Learning to use a GPS

[Zer0-G]

Maybe I'm dumb, but I've lost 2 maps - snatched right out of a closed (but not zipped) pocket, Spencer and I also found a map left in a bushwhack by a very experienced hiker from this board.

It hapens, yes it happens, at least for some of us.

Try to top this one.

Sometimes I'll print out the small section of the area I'll be hiking in using Mapsource or Delorme. It's handier than dealing with the big folder-upper. I'll get more detail too.

On a bushwhack to Lone and Rocky last winter, after I signed the register at the canister and left the summit, I realized I didn't have my map any longer (I did have backup, the big folder-upper).

Obviously, I thought I dropped it somewhere.

Well, a few months later, I returned to Rocky and signed the register again, and there ya go! I had put my map into the canister and it was there waiting for me.

It was in a sandwich sized zip-lock and I didn't realize that I had gotten it all mixed up with the other plastic bags in the canister.

 

[WhiteMTHike]

Does anyone have any recomendations for the best way to learn to use a GPS? I have inherited a Garmin etrex. The most I have accomplished on my own is to upload maps from DeLorme...
The AMC used to have classes, but I have not seen any in a while.
Thanks!
Christine

It depends on how deep into GPSing you want to go. I found that for me going by the owners manual and taking it out on a trail I knew then just going through all the menus worked for me. Also coming on to Views From The Top and reading DougPaul's postings helped a great deal.

 

[CaptCaper]

Does anyone have any recommendations for the best way to learn to use a GPS? I have inherited a Garmin etrex. The most I have accomplished on my own is to upload maps from DeLorme...
The AMC used to have classes, but I have not seen any in a while.
Thanks!
Christine

I agree with others in that reading the manual and actually practicing with it. You can practice any were with it. On your street,around a park,etc.
Also there is a world of info now on the web just search and you'll learn that way as well.

You can just put some time into it for general navigation or take it to incredible accuracy and data sharing with your PC and or the world.

I first got into GPS in 96 for a more accurate and better data then I was getting out of the Loran C system for use in the marine industry. I needed very high accuracy for finding very small ship wrecks, fishing spots,etc. as small as a car often. GPS did that for me instantly. But I had to do some self education to get to that point.
As we know out on the ocean in fog there is no altitude,points to take reference etc. You could run up onto a shoal,etc.
On one of my jobs around OuterMost Harbor in Chatham running Seal Watches I relied on it very much to get the passengers back to port while running very twisted, narrow channels in dense fog smoothly.Radar alone doesn't cut it.
I use to have a whole train of boats following me through the fog as they knew we were there only hope getting back.
When I got a hand held I just transfered the same learning experience into the hiking and automotive end. I get high accuracy in the Whites and on the road as well.
I took it to the extremes with sharing data and tracks with my son's and others. You don't have to do that but I found you don't have to be a rocket scientist to get figure it out.

Good Luck.

 

[DougPaul]

I agree with others in that reading the manual and actually practicing with it. You can practice any were with it. On your street,around a park,etc.

I second the suggestion. GPSes are complicated (but amazing) little beasts. Practice using them for anything you can think of: walks, bikerides, hikes, drives, etc. Then when you really need it (ie half-panicked, exhausted, in rain, wind, fog, at night, etc), you will be able to use it. Better yet, you will be able to use it to avoid becoming half-paniced, exhausted, etc.

The military has a saying: "train like you fight and fight like you train" (or maybe it is reversed). The same idea applies here.

I studied my first GPS (a Garmin eTrex Vista) for about a week before I felt comfortable with it. (I already knew basic navigation from hiking and coastal sailing.) And continue to practice with it.

Doug


BTW, on the issue of dropping a GPS, I have neopreme-fabric cases for mine. They protect the screen from scratches and reduce the probability of damage if the unit is dropped. A bit of plastic screen protector doesn't hurt either.

 

[Neil]

One thing with GPS's is that they are so damned addictive and another is that they do what they do so well.

If you use one regularly I think it's a good idea to do some off-trail trips now and again with only the M&C in order to stay sharp.

Put me on the list of map losers. Lucky for me on that trip I had a GPS for backup! It was nonmapping and it felt a little strange to be out there with no map. Now if I'm hiking off-trail I carry my map in a plastic case (guess who I stole that trick from?)that hangs around my neck. I'm always checking it. I usually have a home-printed one and either the ADK trail map or a quad stashed away somewhere. (2 compasses here, I "donated" a few before always wearing it around my neck)

 

[Zer0-G]

One thing with GPS's is that they are so damned addictive and another is that they do what they do so well.

If you use one regularly I think it's a good idea to do some off-trail trips now and again with only the M&C in order to stay sharp.

In my first few off trail trips with my first gps, I was so absorbed with using it that I spent more time fussing with it than paying attention to where I was walking. The end result was a number of good falls, a few collisions with trees and a good number of skull bonks from wayward branches.

Practice in a safe area where you won't run into the same misfortune I did.
Oh, one more thing. At the time I lived in Brooklyn and that is where I discovered that one should not practice any where near heavy traffic, or any traffic for that matter ....

Y'know, don't drive while talking on the cell phone and don't walk near traffic when learning how to use a gps..

 

[Nessmuk]

In my first few off trail trips with my first gps, I was so absorbed with using it that I spent more time fussing with it than paying attention to where I was walking. The end result was a number of good falls, a few collisions with trees and a good number of skull bonks from wayward branches.

A good friend of mine, a longtime expert at traditional M&C training, and I headed out into the Oswegatchie wilderness virgin timber area shortly after the 1995 blowdown. He is always quite the gadget guy, and of course at the time had a brand new GPSr with him. As we navigated and crawled over one downed giant after another, he kept pointing to the tiny liquid crystal screen in his hand and kept saying "we are here", pointing to map with his other hand. "Yup", I'd say, as I continued to keep my eyes on the landscape and scenery about me. I couldn't help but notice that he hardly ever looked up away from the device (stumbling along as Zer0-G describes). While standing at a place where a ridgeline faded away, he repeated his comparison of GPS to map location. I said, no, we are actually "here", pointing to the place on the map a short distance away from his position, where the map obviously matched visual observation. "You are missing all of this out here, the reason for being here." He agreed, put the GPSr away for the rest of the trip, and reverted to getting his head in the outdoors instead of being in the little box in his hand.

Much of this of course was the newness and the "wow factor" of this brand new and amazing device. I am sure that with familiarity most people wouldn't navigate this way. But I am always reminded of this when I see someone so fascinated with the tool that they forget why they came to the wilderness in the first place. Use it as a tool, be facinated with it's capabilities, don't forget what the wilderness offers and teaches as an alternative.

 

[DougPaul]

In my first few off trail trips with my first gps, I was so absorbed with using it that I spent more time fussing with it than paying attention to where I was walking. The end result was a number of good falls, a few collisions with trees and a good number of skull bonks from wayward branches.

When navigating by GPS, I use the GPS to give me a bearing which I then follow by compass or the sun etc. Or I just use it to tell me where I am and follow the terrain toward my objective.

It's like driving a car or flying a plane--you glance at your instruments (head down, eyes in) but spend most of your time looking out at the outside world (head up, eyes out).

There is a reliable report of a motorist who drove into a river because the GPS said that there was a ferry there...

Doug

 

[prino]

Great Thread! You guys leave me speechless.
I'm still a map and compass guy myself, but there's a lot to be said for the GPS.

 

[chinooktrail]

WOW! Thanks for all the info!
Yes, I do use a map and know how to use a compass. I always bring them with me on hikes, and will continue to do so. You could say I am a bit of a map junkie... But, I have this little bugger, (eTrex Vista) and I figured since I have it, I may as well learn how to use it. I will start as lots of you have suggested at just reading through the manual again and taking it on the short walks I take around the house. Thanks again, and happy trails to all.
Christine

 

[arghman]

But, I have this little bugger, (eTrex Vista) and I figured since I have it, I may as well learn how to use it.

Vista's not a bad one, you can transfer waypoints to/from a PC if you have the serial cable (vs. the plain yellow eTrex which has no way to communicate with a PC) & I think you can buy topo maps to download onto the gps.

 

[Zer0-G]

When navigating by GPS, I use the GPS to give me a bearing which I then follow by compass or the sun etc. Or I just use it to tell me where I am and follow the terrain toward my objective.

Doug

These days I leave it off most of the time.

If I need a bearing, I turn it on, get the bearing, set the bearing on the compass then I turn it off. Then it's Map and Compass from that point. And that's only if I can't get a line of sight.

(Hey, I just repeated what Doug said.... )

I think I mentioned earlier, I also use the GPS near the end of the day when I'm tired and getting impatient and I want to know how far I have to go to get to a specific destination.

I am much happier with Map and Compass supplemented with an Altimeter (not the one on the gps).

The truth is, I try to use it as little as possible. It is more like a backup than my primary navigational tool.
The big reason for that is, it can break, i.e. batteries die, it can be dropped, lost etc...(maps can be lost).

If one loses their edge with M&C one could be in a lot of trouble.

Zer0-G

 

[sardog1]

Vista's not a bad one, you can transfer waypoints to/from a PC if you have the serial cable (vs. the plain yellow eTrex which has no way to communicate with a PC) & I think you can buy topo maps to download onto the gps.

Sorry to have to contradict. The basic eTrex (both yellow and camo versions) does allow data transfer through the same connection on top that the etrex Vista and others in the series have. What you cannot do with the basic one is load maps.

 

[DougPaul]

Vista's not a bad one, you can transfer waypoints to/from a PC if you have the serial cable (vs. the plain yellow eTrex which has no way to communicate with a PC) & I think you can buy topo maps to download onto the gps.

I have an eTrex Vista which I used for a number of years before upgrading. It is a perfectly good model--top of the line 2 generations back.

Yes, you can transfer waypoints, routes, and tracks between the Vista and a computer. Also contains 24 MB of mapping memory. (Enough to store 1:100K topos for the DAKs, VT, NH, and much of MA.)

chinooktrail:
You will find the GPS much easier to use in the field if you load a set of maps on it. You will be able to see where you are on directly on a map--no fooling around with numerical coordinates. And it will be much easier to place waypoints in the field: just move the pointer to the desired location and click on it.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

These days I leave it off most of the time.

If I need a bearing, I turn it on, get the bearing, set the bearing on the compass then I turn it off. Then it's Map and Compass from that point. And that's only if I can't get a line of sight.

(Hey, I just repeated what Doug said.... )

Better get that fixed...

I use my GPS in any of 3 modes:
1) Keep it turned on for extended periods or the whole time. Good for recording a track and navigating when I'm not worried about battery life. (OK for day trips--rated battery life is "up to 20 hrs" for my current unit.) I will still follow bearings using the compass rather than staring at the GPS.
2) As Zer0-G suggests above. Good for when I don't care about the track or am conserving batteries. One need only turn the GPS on for a few minutes at each fix. (This is what I did on my Mar 2005 Isolation bushwack--I was conserving the batteries. In fact, I was carrying my eTrex Vista with a rated battery life of "up to 12 hrs".)
3) Or just carry it turned off. Think of it as emergency gear--a navigational first-aid kit. (Or as climbers would say, carrying your security in your rucksack...)

BTW info on the eTrex Vista can be found at: http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexVista/index.jsp

Doug