Looking for a little more help...

[JonathanLey]

Hi there... I voluntarily maintain a set of printable annotated maps for a 2800mile hiking trail. I originally created these as layered Photoshop files 10 years ago... but that has a lot of limitations, obviously. I'm planning to "take this to the next level", and re-do the maps using ArcGIS.

A primary end result of this project will be a set of images that others can download & print for use "on the trail". By doing these in ArcGIS, I'll also be able to export GPS data, and have more flexibility to update the maps, etc.

I downloaded the 60-day trail, have gone through a bunch of tutorials, and learned enough to know that I have a lot to learn. Instead of muddling through this, I want to make sure I'm setting this up correctly, and am truly able to implement what I'm envisioning. I don't want to waste time, or learn later that I should have done things differently. I'm willing to invest in an actual license for this - it's an important project for me - but all the same, I am doing this voluntarily.

So, what I'm looking for is some old-fashioned help - i.e. physically sit down with an experienced user for a few hours, explain my vision for this, and get an information download so I can get this set up properly. I'm fairly technically competent, and a quick study... This isn't an exceedingly complex project to set up - most of the work will be the tedium after the setup.

If you're interested in a fun project, and live anywhere near the Portland, Oregon area... food & beer is on me. If this sounds interesting, please contact me off-forum:
jonathan (at) phlumf.com.

Aside from that, I'd be open to any general suggestions people have about where to look online.

Thanks for reading...

[JimW1]

You are going to need more than 60 days 🙂

[JonathanLey]

You are going to need more than 60 days 🙂

Well, it'll likely take more time to finish the project. But it shouldn't take too long just to set it up & determine if I can really use ArcGIS to do what I want. If so, I do plan to buy a license, so the 60 day limit is not a problem.

I do have a close approximation of the route already as a .kml file, and was able to import that, and overlay it on a USGS 1:24,000 base layer. So, that's a start. It'll take some refining of the route to make it look nicer (the .kml is rough, and a few years old...)

My main challenge is in two things:

• How best to add notes to the maps (should these be in the legends or as text on the maps, etc)


• How to set this up so that it can be automatically exported to the format/size I need, with the right information on the borders.

The end result should be a series of about 300 bitmap files at approx 2250x3000 pixels each, covering approx 7x10 miles (for an ultimate scale of about 1in/mile printed on standard paper). If I make a tweak to one section of the map, I want to be able to re-export just that page...

If anyone is aware of a consultant who could give me a jump start on this, I might be willing to pay for that as well... though, as a volunteer, I need to be reasonable.

[JonathanLey]

If you want to see an example of an existing map (done via photoshop layers), see here:
http://www.phlumf.com/cdt/nm39d.gif

This is about a 4.8MB .gif file. It's a section of the route in southern New Mexico. you can see the kinds of notes I have there now. I'd like to replace the compass rose with a GPS border, but other than that, the end result should be similar. (note the mileage labels, number labels, notes, etc)

[Bo_King]

You may want to contact the Adventure Cycling Association who are now building their cycling routes with Esri software.

[kellydoherty]

I might be able to help you out, but know ahead that I am not the most experienced user by any means. I am down in Lebanon, so only about little more than an hour away. Will email you.

[kellydoherty]

I might be able to help you out, but know ahead that I am not the most experienced user by any means. Check your email.