Cool uses for EveryTrail

[chris]

We know some of you are using EveryTrail for some very cool things! I have received emails from users mentioning cycling trips across the US, charity rides/runs, running around the world, GPS drawing, search and rescue, etc.

Are you using EveryTrail in a cool new way? Let us know and we may feature your story!

[Opspin]

Well I thought I was going to create either a guide or a destination, but it turns out, guides are just glorified trips possibly verified by EveryTrail admins, and apparently you can't define your own trips in destinations which is what I was looking for because I found a whole series of connected walking routes and wanted to tie them together in a destination so people could find them more easily. (Updated) I've just figured out you can actually take a bunch of your own trips and make a new trip out of it, useful for guides and destinations!

Anyway, I use EveryTrail by drawing a map up in Google Maps, upload it to EveryTrail via GPSVisualizer and send it to my iPhone and try it out!

There are a lot of municipalities near where I live who all want to cater to the outdoors folk, so they've made routes with different little signposts along the way, and PDF's with maps of the routes, because I'd rather enjoy the trees alive than dead, I draw them up in Google Earth, save the route and upload it directly to EveryTrail, afterwards I usually add some waypoints with useful things like fireplaces, tables, interesting facts, tumuli etc. I then try out the route and take some pictures and video to add to the route later.

Oh and then finally when I know the route and the sights along the way, I'll bring my lovely girlfriend on an exiting and interesting trip, appearing knowledgeable and wise, scoring much admiration and love!

[Athonia]

Dog parks come in many shapes and sizes and have attributes that make them usable for some dog owners and not so usable for others. Everytrail, if used to outline and photograph dog parks, could help people like me find dog parks when traveling or moving to a new city. Below I detail my reasons, along with a few techniques that I use, in this process.

Motive: The original idea to capture dog parks to Everytrail came one day when I arrived at a new dog park that I hadn't been in before and found it was CLOSED! Many are closed one day per week for maintenance apparently. Everytrail came to the rescue; in the Sacramento and Sierra Mountain region you can now take a quick look and check the hours for the dog parks that are near by. I've used it several times myself just to lookup the park hours and see if they are closed that day before heading over.

Another example has to do with the dog park features. Budget constraints and surrounding climate effect the quality of dog parks to great extent. Some dog parks have no grass, offering acres of wood chips instead. Indeed, dogs like grass better for running because it doesn't hurt their feet and get stuck in their paws like the wood chips do. I always try to take my dog to the biggest, grassiest, parks of them all. Dog parks have other features like play grounds, large/medium/small dog run areas, and even obstacle courses which agile dogs may be able to make use of.

Technique: I've been using Everytrail on the iPhone 3G[S] to record details about these dog parks. When I arrive I take an establishing (wide angle) photograph of the park. Next, I photograph the sign on the gate that details the hours, special rules and cautionary signs like those warning of rattlesnakes in the vicinity. Once inside the park I walk the perimeter so that the resulting shape in Everytrail shows an outline of the park. Only after walking the entire edge do I move in to photograph things like water fountains and other special features.

It would be great if others started documenting dog parks that I haven't covered yet. My feeling is that, If even one dog gets to spend a day socializing with other dogs at one of these parks thanks to our efforts, then it will have been worth it.

Example Dog Parks that you can visit on Everytrail:
Cummings Dog Park near Folsom, CA, USA
Bijou Dog Park in S. Lake Tahoe, CA, USA
C-bar-C dog park in Sacramento, CA, USA
Carmichael Dog park in Carmichael, CA, USA

--Athonia

[Cham101]

GPS drawing is so last year.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=565359

Actually, I only did that one in Everytrail because Google seems to be in some sort of disagreement with Steve Jobs and I needed a way for iPhone owners to be able to utilize the waypoints easily. iPhones don't work with Google Maps. It actually looks much better in Google Maps because I get to use the balloons and links right on the placemarks.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... 8&t=h&z=16

The people over at the cemetery think my map is da bomb.

[Cham101]

I totally forgot about the bus route. The bus site didn't have a fancy mobile phone app, and I had already copied the route onto my mapping software for my own uses so I decided to help anyone with an iPhone out. The key is the stops, you have to know where to get on or off. There is nothing I like more than free, a free bus that is.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=521933

[woods63]

I primarily use EveryTrail to document bike rides. After I've loaded a trip, I click on the "download to Google Earth 3D" link. Then, I'll zoom in and manipulate the view until I like what I see. Usually, I'm looking for an view angle that depicts the climb, or some other notable feature such as the surrounding area.

Once I get what I want, I save the view as a pic (.jpg). Then, I go back to my EveryTrail trip, hit "edit pics," and add the newly created jpg. This can make some trips more visually interesting by adding pictures to a trip when no camera was used

Here's an example:

[warrenP]

Actually, I only did that one in Everytrail because Google seems to be in some sort of disagreement with Steve Jobs and I needed a way for iPhone owners to be able to utilize the waypoints easily. iPhones don't work with Google Maps. It actually looks much better in Google Maps because I get to use the balloons and links right on the placemarks.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8& ... 8&t=h&z=16

The people over at the cemetery think my map is da bomb.

I think your map is great, but I could not help laughing, I clicked on a ballon and got this respoonse
OLIVIA CUSHINGS WHITRIDGE
Last Updated by Cham on Apr 11
Information for Olivia Cushings Whitridge,
First dead person buried at Greenmount

How many people were buried alive before then?

[Cham101]

warrenP:

While researching links for the Google Maps site I stumbled upon this newsworthy and informative 1892 death notice for Alexander Brown which, courtesy of the esteemed and highly respected New York Times. IMHO, the very best obituary ever. That's the way we roll in Baltimore.

As soon as I can ascertain that this is the guy who is buried in the cemetery I will add the link.

[mssarabrooks]

I use it to create Virtual Filed Trips for my elementary school students. With budget cuts limiting field trips, I wanted to find a way to better illustrate where pictures were taken but in an attractive easy to use format. i discovered Everytrail! I share this app with other teachers that I know have smart phones!

Love Everytrail for education.