With GPS technology, we can record our routes and then make them available to others.   On Christmas Day, we hiked 7.5 km through the snow, and used the Tracks function in our Garmin Colorado GPSr to follow our route.      Each GPS is a little different, but most follow the same general steps:

• Its a good idea to clear any old tracks.  (Shortcuts->Setup->Tracks->Options->Clear Current Track)
• I prefer to turn off tracking until I arrive at the trailhead.   Otherwise your route in the vehicle will be recorded too.   (Shortcuts>Tracks>Turn Tracklog off)
• When I arrive at the trailhead, I boot up the GPSr and wait for it to find satellites, then I turn on tracking.   (Shortcuts>Tracks>turn tracklog on)
• The GPSr is left on while hiking and records your position over time.   At the end of the hike, I turn tracking off to avoid tracking the vehicle route too.
• To get your track into your computer, use a USB cord to link up.   Once the device is recognized and ready, there are many ways to get the track.
• If you choose Windows Explorer, the track is found at [drive]:\Garmin\GPX\Current\Current.gpx.    Each time you connect to the computer, the newest file here is the “current track.”   It will be dated.
• In Garmin Mapsource, just choose Receive from Device and choose tracks.
• Various programs like GSAK, Easy GPS, and others also work directly with GPSrs to download files.
• Google Earth can also import data directly.  Tools>GPS>Import
• Once you have the file, I like to rename it so that I know what it is.   In most cases, you highlight the track name and right-click and then pick properties (or rename), depending on the program.
• Google Earth allows you to see your track and save as a jpeg, or as a different file format.   We use the .gpx file format between various programs and devices.

Here is the route from the parking lot on Pacific Way along Ponderosa to Deer Run, back on Doug Daws to Ponderosa, a 7.5km route.

Here is the GPX File for the route.   You need to have an account and be logged in to download the file:  [download id=”2″].    Over time,  a database of downloadable routes will be added to a separate page on this site.   If readers have questions or additional information, post them as comments to this article.