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I have it worked out pretty well at this point so the amount of work is pretty small: About 2 clicks to download a data file from the OSM website and then running a shell file (which takes less than a second to run the sequence of 3 programs to do the data selection and conversion to GPX...

I have a 60CS and a 60CSx (analogous to the 76CS and 76CSx). The 60CSx is significantly better. (It was the first of Garmin's "high sensitivity" GPSes--the primary difference was ~200K correlators increased from less than a few hundred. (Don't recall the exact numbers, but they are on that...

A wild guess is that it might have been a transmitter normally used for tracking wildlife. (Did you hold any wild parties? :) ) If so, it would likely have been a low power transmitter that could be located by radio direction finding (RDF). (More sophisticated trackers transmit GPS locations...

The party that found her required about 5 hours to reach her from the trailhead. If we add 2-3 hours from the initial distress call to leaving the trailhead, it would be 7-8 hours. Given the conditions, there is a significant probability that she would not have survived that long. The...

Cellphone GPS chipsets are optimized for low power consumption which may come at the cost of reduced performance, particularly in less than optimal conditions (poor skyview, multipath, etc). A friend and I compared the GPS tracks from his iphone 4s and my Garmin 60CSx: the iphone track had...

I agree--the real details could be interesting. Until we get them, unsubstantiated assumptions and speculation serve little purpose. Doug

The unnamed author of this report gives no references (authoritative or otherwise) that Matrosova was carrying a SPOT rather than a PLB. In contrast, Sandy Stott (the Appalachia accidents reports editor), specifically identifies the unit as an ACR ResQLink+*. The SAR activation procedure and...

The white-footed mouse population exploded last summer which is a major contributor to the currently high tick population. http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/expect-more-cases-of-lyme-disease-this-summer-experts-warn-936684611540 Doug

Sorry, my error. Blacklegged tick is correct. I have edited my original post. Doug

Tick survival is higher for warmer winters or winters with a good snow cover (better insulation for them). Blacklegged ticks (the carrier of Lyme disease, also known as deer ticks) can get you any time of year, but peak in the spring/early summer and the fall/late summer (they need blood meals...

While they don't appear to say what they are actually doing, their description is consistent with commercial application of permethrin. ExOfficio also sells clothing that is treated by the same process: eg...

My understanding is that it is safe for cats after it has dried. I would also keep the treated clothing away from them as an additional precaution. IIRC, this was confirmed by Larry Dapsis (Deer Tick Project Coordinator, entomologist, at http://www.capecodextension.org) at a local presentation...

If you miss this one the next is Apr 8, 2024 (another Monday if you are concerned...) It passes a lot closer to most of us than the 2017 eclipse. https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2024Apr08T.GIF For those who haven't looked at the path of this year's eclipse, here is one...

Typo? It's on Aug 21 (Monday). Doug

Yep! Watch out for the vog.... <ominous music plays in the background> We slept out in a field* with a statistically good chance of clear skies (just NW of Mauna Kea) and got skunked by a bubble of cloud that lasted less than an hour. :( * Totality was ~7am, IIRC. Ironically, they saw it...

More recent smaller eruptions have also had noticeable effects--for instance, the eruption of Mt Pinatubo in 1991 caused a cooling of ~1 deg F in the northern hemisphere (~.7 deg F global) with effects lasting up to three years...

A key distinguishing feature of Merino wool is the fine (<24 micron) fibers. The fine fiber is softer and less itchy than coarser fibers, but it is also less durable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wool The recent emphasis on removing the itch from wool may be a cause of the reduced durability...

Note the OP's location and comments about the legal issues... I think we can surmise that he is not seeking to make a map in the US. Doug

Basic method: 1) Obtain a digital map of the region (topo preferred for hiking). 2) Obtain or generate GPS tracks of trails 3) Plot GPS tracks on map with appropriate software. I see you are aware of the legal issues... How I do it here in the NE USA: 1) I have several digital topo maps of...