Basecamp makes seemingly random double pieces when creating a route (with pictures)

I'm a hiker using a Garmin Etrex 32x on basecamp 4.7.4 with Topoactive Europe 2021.20 

The problem first occured when trying to create a route from a track. In direct mode zoomed in I first make sure all the shaping points are on the road. Than I change the profile to walking (modified to have no avoidances) and on shortest way. Than I review and modify with extra shaping points to make sure the route follows the roads like the track intended. 

Than a series of problems occur, where the route goes to a shaping point, goes back to the previous shaping point and than continues. Sometimes it goes only halfway (or any distance shorter or longer) back to the previous shaping point and than returns. My routes are consistently much longer than the tracks, not explainable by the curvier roads of the route vs the track. 

I also tried making the route manually with the route mode trying to mimic the trail. I have no problems in getting the route to follow the right roads, but the same problems occur. I can also clearly see it when I do a playback. This happens constantly, the big arrow suddenly returning back at random places for some time and then returning. At first I thought it may be a playback issue, but that's not the case again since the route is always significantly longer than the track, by going al this little piece double. 

Here is what I think causes the problem (picture), it seems very much like a bug to me, unless there is something in the settings which I overlooked. But I sincerely cannot think of any possible reason why Basecamp would behave this way. It just doesn't make any sense and this one thing makes it almost impossible to make any hiking route that behaves normal and with the correct distance. 



Here I just drew something to get a clear picture of the problem. The pink route line goes further than the shaping point I just made. When in playback, you would see the big route arrow going to the end of the line, turning around to the previous shaping point and then resuming to the next shaping point. 

Here's another example creating a route from a track with the route going even back and forth in places where there are no shaping points. The direction normally goes north here but the route is going crazy. It also shows double arrows. The red line in the background is the track from which I made a route manually. The problem occurs less manually than when automatically creating a route and modifying it, but it's still abundant. It would take me ages and ages to make a route of let's say 100km this way.



Why does this happen? Can anyone help me please? Thanks in advance! 

  • Problem with hiking routes is generally the map and not a BaseCamp issue. I've used an Etrex20 for over 10 years, the only safe way to create walking routes is to use Direct Activity and not a routing profile like hiking or walking.

  • Hmm, well that seems the case. After further experimenting it seems like it doesn't work in walking profiles. I would really like to find a way however. So I just converted some GR53 using "create route from selected track" while in driving mode (toolbar) with all avoidances unchecked, it gave me the routes all exactly like the tracks intended, with all mini unpaved hikingtrails included! So it seems like the map does know all these trails and they are routable. There's just something really weird going on with these walking profiles, I don't understand why it wouldn't work directly via walking profile, since all the data are there. 

    Then in the properties box of the route, I changed the acivity profile to hiking and the route stayed the same, only the duration time adapted.  

    Now everything behaves in Basecamp exactly as I want (hooray), but do you think it will cause problems or change stuff when I start the route on my Garmin Etrex? 

  • I really have no idea. It's why I stick to using Direct Activity as I know it won't change.

  • There isn't anything special about the various profiles other than the name and choices for the various options.

    If walking is the only one not behaving it suggests that something is wrong in your saved preferences. 

    Try going to Edit>Options>Activity Profiles, set the profile to Walking and click on Reset Activity Options.  Check to see if that works, if so, try changing the profile options to your previous settings and see if that works.

    You could also take any profile and set the options to those for Walking and it should behave the same as Walking.