Thematic Map of GPS Data

Thematic Map of GPS Data

"In this exercise, you are tasked with producing a map that features a walking, hiking, running, skateboarding, skiing, or biking loop in the Eau Claire area (including campus, campus and its environs, or the city) or a place you visit during spring break that begins/ends at a public location that uses GPS data you collected for it. You will use the GPS data to create one of the following types of maps:

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2. A PDF map that is not georeferenced but incorporates GPS data collected with a Garmin E-trex unit, initially mapped in ArcGIS, and finished in Adobe Illustrator that highlights an aspect of an activity you participated in during spring break (in Eau Claire or elsewhere) or can be used as a reference map for a visitor to Eau Claire or elsewhere (i.e. a hiking route at Northwest Park with that photos includes photos that you took with your camera).

Unlike previous exercises, for this map I had to actually go out into the field and collect the data (horrendous, I know). We made use of Garmin's E-trex GPS unit, which has the ability to collect both waypoints (point features) as well as tracks (line features). Once again, we were free to choose what feature we wished to map. In need of a good walk and wanting to get away from campus, I decided to Lowes Creek County Park, which is a few miles south of Eau Claire. As this park has both hiking and off-road biking trails, I decided to map a short bike route in the park which would be of easy difficulty for new off road bikers. 

For this, I used the E-trex's track ability. This is controlled on the GPS unit using the track log function; once turned on, it continuously tracks the user's path of movement. With this turned on, I was able to simply walk the length of the path to get the needed line feature. Back in the lab, I utilized a program developed by the DNR to import and convert the GPS into an ArcMap shapefile. This was then imported into ArcMap, and elements such as the legend, north arrow, and scale bar were added. I debated which basemap would be best to use as the background and decided on plain imagery, as this best suited the rural nature of the study area.

Another aspect I had to consider was what colors to use to make the map elements to stand out from the multi-color background. I decided upon white and grey, as these stood out from the background while not conflicting with it. I also added path start and end labels to add in user comprehension.

This exercise helped me to better the workflow associated with GPS data collection and display. I am now comfortable with doing fieldwork for any mapping project I need to undertake. 

Future Changes:

- I wouldn't mind trying out a different color combination for the labels, to see if a different combination would work better. 

- More could be added to the data explanation.