Details of my creation of GPS map for Black Rock City, Burningman 2003 (Beyond Belief).
With about a month to go until burningman 2003, i decided not to wait any more and pick up a gps. so, i picked up a Garmin etrex legend on ebay (one of the handheld mapping models), and at while preparing for the trip, decided to make a custom map of the playa complete with roads, and theme camps.
while doing research, i found some other folks who have reverse engineered the process of creating maps (unsupported functionality by Garmin). some of those people use track logs to create street maps, while others start with satellite photos. the reasons are as diverse as the people involved.
so i scoured the web for information, reviewing BLM permits, public records and anything else i could find -- after assembling enough software, calibration points, maps, and other data from various sources, i constructed a map. i reviewed aerial photos to see if i was on the right track.
the first attempt wasn't too bad. but it was essentially just based on reasonable guess work, geometry, and an artist's rendition of the playa. i rotated the map and added the outer perimeter fence. this also required moving the map and calibrating with known points of reference.
about a week before my departure i was able to get some actual track data from the organizers! (it's sensible that black rock city planners are already using a coordinate system to help city layout and planning!). having track data is useful, but having an actual map offers the most complete functionality while using a GPS. i used the new data to refine and add more detail to my map.
this is my sophomore attempt at a map of black rock city, uses the track data and it's more accurate. i didn't have any theme camps, but shaded designated areas, including center camp. i still had some trouble forming decent circles (adding features to the map), and there's not much art/camp data either -- but the whole city with streets names and theme camp areas are all there.
i was also able to print out a 3'x3' map (from the PDF map published by burningman), using the plotter at work. i took the poster size print out, posting it at our camp so people could highlight places they've been, or mark suggestions of places/things to check out.
here's some images (apologies for the glare) of the map being displayed on the unit. you can see the at higher zoom level my camp intersection streets (ridiculous & faith). i listed radial street names with their associated clock position, and annular street names with distance (in feet) from The Man.
having the map was not only fun, but remarkably useful in all sorts of unforeseen ways. i used it to find my way around, mark where i left my bike, find my way back to an unfamiliar camp (to give someone a gift!), reversed my tracks to catch up with lost camp-mates, negotiate through the dust storm (along with missing street signs). not to mention guiding your way to get to gerlach. it's really quite handy, i wouldn't travel without one now
not so useful but interesting... here's an example of my track log data for one day out on the playa... you can see some of the street layout, where i wandered around center camp and out to the playa circling the man (the second image includes the street vector layout for reference).
here are my files for 2003. you'll need sendmap.exe that comes with the cgpsmapper utility in order to upload the map to your Garmin GPS. FYI, it will replace/overwrite any other downloaded map data stored on your gps (just like mapsource does).
once i get confirmation on the layout, and street names for 2004 - i will post another map for download!