Is GPS just a 'Stupid Guy Thing?'

[Craig]

A question for those who don't use a GPS: What's your S.O.P. for white-outs ? especially when wind whipped in winter and above tree line ? If you could be so kind as to describe what you actually do and not the theories behind what can be done. I see little or no use of wands, trailing ropes or map and compass in these conditions. Thanks.

I follow my postholes all the way back to the TH.

 

[RoySwkr]

A question for those who don't use a GPS: What's your S.O.P. for white-outs ? especially when wind whipped in winter and above tree line ?

The worst white-out I was in was while driving, I was crossing the flats on I-393 when all of a sudden I saw a cloud heading my way. I was in it for about 30 seconds but the road was straight and I held my speed and got out of it, fortunately there were no cars near me. There was a multi-car accident going the other way, presumably some people braked or pulled over and some didn't. I didn't have a GPS and don't know how one would have helped.

Hiking? Surely a map flapping around is bad news but just a compass is much easier to use than a GPS if you have preset bearings - the equivalent of a track log.

 

[DougPaul]

The worst white-out I was in was while driving, I was crossing the flats on I-393 when all of a sudden I saw a cloud heading my way. I was in it for about 30 seconds but the road was straight and I held my speed and got out of it, fortunately there were no cars near me. There was a multi-car accident going the other way, presumably some people braked or pulled over and some didn't. I didn't have a GPS and don't know how one would have helped.

While on a sailboat, I have searched for a buoy in a fog bank so dense that you could hardly see the bow from the stern... We made several compass+dead reckoning straight-line probes into the fog bank until we found it. BTW--I spotted the buoy from the helm (at the stern). The lookout on the bow was looking straight ahead... When looking for anything in the fog (on land or sea), look to both sides as well as ahead to maximize your chance of finding it. (This was searching for a buoy at the western entrance to the Fox Island Thorofare, for those who know the area.)

For those without a nautical background, all big boats have very good compasses in good view of the helmsman. (The compasses are calibrated and compensated to remove any effects of the boat.) Steering to a compass heading is a basic skill for any helmsman. Near shore point-to-point navigation is often done by compass heading until one gets close enough to spot the next mark.

Hiking? Surely a map flapping around is bad news but just a compass is much easier to use than a GPS if you have preset bearings - the equivalent of a track log.

A tracklog is a tracing of someone else's path and is thus more detailed than compass bearings. A GPS with preset waypoints (often in an ordered list to make a route) will direct you faithfully to the next waypoint and correct for any deviations as you go. This is very similar to compass bearings to a sequence of waypoints except the compass will not correct for any deviations.

Doug

 

[BlackSpruce]

How big are GPSs, would one fit in my purse?
Do they come in various colors or shapes?
Would having one make me look smart?
Can one wear high heels at the same time without creating interferences?
Do they need batteries?
...

 

[Rik]

How big are GPSs, would one fit in my purse?
No bigger than other toys women carry in their purses.

Do they come in various colors or shapes?
Most are black or grey. They go well with everything.

Would having one make me look smart?
How could you look any smarter?

Can one wear high heels at the same time without creating interferences?
Yes. I mean, I've heard you can.

Do they need batteries?
Only if you want to turn it on.

...

I put the answers in red for ya.

 

[BlackSpruce]

I put the answers in red for ya.

Now, I am blushing! Thanks Rik, you are such a darling!

 

[Neil]

I have a difficult time with the title of this thread.

Is "guy" meant to be a noun or an adjective?

Is "stupid" modifying "thing" or the noun "guy".

I would think that if stupid guys use gps then all things being of equal opportunity then gals whose intelligence is challenged surely have a right to use them as well.

At least, I think so.

 

[BlackSpruce]

"I would think that if stupid guys use gps then all things being of equal opportunity then gals whose intelligence is challenged surely have a right to use them as well."



Absolutely, thanks Neil for pinpointing that I, too, can enjoy the very same right.

 

[Click Clack]

The following the postholes back out was brilliant

weighing in for the PRO-GPS crowd....

I carry one, Garmin Dakota 20, the same length and width as a Blackberry Curve, twice as thick, maybe 3 times as heavy. I usually grab a GPS track in the snow if I'm unsure of how broken the trail is and I got free maps online.

Never once had an issue losing signal, it's significantly better than the TomTom I have for driving in fact. The stats on it are the best part. Not sure how long you've been going up the Mt. Garfield trail? (All 4.8 miles of it) Just check the trip stats and it'll let you know just how far you've traveled, and average speed. Not sure when to drop into the woods to cut a switchback? Just look at your track on the way in and you can hit a straight line and catch the trail.

For all the nay sayers... embrace technology. I still carry a map and compass and have bushwhacked successfully with them, but really, why make it harder just because you think people using a GPS "aren't skilled".