Presenting Paddling Trips in Google Earth

[Joseph Berkovitz]

I've been having an interesting morning playing around with Google Earth's new feature for creating "Projects", which are a way to present a sequence of locations anywhere on the planet with text and information for each place. It does seem to lend itself to describing paddling trips. Of course, you are using Google Earth and so one is not free to design absolutely everything from scratch: it's all about figuring out how to make the best of what it offers.

I spent the last couple of hours creating this description of a Marblehead Neck paddle:

https://earth.google.com/web/data=Mj8KPQo7CiExNElhLUtDOV9jSTRHeGE1dGVpakpsN1gwSUM5V2kzUmISFgoUMDcyNTFFQUEyMDExNUFFMzZCREY

Obviously you can't use this for navigational purposes, but it's a nice guide to what you find, links to resources, and you can incorporate tips on very specific features to explore.

It might be a way to build up a library of trips.

It could also serve as a way to make a library of put-ins for the club that we use frequently, as in this example (which took maybe 5 minutes):

https://earth.google.com/web/data=Mj8KPQo7CiExQm9ZUnhwS1hHU1UzclJKNWpSbHoxRzBjbDF0bjBxT0cSFgoUMERDMkNDRjQzNDExNUIxQTcyRUY

Anyway, I'm curious what folks think. 

[Joseph Berkovitz]

As a further example, I used a different approach (Google My Maps) to organize locations of put-ins and tide stations in Salem Sound:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1US2tokTQ7Dh-w2yND1pO3JBTY2vBMJgh&usp=sharing

This uses Google Maps rather than Google Earth. It is less suitable for showing a sequence of locations and routes on a trip, but it seems better for quickly surveying a bunch of different locations and also getting driving directions to them.

[alcoons]

Joe,

What an incredible resource in so many ways! While there will be additions and suggestions this feels like a mature “project”, not a first demo. 

- I learned so many new interesting and valuable details about an area I have paddled a lot.

-  What a great resource to help plan a paddle.

-   One of the most valuable strengths could be to help those that might join a proposed paddle get a better sense of what they are committing to. How many times have I wondered just what am I signing up for when I was new or moving to a new level, or now as age and injury limits me? Having a visual sense of an area adds so much more comfort.  

— This visual aspect will also help me try new puts-in.

I am sure others will complete this list.

Great resource. Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ken]

Okay, now you've made me want to paddle that spot.  Lead a trip on a weekend when us working stiffs can make it?

-K

 

[Jim Snyder]

Joe, I'm looking at Google Earth and not seeing the tool to do this. Also, your links open in a browser window. Do you know if there is a way to open them directly in Google Earth? This could be a great resource if we started a group project where members could add detail to local features all in one place.

[Jim Snyder]

OK I got it, it's only in the browser version, not the application.

[Dave M.]

Joe, the link opened in google earth to the main page, but that is as far as it went. It may be my iPad. I'll try the MAC later.

dave

[Joseph Berkovitz]

I think on a mobile device, you definitely need to have the latest version of the Google Earth app installed. It seems to work on my iPhone although the experience is kind of limited due to the small screen. It also works on Chrome or Firefox on a Mac (Safari isn't supported.)

The new best starting point for looking at this prototype is a project called "Salem Sound Paddling Info":

https://earth.google.com/web/data=Mj8KPQo7CiExQm9ZUnhwS1hHU1UzclJKNWpSbHoxRzBjbDF0bjBxT0cSFgoUMERDMkNDRjQzNDExNUIxQTcyRUY

This is a "master map" containing a few put-ins, tide stations and links to more detailed paddling guides. To see one of the guides, click one of the green route lines in the above master map.

[mhabich]

For another approach to putting kayaking info on a chart, see seamammal.net

[Joseph Berkovitz]

I took a look. It was kind of broken on my iPhone but I get the idea. By the way, the Bay Area people use this: https://www.bask.org/trip_planner/2.17/. I spoke to the guy who maintains it about poentitally adapting it for NSPN but is kind of old school and it's a bitch to keep it current, plus people can't really collaborate on it.

 

[mhabich]

Hadn’t seen the BASK project before. Way cool. Yeah, the problem with stuff like this and seamammal is that some guy works really hard to put it together, but the ongoing maintenance is too great a burden. 

[Jim Snyder]

Joe, if you're open to the idea of a collaborative map, there has to be a way for others to log in. When I open yours, it comes up as "view only".

[Joseph Berkovitz]

I'm definitely open to collaboration, that's why I'm so interested in this tool.

My project is purposely view only for now, because I want more structure in place before I open it up to multiple contributors – i.e. some basic editorial guidelines, plus a sense of who is working on what. The purpose of this experiment right now was to see how well things work, and get a sense of what that structure might look like. Without some constraints on the content and one or more people keeping it all coherent, I'm pretty sure the whole thing will rapidly become a big sinkhole full of random stuff. (Not that you in particular would cause this to happen – but when you have lots of people playing with a shared document, things can go south pretty fast!)

I was going to make an editable copy of my projects for people to play with, but to my dismay I don't actually see a way to do that. To my surprise, the "Make a Copy" command doesn't appear on those projects in Google Drive, which is kind of a drag.

[Joseph Berkovitz]

So... maybe just look at what I did so far, then pick some other area (NH seacoast) and make your own guide, and see what you find out. 

[Jim Snyder]

I started a guide to New Hampshire but then decided to expand it to the entire Mass to Maine shore and leave it open for anyone to add to. All members should feel free to play around with it and add any information you deem appropriate. I so far have been frustrated in my efforts to upload photos.

https://earth.google.com/web/@43.06743163,-70.70878851,6.13838134a,20984.29831141d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=MicKJQojCiExaEdITWl5aWN0NVlkRmJjcFQ4Y0NESVdwWGFpUVV2aWY

[prudenceb]

3 minutes ago, Jim Snyder said:

I started a guide to New Hampshire but then decided to expand it to the entire Mass to Maine shore and leave it open for anyone to add to. All members should feel free to play around with it and add any information you deem appropriate. I so far have been frustrated in my efforts to upload photos.

https://earth.google.com/web/@43.06743163,-70.70878851,6.13838134a,20984.29831141d,35y,0h,0t,0r/data=MicKJQojCiExaEdITWl5aWN0NVlkRmJjcFQ4Y0NESVdwWGFpUVV2aWY

When I clicked on link, Google Earth told me I "don't have permission to view this project."

[prudenceb]

On 2/9/2020 at 6:13 PM, Joseph Berkovitz said:

I think on a mobile device, you definitely need to have the latest version of the Google Earth app installed. It seems to work on my iPhone although the experience is kind of limited due to the small screen. It also works on Chrome or Firefox on a Mac (Safari isn't supported.)

The new best starting point for looking at this prototype is a project called "Salem Sound Paddling Info":

https://earth.google.com/web/data=Mj8KPQo7CiExQm9ZUnhwS1hHU1UzclJKNWpSbHoxRzBjbDF0bjBxT0cSFgoUMERDMkNDRjQzNDExNUIxQTcyRUY

This is a "master map" containing a few put-ins, tide stations and links to more detailed paddling guides. To see one of the guides, click one of the green route lines in the above master map.

Nice!