A Simple Hiking Map

Inspired by Tom's recent efforts at Two-Heel Drive to map his hikes, I thought I'd try to do the same. What can I say? Great ideas bring out the copycat in me.

Because I couldn't readily find a Movable Type plug-in to help me, I went right to the source (a.k.a. the Google Maps API). For the last day or so, I've been taking a crash course in Javascript and geocoding. Let me tell you, it isn't fun, at least not in the normal sense of the word.

By making use of MT's Excerpt and Keyword fields, I've been able to geocode a few of my hikes. While it isn't as extensive, comprehensive, or cool as Tom's or Casey's (a.k.a. Modern Hiker) creations, I think my map turned out okay.

For the curious, here's the link to the hiking map.

I'm still in the process of geocoding my hikes. I've only plotted ten so far, but when I'm done, I estimate there will be roughly thirty markers on the map. I can almost guarantee the map will look empty, revealing so many parks and places I have yet to explore.

Besides the folks I've already mentioned, I want to thank Cyberhobo and Bay Area Hiker for giving me ideas and opening my eyes to possibilities.

I'm going to go out on a limb and ask for any suggestions or constructive criticism regarding the map. Are there features you would like to see? If this were your map, what improvements would you make? Ideas, big or small, are welcome.

In the meantime, I'll be updating and tweaking the map over the next few days. By next week, I hope to have everything geotagged.