Gps

[Mountainhound]

i am just curious as to how many of you falks use a gps. i've never used one but i have noticed alot of you mention it.

 

[MichaelJ]

Own it and use it a lot. I'll use it in an emergency if the need arises, but I don't count on it. I primarily consider it a fun toy to track where I've been and pinpoint locations on maps post-hike.

Knowing where I am every moment of a hike takes the magic away somewhat, though it's helpful when determining how close you are if you might need to turn around due to time.

 

[swamp]

I'm with MichaelJ

A GPS is a fun gizmo, but it's still just a gizmo. My etrex Vista has a barometric altimeter feature that I use way more often than the navigation features. The internal "patch" type antennas just aren't strong enough for use in the mountains, except when you're on high ground (and probably already know where you are).
In short , I play around with the GPS and I count on my map and compass.

 

[mavs00]

Yup....

I have and use one. I used to use is alot more, but after bumping into enough trees looking at the display, I now just use it peroidically. I always carry it though. The more time, I've spent in the woods, the less and less I find I have to use it. Here's what I primarily use it for now;

1. Elevation, It's very acurate when calibrated on hike day.
2. On bushwhacks it certainly cuts alot of time out by heading you in the right direction. I'm generally a goal oriented hiker, so I'm generally headed someplace in a given allotment of time, so I'm not tremendously interested in taking off shoots or aimlessly wandering until I arrive. Though I must admit, given the time, that can be fun too.
3. To waypoint (or mark) specific locations like potential campsites, bushwhack starts, turns or other spots I may wish to return to.
4. I sometimes use it to for terrain reading and applying certain features I see on a map to real life. I find it really useful and helpful in learning "eyeball" navigation skills.
5. To shut my kids up when they keep asking "how much farther"
6. Along the same lines, I sometimes give it to the kids while hiking and they can play with it and learn at the same time, while distracting them from the rigors of a particularly hard hike.
   [/list=1]
   
   Bottom line for me is that for "off trail" hiking, they are invaluable to keep you headed the right way. But for most trail hiking, they are reduced to fun gizmos and gadgets.
   
   Some people hate em', others rely on them. They are a tool (one of many). Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[NYBRAD]

With many years of Map and Compass skills under my belt, I don't feel the need for one here in Adirondacks. There are so many known terrain features, that by using Triangulation, it's easy to find your location. The Ocean, Desert, Alaska, are quite a differant story though. Occasionally I'll bring a Altimeter if I'm expecting low visibility. My first experience with a GPS was is in the first gulf war. They were invaluable on the vast, featureless, unknown, terrain.
If I'm already carrying a map, Altimeter, and compass here in the Adirondacks, then a GPS to me, just seems to be an extra piece of gear that could be left behind, for faster more efficient travel.
More people should learn how to navigate correctly by map and compass first, then if they desire, add one to their gear list

 

[lumberzac]

I've used mine a few times to map out herd paths and then download them to a topo map program.

I did find it useful on my first trip to the Santanoni Range. I marked the summits as waypoints for reference. It save me a little bit of walking when I thought I was heading toward Coach when I was actually heading to Santanoni.

Sometimes I bring it with me and sometimes I don't.

 

[Tom]

I've found it most useful when walking on lesser-marked trails. Trying to follow the Warner trail, Netacomet-Monadnock Trail, and parts of the Bay Circuit Trail in Mass are next to impossible because of the many unmarked trail intersections and all the ATV trails. A GPS helps at key junctions IF cordinates are entered ahead of time and useful to get back on track after a wrong turn is (inevitably) taken.

Tom

 

[Nadine]

Ditto, ditto.
I use it mostly as a play toy. It comes in handy for mapping out bushwack routes with a mapping softwear program. Also fun to plug the gps into the computer and see where you've been on a bushwack.

Good for marking canoe routes too. I like a bit of advance notice on the river before I get to the rapids

For dense woods, a map and compass is the way to go. Although, I have pretty good luck picking up a signal in the forest. Now that I own a gps, I find I use it more and more. It's also handy for marking waypoints you would like to return to, that may not be highlighted on a map.

I would recommend the investment if you can find a good after Christmas deal on one. I think once you start playing with it, you'll find it comes in handy for a variety of reasons.

 

[Papa Bear]

I don't own a GPS but I expect I will get one this year since I see the value especially if I ever get to Labrador, which is a long term goal. As many have said, it's probably of greater help in totally unknown terrain than in places we know well such as the DAKs and the Whites.

I would make one comment on the commonly expressed thought that good old map and compass skills are more fundamental and more useful than some new gizmo. I kind of agree but then I recall a similar situation 20 or 30 years ago.

I have an engineering and science background. In high school and college, the use of a slide rule and the ability to use logarithm tables was a necessity. Who here under 50 has ever used a slide rule? Who even knows what a logarithm table is and why you would need to use it?

Point is, the use of cheap and accurate calcultors totally replaced these old tools. And I remember old timers (like my father) who would say "who needs those gadgets? What will you do when the battery runs out or it breaks? I'll stick to my old reliable tools."

Give it 10 more years and I would bet electronic compasses (= GPS) will be standard equipment. The price will have come down a factor of 5 or 10 (I remember the first really good calculators: Motorola and TI, costing $300-$400) and the accuracy and usability has skyrocked, and you can quote me on that. Then when your children see you using that old magnetic compass they'll say "Hey Dad/Mom, why do use that old thing? It's so inaccurate and besides it doesn't even point in the right direction!"

Pb
(who was a wiz on a slide rule, and yes I use a map and compass and do it well, thank you)

 

[SherpaKroto]

I use it all the time (but don't let Post'rBoy know I said that!). I do find that I have been using it less as time goes on. I use to turn it on at the start of a hike. Now I turn it on in the parking lot (to get a relative fix, particularly if I've used it a long ways away on the prior hike). I have mine set to GPS "autocal on" for altimeter. It automatically recalibrates during the day so I don't have to worry about changes in barometric pressure (believe me, it works on the Etrex Summit). It is much more accurate than the manual would have you believe.

 

[Mountainhound]

some great replies; i was thinking along the same lines as alot of you that it might be a fun tool to play with. but one thing i have allways heard is that there not any good in dense cover.

 

[MichaelJ]

I don't have issues with dense cover, but I do have issues with ravines, especially if the trail is up on the side or headwall. If the gps can't see a great enough swath of the sky it can't get a very accurate location. This is especially true for elevation, which requires at least one of the satellites to be reasonably lower on the horizon than the others.

 

[Warren]

I've been somewhat interested in a GPS to help keep a record of where I've been, especially off trail. I mark the map where I've been on and off trail and try to note features, springs, falls, cliffs, camp spots and such a gps would be a nice complement to that. Still, I think I would go for some sort of weather related instrument before I'd get a gps. My weather sense needs much more development than my navigation skills.

While I really enjoy routing finding and the serendipity of it, a gps is a much faster way to travel when off trail with a known destination.

 

[Mountainhound]

hey kevin rooney you brought up a good point which i ment to like what brand do you folks like, also what features do you look for.

 

[Nadine]

GPS in dense forest

Kevin,

Funny you should mention that. This summer I did quite a bit of bushwacking with Sectional Scot. She has the Vista ($$$), and I have the Summit ($). I was able to hold a signal in the dense forest 98% of the time, she had a signal about 60% of the time. It got to be so frustrating for her, that she kept hers turned off, and we just used mine. I have no idea why this was. The other weird thing, was that I could keep my gps on, stick it in my pocket, then pull it out and still have a signal. It would accurately track the whole time it was in my pocket, as evidenced by hooking my gps to my map program unpon return home. All the little twists and turns in the trail would be recorded. Go figure??

Maybe the Summit is made more for backcounty use? I dunno.

 

[Maddy]

I don't know if I am doing something wrong with my Garmin Etrex but I consider it to be of no value.
It does not work on my own property. It certainly has never worked on a trail below tree line. I was told by REI that it was because of tree cover.
My dog has a better sense of direction and does not need 3 sattelites to find a trail.
I purchased it because I often hike alone and am always fearful of getting lost. I was a bit miffed when I found out I spent good money and it couldn't help me navigate my own backyard.

 

[Mountainhound]

maddy i wish i had the sense of direction my dogs have if i did life would be sweet. i've seen my dogs find there way back home or where we left the truck from great distances and several days. i.e i had a hound take off one day to join another that was chasing a fisher lost them both one came home 36 hours later the other 4 days 18 hours later and that was after running miles and miles and miles.

 

[adkleaddog]

I use mine quite often, more for work though than play. Like I've mentioned in a lot of earlier posts concerning GPS, I use mine to "shoot" a waypoint, dial it in on my compass, and away 'ya go. I also bushwhack a lot, so I find it invaluable when doing so. It's also great to mark that "special" place-thing that you've found when doing so. I remember a GIANT fungus once that I found while hunting, can't find today to save my life...it was impressive though.

One thing I can't figure out is why so many users seem to say they lose satts when in tree cover...I've been in snow covered trees, steep terrain and had NO problem at all that I know of. (Maybe it's the model I have?)

To me it's a useful tool to have, but in no way is a replacement for map & compass.

 

[CaptCaper]

As a mariner I've used Loran C's for years then into GPS's of all types.

I do carry hand compass's AMC maps,and a map I make from a Topo program.

I record the whole hike from start to finish. I upload into pc to save it and see the info from the hike. Time of day started, dated, Avg speed,distance,stopped time,etc. I can go back and look at the hike in detail years later.

I have an small extennal antenna on top of the pack and it recieves sat's very well with no loss of fix ever.

I usually make a map from Topo with a route along a know trail and use that sometimes if I need too. Since I've never have been on the trail at least I have a idea where I need to go if needed.

More important is the saved track that I can send back to the gps when going there in the winter when the trails covered over,fogs set in or a white out and nothing seems the same. I follow the track til I'm in familiar territory again. Save's guessing (dead reckoning )and work.

If someone I know wants to go for a hike I can email him the track I have and he could relax and enjoy the hike and not have to worry about getting off trail anytime of the year.

Also it's database tell us the bearing and distance to other mountians, lakes,manmade landmarks,etc. instantly which is nice to know what where looking at somethimes.

On long hikes the batterys would be a problem but a couple of days is no problem.

It has helped us find the trail head's,parking lots,roads to trail heads in the past.

Does one need one? No.

Like everything else,GoreTex, compass's,etc. it makes my life easier and safer.



Jim

 

[TenPeaks]

I've had a GPS for a few years now and mostly use it to track waypoints and figure out distance. It's nice to know towards the end of a hike how much farther it is to the car.

I always carry a map and compass and mainly use the gps for fun.