I'm Steve, and this blog is about what I'm working on or thinking about right now. At least it was when I wrote it. I'm guessing I've already moved on to something else. ;)
Hike GPS data overlaid on the National Geographic topo basemap
Once you have a little ArcGIS under your belt, you find yourself applying it to the things you do. In late 2018, my son’s BSA troop went to Big Bend National Park, and I captured some GPS track data while we were hiking. When I got home, I merged the track data and some basemaps in ArcMap. Starting from my previous poster layout and adjusting to 8.5×11 was pretty straightforward. Now I’ll have something to work from the next time I need that size.
I really like the National Geographic USA basemap in ArcGIS for this kind of thing. I’d also purchased a physical, waterproof version of the NG map (#225) at the park store. You can get your own copy here. The trails for this area are not as detailed on the 1:133,333 physical map. I still think it’s worth getting.
Our partial hike up the Marufo Vega / Strawhouse trail was fun. We started at the parking lot along the road at the bottom of the map and went North. Where you see the tracks deviate under the E in VALLEY, we missed the Strawhouse Trail’s ascension out of the creek bed. We ended up hiking through a nice slot canyon to the West before we hit our 2.5 mile turnaround point.
Up and out through the slot canyon
On the way back we discovered the correct trail, and returned via the “high road”.
Down and back over the saddle
Both tracks were enjoyable for their own unique views.
I’ve got hundreds of great photos from the trip, and I’m considering working on full blog posts for those hikes as time permits.
50dpi version of the original 300dpi 16″x20″ print
About this Map
The main image was assembled in 2018 from several individual aerial photographs taken over 60 years ago. The public domain images are available through a web repository owned by the City of Austin. I learned about them while researching the path of a Boy Scout trail that used to pass through Steiner Ranch. The whole poster idea came about after I had created the mosaic for my research. My wife said “You should print that and put it up at Cups & Cones.” I listen to her most of the time. 😉 You can view it there if you’re in the neighborhood. I had the idea for the “classic” border. I’m open to ideas for other formats/media. Contact me through the e-mail link at to left if you are interested.
Google Earth Pro showing a 1940 Travis County Highway Map overlay and some waypoints
Continuing on the mapping theme, I wanted to talk about a few tools I use for my mapping activities.
MapSource
I use an old Garmin eTrex Legend GPS receiver for my geocaching hobby and backwoods exploration. I purchased Garmin’s MapSource Topo in 2004, and I still use it today. The software isn’t updated much anymore, but it reliably moves waypoint and track data to and from my receiver. My map database is still original, but it isn’t a big issue as I don’t tend to use the unit for street navigation. I usually save “raw” field data in .gdb files, and also save a copy where I’ve cleaned up the tracks or edited waypoint symbology and labels. These files can be converted / imported into the programs below.
Google Earth Pro
I know most people know about Google Maps in their on-line or phone app form. Fewer people know about the free, downloadable PC/Mac app called Google Earth Pro. In addition to allowing you to view zoom-able maps of the entire globe, you can also make your own maps to share with others. The features I use are:
Satellite basemaps (recent historical imagery is available)
Track and waypoint overlays from my collected GPS data
Photo overlays of old maps and aerials (zoomed and rotated)
Getting coordinates of features in the overlays and basemaps.
You can also make cool map fly-over videos. It’s an awesome tool and a great place to start learning about making maps.
ArcGIS / ArcMap
Sometimes you need the real deal for mapping. In my case, I found that building a composite aerial map of around 16 photos in Google Earth Pro was bogging down the computer I was using. I also needed to stretch a hand drawn map in a non-uniform way to match the basemap. That task exceeded the capabilities of Google Earth Pro’s zoom and rotate (AKA affine transformation).
Esri’s ArcGIS / ArcMap does all of this work very well. It’s not so easy for casual users without mapping experience, but it’s definitely the way to go for people who are really into this stuff. It lets you stretch maps and aerial images to fit other maps (georeferencing) and uses variable image resolution to speed screen update time. This is the tool that makes most of the print maps you see today. I’ve completed a lot of on Esri’s on-line courses. It’s the next best thing to community college courses on the subject. I find learning this tool to be quite engaging, especially when paired with my interest in local history.
QGIS
QGIS is another fantastic Geographical Information System program. It’s open source and free to use. It has many of the features of ArcGIS and its components. I did have great success in using the program to get beyond my issues in assembling the previously mentioned composite. On-line training is also readily available. I stopped using the program when I decided to start learning the more mainstream ArcGIS.
The Front Burner 