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Arizona Trails

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wayne:
This isn't as exciting or useful as the other posts, but I do have some good examples of Topofusion use.

Here is the method I used, whether driving, riding, or hiking:

Started with GPS track logs (recording every 10 feet)
- Imported GPS tracks to DeLorme Topo
- Clipped off extra bits driving to trails,
- Made little "x" on the end of trails to make sure they averaged
- Exported tracks as GPX.

Opened the GPX in TopoFusion and used the Network function to automatically:
- Average tracks where I used the same road/trail more than once
- Remove stubs where I pulled down a road/trail for a second then got back on.

One example:  Doing this reduced a GPX file from 1.3 meg (11,000 points) to 1.1 meg (7,300 points) and made multiple-track roads more accurate due to averaging.  But I want to go smaller so I have room for more tracks on the GPS.

I then used the Simplify function where you can specify how many final points to have.

Offroad Hiking/Mountain Biking
- Divide by 2 (50% of original size) and it's near perfect to the original track, but 1/2 the size.  This gives one point about every 20 feet but intelligently reduced to give more points on curves, less on straights.
- Divide by 3 (33% of original size) and both the reduced track is nearly indistinguishable, even at very high zooms.

Offroad 4x4
- Divide by 5 (20% of original size) and it's virtually indistinguishable from original tracks except at high zoom. Even looks good on switchbacks.
- Divide by 7 good on curvy roads, overall pretty good representation for zoom 15.
- Divide by 9 decent for general use. Use when memory is at a premium or you don't need a perfect map.

I then saved the new GPX file, imported back to Topo, applied colors, thickness, and some notes.

• I rode (mountain bike) most of the Tucson Mountain park and used/combined those trails.  The files are in DeLorme Topo format here:
http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=15943

• I hiked/rode all around the Grand Canyon / Little Grand Canyon area.  Those files are in DeLorme Topo format here:
http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=9278

If someone really wants them in GPX format, let me know.  Mostly I wanted to put up another example of how I use Topofusion.  I'm not good with all the other features and am slowly learning more.  The track average and track reduction are really the sole reason I bought the program, and they work great.

wayne:
Topofusion has actually changed the way I hike/bike. 

I now make an effort to wander to both sides of the tail now and then when I hike to ensure my recorded track logs cross each other to ensure good averaging. 

When I see a new road I want to explore later, I make certain I go at least 30 feet down the road so the setting I use in TopoFusion's stub reduction doesn't eliminate it.

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