unit is restricted to 500 track points
• Split into multiple segments - this option creates a bunch of small track point "segments" from the large track point file. I recommend this option if your unit is restricted to 500 point segments. The whole thing is given a unique Id, with each segment getting it's own unique number.

Here is a summary of the process using the software I recommend -

• Download the tracks and waypoints as a GPX file from WIKILOC
• Load the downloaded GPX file into "EasyGPS" program
• Send/upload the tracks and waypoints to your GPS unit

You must always download the data using the "GPX" format. GPX format (GPS Exchange Format) is a data format for the interchange of GPS data (waypoints, routes, and tracks) between applications and Web services on the Internet. Most application dealing with GPSs recognize and know how to work with "GPX" formatted files. You really don’t need to know anything about the file format, just select to use it when given the option. Rather that explaining how to do it with each GPS vendors software, I will have you use a very good free package to handle the GPS loading. The program I recommend is "EasyGPS". If you do not have it already, go to this website, download and install it. EasyGPS’s website is http://www.easygps.com/default.asp One thing nice about EasyGPS, it will look to see if your unit can handle a load greater than 500 track points. Thus using EasyGPS, if I try and load a file with over 500 track points to my 60cx it will not allow it. I also recommend that you have a work folder on your computer to hold the downloaded GPX File - example name: Downloaded GPX Files The first time you use EasyGPS you will have to tell it what kind of GPS your are using. A setup screen will be presented to you when you first try to send data to your GPS, Downloading from WIKILOC -

• Use Google Earth to find the hike you want to download or go to the Wikiloc website - you must get to the page with the "download" option - Screen Display (click on picture to enlarge)

• Click on "Download" - select GPX file format, check that you want tracks split and check "include images" Screen Display (click on picture to enlarge) Note: You will only see the "Options" if the download contains more than 500 track points - if no options, just select "GPX" and continue
• Click on "Download"
• Now select the folder you setup to hold these files
• Click on "Save"

Now when you are ready to load the data to your GPS - do this

• Start EasyGPS
• Select "Open" - from the menu or the toolbar
• Find the GPX file which has the tracks split up (Example: Hal Scott Track Split File.GPX) and open it
• You should now see the tracks map and also the waypoints listed on the left side Screen Display (click on picture to enlarge)
• You can right-click on any waypoint to delete it if you feel you don’t want it (for example - there is a waypoint for a pine tree and you don’t want it)
• Connect your GPS to your computer and turn it on (I normally make sure that my GPS is empty - reset it using menus)
• Now select "Send" from the menu or the toolbar
• A window should open with your GPS information in it (The first time you send data to your GPS you will have to define your GPS to EasyGPS)
• Select "OK" - the data should now be loaded to your GPS
• Disconnect your GPS from the computer
• Exit out of EasyGPS

The tracks and waypoints should now be loaded to your GPS. Check to insure everything is OK. I normally go to my "Map" screen and look for the tracks - I have to zoom out to find the area. You also should use the waypoint "find" function to determine in the waypoints got loaded OK. To use the loaded data, see How-To: Using Downloaded Tracks and Waypoints

How-To: Using Downloaded Tracks on the Trail

In order to use downloaded tracks and waypoints, of course you must have downloaded them. If you have not done it already, download the hike/trip you want to use - see the blog entry for that. One thing you must not do, that is follow the tracks exactly. In many cases the tracks uploaded are uploaded just as they came from the GPS unit. Thus the tracks might contain little detours off the main trail, maybe to take a picture of a flower in the woods. You want to use common sense as your following the downloaded tracks. If you see the tracks on the screen taking you off the trail, you should adjust to the trail until the screen tracks are corrected. Here is what you generally do -

• Get to the start of the tracks, could be a trailhead, parking lot or boat ramp You could use your GPS’s "find" function to get you there
• If your GPS is not already on, turn it on - wait for good satellite reception
• Find the tracks on the "Map" Screen
• Start the trip

As you move along, watch the screen to make sure the position pointer stays on the tracks. If you see yourself moving too far away from the loaded tracks, adjust your position to get back on track. You can only use the loaded tracks as a "reference", just to see where you are vs where you might want to be. Get use to using the "Map" function. I might go on another trail just because it looks better. I can always find my back to the main trail using the "map" and "find" functions. I recently tested this using one of my downloaded hikes. The loaded track displayed on my Garmin unit's screen in blue, the little "pointer" showed my position on the track. I just kept the pointer on the loaded track and everything worked fine.

My 60cx Tracks page with WIKILOC tracks in the "Saved Tracks" area

My 60cx map screen - see the tracks in black


Remember, when the hike is over and you have done any downloading of the data etc, that you delete the saved tracks, as they take up space in your unit's memory.

GPS Units Explained By Me

I get a lot of questions about GPS units, normally I just tell people to do more research using the Internet. I have decided to try and explain the units in my fashion. I still feel you can gleam a lot of information by doing some research, so do that also. A GPS unit is nothing but a computer which has a special chip in it which can receive and pass on satellite information to the GPS computer. The GPS computer uses the satellite data to determine the latitude/longitude (lat/long) where the GPS unit is. It would be nice if it could actually calculate the exact lat/long, but that is not possible. It gets as close as it can and uses that. There are two reasons why it can not calculate the exact lat/long - 1. The Defense Department does not allow manufacturers to do it - they say for national security 2. How good the unit is receiving satellite data - that mainly depends on the quality of the special chip in the unit and the type of antenna in the unit. You can not do anything about #1, but #2 lives by that old rule - the more you pay, the better the reception. Currently the buzz words are "high-sensitivity chip" and" external antenna". Garmin uses the "X" in their model numbers to reflect that the unit has a high-sensitivity chip. Sadly, there are cheaper versions of this chip being put in units, so you just don't know. What the high-sensitivity chips and external antennas provide is better reception in the woods and on cloudy days, thus better accuracy. If your using the unit for hiking, accuracy can be a little more lax then if your using the unit for say, GEOCaching. Some units have a feature called "WAAS" - it is designed to improve accuracy. Do a Google search on it if you want to know more about it. If your unit has the feature, turn it on - it does use more battery life, but not much. Now the fundamentals of all handheld GPS units

• Waypoints - locations or landmarks stored in your GPS for reference. All GPS units allow you to "mark" a position which you may want to return to or you may want to go to. A classical waypoint is the place you parked the car, so if necessary you can find your way back to it. Another waypoint might be a place on the trail you want to remember, say were you got water. Most units can store upwards of a 1000 waypoints, so use them. You can use the "find" function of your GPS to see any waypoints recorded in your unit. That is why it is very important to give new waypoints a logical label - like "parking". Thus if you had to get back to the parking area, you would be able to recognize the label in the waypoint list.
• Tracks - "breadcrumbs" recorded by the GPS unit of where you have been. Tracks are actually stored in the unit as "points". Each point is an individual database record containing all kinds of data about the spot that the recording was made - mainly the lat/long and time. Each point is like a waypoint, but it is recorded by the unit instead of you. Imagine if as you hiked along you had to push the "mark" button every 3 feet or so, well the unit is doing that for you - just storing the data in a different place. The track points are displayed as a line on maps, but that is just the software connecting the points (that is where the time comes into play).
• Statistical data - this referred to as "trip data". All kinds of information is stored about a trip - moving time, stopped time. average speed and much more.

The main problem with all the units I have been exposed to is they do not allow multiple trips to be stored in the GPS unit. They store all the data, but they do not allow you to store each trip's data separately. So, lets say you go on two hikes and don't reset the data between each trip - when you get home and download the data to the computer all the waypoints will be mixed together, the tracks will be separate (as long as you turned the unit off between each trip), but a little confusing. The "trip data" will reflect just one set of totals - so you will not know say the time of spent on each trip. Waypoints and tracks can be split out pretty easily, but trip data can not. The only way I know of to get around that is to write down the trip data after the first trip, then reset the trip data to prepare for the second trip - do not reset the waypoints and tracks until you have downloaded then to your computer. Of course, if you don't care about the historical value of the the waypoints and tracks, than you could reset them also before the second trip. I always save my trip data to my computer before resetting them. So, learn how your unit handles waypoints, tracks and trip data. It is not necessary to know that much about lat/long - just be aware that every spot on earth has a unique lat/long and it's your GPSs function to determine the current lat/long. As I mentioned the before, your GPS unit can be used to take you to a recorded waypoint. Lets say you get lost and want to get back to the parking area. Assuming you created a waypoint for parking and labeled it well - just use the "find" function to find it in the list of waypoints. Then select "goto" and the unit will point directly at the parking area. This is "as the crow flies", you are not a crow, so you must work you way back using trails, paths etc. You have to use common sense when using the "goto" function, don't' go into a "bushwhack" mode - use logic to get back to the parking area. A feature seldom used is called "trackback". This function actually tells you exactly how you got to a spot and how to back out of it if you are lost. Each unit handles this differently, so read your manual and become familiar with this function. FYI - GEOCaches are just waypoints to your GPS unit - they have an icon which is used by some units to handle them in a special way. So, my rules are

• Record a lot of waypoints
• Download and save your data
• Keep your unit clean - reset everything after every save or trip

Look at my other entries on GPS units for more information.

Information: Handheld GPS Units and Hiking

You are never lost if you don’t care where you are. Most of us though, do care. I am a great believer in handheld GPS units. I have been using one since 2003. A handheld GPS unit is designed to be used outdoors, unlike the unit you find in cars. The newer units are quite sophisticated, actual much more than is necessary. GPS units are like cars, there are a mess of manufacturers and models out there, each one appealing to different types of people. I use mine for both hiking and Geocaching. I can not really tell you which one to buy, I currently have a Garmin 60cx and am quite pleased with it. If you search the Internet you will find a great deal of information about GPS units, so I will not go into details about anything you can find out just by doing a little research. Make sure you set your unit up to your tastes, everyone seems to like the data presented in a different fashion - that is not a problem as long as you understand it! What I'm going to talk about is using your unit for hiking. Every GPS unit has the following basic functionality -

• Determine your current longitude and latitude - one use for this is if you ever get lost and have to call for help, you just have to provide your rescuers with the lat/lon and they can get to you
• "Mark" your current position (called a waypoint) - this is used for future reference or as a place to possibly get back to, like the parking area
• Keep track of where you have been - these are called "tracks". These are used to reference where you have been or a means to "backtrack" if you get lost

This is my hiking GPS regiment - Before the hike begins I do this -

• Clear out all waypoints and tracks (reseting both)
• Download any tracks and waypoints I might need on the hike (normally only waypoints of places I might want to go to)
• Recharge the batteries (I only use rechargeable batteries)
• Pack it in a place where I won't forget it

When I get to the hiking site and I'm all ready to use it -

• Turn unit on, wait for satellite reception (must have that)
• If nothing has been downloaded, I will reset the unit one more time - cleaning out tracks and waypoints - I always reset the "trip computer" function so I know at all times how far I have hiked
• Create a waypoint of where the car is parked - "mark the spot"
• Start the hike

As I'm hiking -

• I will check the map screen every so often to see how my tracks are - you should see a line on the screen showing where you have gone
• "Mark" waypoints of different spots along the trail - this could be an interesting spot, a place where the trail splits, where I saw a certain flower or animal, where I had lunch - whatever I feel might be good to look back at later or I might need to get back too. I enter a short name for each waypoint I enter.
• At times, use the unit to bring me to a preentered destination or bring me back to a previous entered destination, like the parking area. This function is what I use it for mostly.
• If necessary, I can always use the tracks data to figure out where the trail I took is and how to get back to it. There is a true "backtrack" function, but that is really only used in case you really, really get lost.

End of hike -

• I always turn the unit off when I get back to the car, this preserves the trip data (mileage, walking time, stopped time, avg speed etc). If I am going to use the unit on another hike that day, I write down the trip data so I can record each hikes data when I get home

When I get home -

• Download all the data to my PC (I use Garmin's Mapsource Program)
• Edit all the waypoint names I entered in the field (example: pk1 is changed to parking)
• Save the cleaned up waypoints and tracks to a file and place it in a "hiking" folder for future reference
• Pass the tracks and waypoints to Google Earth so I can see what my hiked looked like from that viewpoint

That is pretty much how I use my GPS for hiking. This may seem like a lot of things to do, but most of them are necessary to insure that you don't get lost on a hike. I must say it again, I love my GPS! I wouldn't go out in the woods depending on instincts alone - if for no other reason help can be told exactly where you are. There are some specialty units out there which can actually report your positions to family and/or friends on a "realtime" basis. They can see where you are on their computer screens. This was as of 2009, who knows what is available as you read this. Please consider buying a GPS and then make sure you learn how to use it. If you have one already and are not using it, learn how to use it. Like everything in this world, handheld GPS units improve each year. The one thing you should make sure your unit has is a "high sensitivity" chipset. These chipsets do a much better job of determining your lat/lon than older chipsets. I have helped many, many people with their GPS units - in almost all cases they learned to use them and feel much more secure in the field. I certainly haven't learned all the functions of my units, so the reference manual is always available if needed. So learn how to do the above things and keep the reference manual for backup. Happy and safe trails to all!

How-To: Using Computer Program to "Split" a Large Track File

As I've mentioned in other blog entries about how some GPS Units don't allow you to load uploaded tracks with more than 500 track "points". As with everything there are many ways to fix a problem, this is just one of them. When done with this program you will have a new GPX File which can be used by any GPS handheld unit

Process Overview

• Create a GPX file from your tracks - Garmin's Mapsource program allows you to save it's files in GPX format
• Run program GPX Track Splitter
• Load created GPX file back into your software - Garmin's Mapsource program reads GPX files
• You will now have multiple track segments - each 500 track points or less

You will have to download and install on your computer the program "GPX Track Splitter" from this website http://sites.google.com/site/gpxtracksplitter/ (go to attachment section at the bottom of page). After doing the download, you will have to place it in a folder to be used - there is no "install" function.

Split the track points into blocks of 500

Start program "GPX Track Splitter"

Make sure "Delete Source Tracks" is checked

Make sure "Ask for Name of Tracks" is the selected option

Select "Open" and select the GPX file you downloaded

Use cursor to put checkmark next to the GPX file listed in the box on the left (word "Split" should now be bold)

Click on word "Split" in the lower right

A name box should now open up - enter a short name for the split track files (Example: HalScott)

Click "Save" in lower right corner - when file window opens up, select the folder you want to put it in and give it a logical name (Example: Hal Scott Track Split File.GPX)

You are now done with this program, close it

You will now have a GPX file which you can be used by many programs to load the tracks to your GPS. You can see my blog entry about using downloaded tracks from WIKILOC (http://tomchoma.blogspot.com/2009/04/this-entry-will-hopefully-help-you-to.html)

GPS Information: Track Points and The 500 Point Limit

For those who don’t know much or anything about track “points”, here is a little overview of that – whenever you turn your GPS on it starts recording what use to be called “bread crumbs” to record where you have been. These are now called “track points”. A track point is recorded at different intervals, depending on how your unit is configured. It could be every 5 feet or every 5 seconds or whatever. The track point history can be used in many ways, one of the most vital is getting you back the way you came if you get lost or just confused – this is normally called “back tracking”. What I use them for is to record my hiking/boating history. When I get back from a trip, I download this and my waypoint data to my computer and save it for later trips. Now most all GPS software and GPS units display the points, but they also connect the points so that you see lines and can better determine your path. The thing to remember is that there are only “points”; the lines are just displayed for your viewing. Now comes a problem with certain GPS units, they can store up to 10,000 points for recording, but only allow 500 points to reloaded to the unit. Now this is strange and is a problem with certain Garmin units for sure. What that means is that if you took a hike that consisted of 2200 points and when you got home downloaded that to your software, that would be fine. The 2200 points would be downloaded and stored for viewing and possible later use. Well, the day comes you want to use it; you upload it to your Garmin unit. Low and behold only the first 500 points of the 2200 actually are loaded to your unit. That would mean that only a portion of the hike would be available, the rest would be lost. Some software would have warned you of this problem, while others would just let you find out when you got to the end of the 500 points. What can you do about this problem? I suggest first, make sure it is a problem with your GPS, read the manual or ask. If it is not a problem, that is great, if is a problem, here are some solutions –
1. You could download and install a program "GPX Track Splitter" from this website http://sites.google.com/site/gpxtracksplitter/ (look at attachments section - bottom of page). It is a pretty simple program which does not have any means to simply install it, you have to place it in a folder to be used. It is a very nice program, which does the trick – just not that user friendly. You will also have to insure that the tracks you want to split are stored in a file using “GPX" format. GPX format (GPS Exchange Format) is a data format for the interchange of GPS data (waypoints, routes, and tracks) between applications and Web services on the Internet. When done running this program, you will have a new GPX file which will have your tracks split into segments of 500 or less points, which will now work in any GPS
2. If you have a Garmin unit and have their program called “Mapsource” loaded on you computer, you can what they call “filter” a large number of points into a smaller set. What this actually does is to remove points that it thinks are not necessary. I’m not sure how good this is because it would I suspect remove some of the bends in say a windy trail. But they have it, so hopefully it works! Just start Mapsource, load the tracks you want to “filter”, right click on the tracks and select “Track Properties” and then click on “Filter” – select the option you want (no more than 500 points) and select “OK”. You can now load this to your GPS.
3. Other software will allow you to do basically the same thing as Mapsource about, but they call it “simplify” tracks. This means again that they will take a large number of points and try and reduce them using some kind of algorithm. I don’t have a lot of faith in this method, but they are there and that is what they do. There is one other situation this all comes into play, that is when you want to download other users tracks from websites so you can follow their route. I know that two of the major ones as of this writing handle the problem of a large number of tracks in different ways – WIKILOC – This website allows you to select the option of splitting a large number of track points into small segments. This will take care of everything. Most GPSs can handle multiple segments without any problems. Using this method you will get all the track points as they were uploaded. EVERYTRAIL – This website seems to reduce all uploaded tracks down to 200 track points. This will eliminate the 500 point problem, but it I’m not sure of how well it will reflect a windy trail.

It is up to you to determine what your GPS unit can support. I suggest you look at your manual and also use “Google” to learn more about this subject. See my write-up on using WIKILOC downloaded tracks and waypoints for some more ideas.

Track Line as Seen in Google Earth (click on picture to enlarge)

How-To: Using GPS Coords in Google Earth

In many of my entries I refer to "GPS Coords" - this is actually the latitude/longitude of the location I want you to look at. Your GPS unit's main function is to use satellites to determine where you are - recording the lat/long of the position. In order to see the place in Google Earth, you must have Google Earth desktop application available on your computer. If you do not have it or want to know more about it, see my writeup "How-To: Using Google Earth for Hiking" for more information. You can actually use the referenced lat/long in many applications, I'm just talking about Google Earth in this writeup.

Here is what you do -

• Start Google Earth if not already started
• Check to insure the "Fly to" box is available on the left side of the screen - if not, hit "Ctrl-Alt-B" to show the sidebar
• Enter the Lat/Long you want to lookup in the "Fly to" box (can use Copy & Paste)
• Click on the magnifying glass icon to right of the "Fly to" box

You should now "fly to" the location on the map. You now can zoom in and/or out to get a look at the location from the sky. The area picture might be a few years old, but it will give you an idea of the area. You can enter more if you want. By removing the checkmark next to any of the listed coords below the "Fly to" box they will not be shown on the map. You can "right-click" on an entry below the "Fly to" box and by selecting "properties" you can make the spot more descriptive.