Let me know if you have any issues.

There is a lot more information in this particular file than the other maps. I have begun experimenting with embedding photographs; multiple path and mile marker layers etc. The best thing to do would be to download the file and manipulate the layers you want to see in Google Earth.

Once I’ve finished all the maps, I will publish them, as usual, to the Google Earth community via our EveryTrail account. You will also be able to download the gpx file for use with your GPS device. If you want an actual track log, email me for a copy. We want this information available to world for free.

The KMZ File (right click to save!)

I’m still working on it so it’s a bit of a mess.  I want to rewrite the way the categories are sorted and displayed.  As it stands, there are too many categories listed.  I’ll fix this later.  First, we paddle.

In preparation for the Cahaba River-X 2009 trip, I created a Google Earth (GE) file (.kmz) displaying the tentative daily paths and waypoints.

If the Google Maps interface is not enough for you, you can additionally manipulate the file from your browser using the Google Earth (GE) browser plugin, click on the ‘Earth’ tab.

You may save the .kmz and open it in GE to customize it further if you wish. The daily paths are in individual folders so you can deactivate them to tidy up the view.

If you improve the file, please share the joy with me!

The Day 1 put-in point, Booth’s Ford, can be found on your mapping software at: 2 Highway 251,Helena, AL 35080.

The KMZ File (right click to save!)

[mapearth=show]

More information here: 2009 Cahaba River-X

Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS Geotagging

Ok, there’s a new rule:  All camera and gps clocks must be synchronized before we put in!

You may stop reading now.  Just remember the new rule.

I spent some time this morning, trying to refine the mass keyword tagging of Richard’s Picasa Web Albums (PWA).  Every image has a collection of common tags e.g. Richard Grove,kayak,paddle,river,river guide etc.  The idea here is to make it easy for people to find the information they’re looking for…  Given that there are 1,700 images from his Etowah trek alone, I mass-inserted a collection of tags expecting to eventually visit each image and refine those specific tags.

Now, I can’t usually tell where a photograph was taken, so I clicked the heels of my ruby slippers together, which scuffed them up and now I can’t return them.  Just kidding!  I got them from REI.  Of course I can return them.  I did, after all, find them stuck in the intake grate of a Power Georgia plant (Plant Hammond?) and what the river giveth, REI taketh back.  I worked as an REI customer service peon for two wasted years at the REI Perimeter location in Atlanta, Georgia, so I know what I’m talking about!

Anyway, photographs. So the image file tells me when it was taken according to the camera’s timestamp.  I mate this with the GPS track to display the images along the track’s timeline.  Magic.  Geotagged photographs!  Not quite.  If the clock on the camera and GPS are out of sync’ by a few seconds, the images are geotagged with the wrong location.  If you change batteries and do not resync’  you make it worse.  Then, if you cross a timezone and sync’ one device and not the other -ouch.

The best for last: 12:00am or 12:00pm?  There were some bright as day midnights on that trek!  I was ploughing through the tagging process on picasa, being methodical, going day by day, reading Desi’s post and adding names to faces, adjusting the photo’s location on the map etc.  I suddenly realized that the text was referring to images in the previous day’s gallery.  A period of panic as I considered the possibility that all of my work, album naming conventions; file grouping; tagging; etc was off by 24hrs.  Yikes.  As it turns out, that would be an easier fix than the current reality. Some images are off by +12hrs, others by 23 minutes, some +24hrs.  So much for batch automation.  WE‘re going to have to go through each image and geotag it manually by dragging it on picasa’s map.

It makes you long for the good ole days, when you were lucky if your mom had even bothered to write a blurb on the back of the photo’.  Who were those ladies with their eyes scribbled out in black pen?  Oh, just some girls that your father used to date before she met him…

Stupid internet.

Although Richard is a prolific paddler, he’s not been as diligent about documenting his trips.  We (his paddling friends), hope to change this by encouraging those who paddle with Richard on one of his trips, to share their experiences on this site.

As a content contributor, you will be able to link to your images on Picasa (or elsewhere), retaining full control over your images.  You will be able to share your GPS logs and trip data with the rest of the community, hopefully encouraging others to join us in our paddling adventures.

We are actively working on developing the site, so you will see test content etc.  Simply disregard it!  If you find a bug, or would like to see something specific put in place, let us know!

The forums are open too…

Again, and I can’t apologize enough for the poor image quality.  I fogged up the lens of my camera by holding onto my coffee cup and camera in one hand and the truck with the other…  Who knows, we may be able to schedule a Mulligan with Paul…

Consensus: Verrrry Nice!

Lightweight, adjustable ridgidity (great for tweaking once you’re loaded up and on the water), packable.  After packing and unpacking this curiosity at every checkpoint between start and finish you’ll be a Pro.  You might want to travel with a peck O’ pickled umbilical cord to try and distract the customs/passport control officials along your route…

In preparation for the Etowah River Experience 2008 event, Richard, Doc Stephens and others, spent several days chest deep in the Etowah river, clearing out years of flood debris.

Imagine a day spent wielding a chainsaw in slippery conditions…

In honor of their efforts, I am proud to award the first of several merit badges to Richard Grove and Doc Stephens, for surviving the man-fest that led up to Etowah River-X 2008.

Congratulations to the pair of you for not maiming yourselves, or others, in the noble name of stewardship.

This trip was my first exposure to the joys of river clearing.  I’d done cleanups before, but this day, I was there to clear obstructions.  Unfortunately, I did not bring a camera so we have to rely on an open call for photo’ submissions.  Share ‘em if you’ve got ‘em!  I did take a few shots (for this site and Google Earth) of the Dawsonville County Park/put in that they built.  The best I’ve ever seen.  Great job Dawsonville!

This was the awesome 2007 Apalachicola river “paddle an American treasure” trip.  Lake Seminole (Woodruff Lock and Dam) down to the Gulf Bay community of Apalachicola.  One week, ~110Miles, ~38 people.

This was yet another example of how being on one of Richard’s ‘last minute paddle’ lists pays off.  Well worth the $300 or whatever it was, plus the $150 speeding fine on the AL/FL border…  Those 12-string banjos are expensive to maintain.

Until I get around to documenting this trip, you could do a Google search for more information or check out this site.

I created this kmz manually, in advance of the trip, but it didn’t light anyone’s fire… It turns out that there was a lot of community/commerce/politicking opportunities enabling this project, which was nice to see.  Many chef’s working on something delicious for the region.  I can hardly wait!

I’ll have to talk Richard into doing a group paddle down there again.  Long boats only.

The KMZ File.