Posts Tagged ‘GPS mapping software’

GPS as a Trail of Breadcrumbs

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

You know the fairy tales about the children who left breadcrumbs as they traipsed through the woods so that they would be able to find their way back? Well, there are an awful lot of things that can happen to that kind of bread crumb trail; animals can eat it, or rain can wash it away just to name a couple. A GPS breadcrumb trail, though, is more accurate and more stable.

Using GPS mapping software, you can set your GPS device to actually track your location at set intervals, meaning that you can more easily find your way back from wherever you’re going. The device can be set to track your location based on several different sets of criteria. It may put a point on the map every hour, every three miles, or every time you change direction by a certain degree.

When your GPS device stores your trail, it records the date and time on which you were at that place, making this feature very useful for travelling. The tracking device can be practical if you’re hiking on unknown trails, as it can help you find your way back to where you need to go.

The device can also simply be fun to use when you’re driving around town, as it can help you see where you were when. Besides this, though, you could use it as a way to get familiar with new surroundings or to plan better routes for those times when you’re running errands all day long. Maybe you backtrack without knowing that you’re doing it and the tracking function on your GPS can help you streamline your approach the next time around.

One this is for sure, though, those kids were right about leaving a trail of breadcrumbs, but they just had the wrong medium. Now you can use your GPS mapping software for a high-tech trail to follow home.