Free phone program to replace GPS

[Jim Bensman]

Everyone that knows me knows how I could always tell how far to take out and different things along the way. I made free Garmin GPS trail maps that had all that stuff on them. Then I created tracks that followed the river that the GPS used to tell how far you are from places as the river flows. Well, I got frustrated how small and slow the GPS screen was and having to have a separate device. So, I kept trying to find a program that would let me load my Garmin maps on my phone and follow a track. I could not.

Then I found the FREE OSMAnd (version for Iphone and Android). It makes it real simple to get the data the GPS would display. It also uses OSM maps which anyone can edit. OSM says I have made 30,000 changes in the last month! I have spent lots and lots of hours going through the rivers we use, adding all the access points, caves, springs and other stuff along the rivers. I have gone through and edited the position of the rivers to make sure they are in the right place. I have started to draw the surface area of the water and gravel bars. Pretty simple to do, just time consuming if anyone wants to help.

So far, I have done the Meramec, Huzzah, Courtois, Cache, Big, Bourbeuse, Eleven Point, Jack’s Fork, Current, Big Piney, Little Piney, Buffalo, Black River, Big Creek, North Fork and Bryant Creek (the creek was not even on the map), and ramps/campsites for the Mississippi River Trail.

The basic operation is real simple and easy. But it is a very powerful program that can do amazing things if you can figure it out. I am willing to do a Zoom training if people want. Let me know if you are interested.
The basic operation is you select the navigate button, choose the put in and take out and add any stops (real simple), make sure method of travel is on kayak, then push start! Then it will show your route on the map and give you data on how far you have traveled, how far and long to go and much more. It follows the streams and rivers on the map if the navigation method is kayak-so no need for a track. You can see all the springs, caves, rapids, etc on the map. You can see the water/Gravel bars where I have it added to the map.

You can do all of this for free and no ads. But you can get a subscription where you can download topo lines and shading for the maps, Not the best resolution, but it works. You can only download 5 maps for free. One option is 20 a year and the other is 30 a year. I got the 30 a year. You can also view many online maps like satellite maps and a real good quality usgs topo map for free. The maps only update once a month, but if you get a subscription you can get hourly updates which are great from me when editing the maps. You can also use it for Hiking, biking, driving and many other profiles for free. If you download the maps now, not everything I updated will be on the map. But they updated a couple of days ago, so most will be there.

I created favorites for the main put ins and take outs. I also have river points favs for things along the way like the trail to Jam Up Cave, rapids, Turner Mill, etc. It makes it easier to see and find them when doing a trip. The put ins are on the map as “Slipways” and I have all of them on the map.
Here is a link to a back up file I created that you can import into your phone. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N1BG2HSwtXni8ED5QyVW9bMgxpUdl8J_/view?usp=sharing For the Iphone, you have to put it on your Icloud or Drop Box, not sure for Android, but probably Google Drive. Select the 3 lines on the bottom left. Then select settings and scroll all the way to the bottom and select restore from file. Restore everything. It has the waypoints for the favorite access points and river points. It also has settings which are much better starting point than default settings. You can modify any of the settings and favorites. My advice, download your home state, then import the file, then start messing with it.

A little more on navigating. To start select the icon next to the 3 lines in the bottom left. Make sure the kayak icon is selected. Click on from. You can select Favorites and sort them by closest. Then select the put in. You can also use select on map. You can also use search. Search for “slipway” and it will find all the ramps around you. Then select Set designation and select the end the same way. Then you can select + to add a stop. Then select start. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are playing with this at home and you select start it will navigate you to the start. If playing with at home, select settings under the designation. Turn on Simulate navigation. Then select start and it will simulate the trip.

Let me know if you have questions or want me to do a zoom training.
 

[Carolyn Knarr]

This sounds amazing! Thanks for letting us know about it.

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