I'm playing with using BaseCamp to organize hiking trips for the rest of the summer, but I'm having a hard time.
Historically I've used other mapping software (like NatGeo's TOPO! or DeLorme's TOPO USA), all of which deal in files. So one file holds everything related to one trip:
- driving route to the trailhead
- a track for the hiking route itself
- interesting waypoints along the way
I export data to GPX files and load the files onto the GPS.
This works well for route planning but less so for history.
Since BaseCamp uses the same map data and routing information as the GPS, it seems like it would take some uncertainty out of transferring data. (Topo! for example does a really poor job of generating useful GPX files.) I also want to have a historic archive of my activities.
With BaseCamp, it seems like I can achieve this kind of "focus" by having lists but it seems like the amount of data starts rapidly getting out of hand. It's also difficult to do any sort of organization post facto, as "My Collection" is cluttered full of tracks and photos (I have an Oregon 550) and waypoints and routes.
So first, how do people keep various travels organized in BaseCamp?
Second, thoughts for how to improve BC's data management:
1. Smart List Rules for a radius. That is, given a waypoint X, all items in My Collection within N miles of X. It looks like I can do this for POIs but not my own data. (This could be a little tricky for tracks or routes; I think "a track or a route having any route point/trackpoint within N miles" would be OK.)
2. Bettert Smart List rules for dates (absolute rather than relative dates).
3. Nested subfolders.
4. A hide function / 'show all but...'.
(Yes, I know that some of these have already been requested.)
Hmmm... less than I first thought. Which is good!
BC has been steadily getting better. Looking forward to continued updates.
