POSTS
Using Wordpress, Twitter, GPS to document a multi-day hike in Spain
When I did a hike in Spain, I wanted to share the journey on social media and a website. I also wanted to share the route live whilst I was walking.
How?
I decided to do this through the following strategies:
- A website built on WordPress with a customised theme
- A plugin that shows a map with a location pin
- A mobile phone with a GPS signal and a 3G internet connection
- A Twitter account & tweeting with the location and an image
- Showing tweets on a map with Google Maps JavaScript API
- A Garmin GPS unit to keep a track log and as a backup
GPS and Twitter
When I did the walk, I carried the Garmin GPS unit with me to record a track log to make a backup GPX of the route. I turned on location recording on my Twitter account so that the tweets that I posted had a latitude and longitude attached to them. When I posted a Tweet from my Twitter account, I also posted an image so that this image would also have location information attached to it.
Charging the Batteries
I needed to make sure that I had charged batteries for the GPS unit and my mobile phone was fully charged. I charged both of these devices via a solar panel.
The Mobile Phone Used
The mobile phone that I used was an iPhone 5. There are better phones now with a longer battery lives but at the time this did the job.
The GPS unit used
The Garmin unit that was used was an Etrex Vista HCX which I had lying around from previous journeys. Detailed maps can be loaded onto it. These days you can also load detail Maps onto a mobile phone, but it helps to have separation of concerns between devices in case one fails. The GPS unit also recorded detailed altitude information and information that I could upload onto a website called GPS visualizer (GPX file).
GPS visualizer, Google Maps JavaScript API and Waypoints
Once I had completed the journey, I wanted to communicate it. One-way was through a map with a waypoint marker shown on each blog post on my WordPress site.
I used GPS visualizer website to show the track log on a Google Map and a graph of altitude information. Finally, I created a Google Map which showed way markers for each tweet, with a pop-up window showing the photo and the text from the tweet.
The area which required the highest technical knowledge was using the JavaScript Google Maps API to show the way markers and the pop-up windows on a Google map. I followed some tutorials, and it wasn’t too bad.
Pros
- Effective method of documenting my journey
- Connected my journey to a wider audience via Twitter
Cons
- Loss of internet connection in some remote areas
- High level of technical ability needed for some of the pieces
- Time to prepare and execute
Conclusion
It would be helpful to have someone else to help with this kind of thing. Especially if you want to do it over the long-term. There is a lot of work involved. There is also a cost for hosting a WordPress website so you should take this into account.