[pct-l] GPS

[Halfmile]

Amanda,

For most PCT hikers that want to use a GPS I would recommend a Garmin
Vista HCx, or if you can afford the premium price, the Garmin Oregon
400t. If you prefer a minimalist approach, check out the Garmin Geko
201 or Foretrex 101.

I have been trying to find some time to write up some GPS reviews over
on my web site http://www.pctmap.net but have been too busy finishing
maps recently, so the reviews will have to wait. My web site morphed
out of my attempt to load the PCT into my GPS.

A few things you should know about a GPS as it relates to the PCT.

GPS fall in two categories, mapping and non-mapping. The Geko and
Foretrex are non-mapping. They can show your exact location using
coordinates (using UTM is easier to work with) and you transfer these
coordinates to paper maps that you carry. You need good paper maps for
this to work. The guidebook maps won't work since they don't have UTM
or latitude and longitude printed on them. My maps at
http://www.pctmap.net have a UTM grid and apparently so do the
PCTatlas maps. My maps will only cover the first 1,850 miles of the
PCT, however.

The other type of GPS, are mapping ones. These units allow you to load
digital maps into the GPS. If you are going to carry a GPS on the PCT
I would suggest you carry a mapping GPS like the Vista HCx. It's only
a small penalty in size and weight over the non-mapping models, but
much easier to use. First you need to understand a few things about
maps that are loaded into a GPS.

The Garmin maps you want for the Vista HCx are called TOPO and you
have to buy them in addition to the GPS. (If you end up with the
Oregon 400t the Gamin TOPO maps come pre-installed). You also will
need to buy a micro SD memory card for the Vista HCx to load the maps
onto. Don't confuse Garmin's TOPO with National Geographic TOPO!, they
are two different things. You might as well buy a 2 GB micro SD memory
card as the prices have come down so much. You can easily load maps
for all of California, Oregon and Washington (and several additional
states too) on a Vista HCx at the same time.

The maps on the GPS are not as detailed as you are probably accustomed
to, but I still find them useful when used along with detailed paper
maps. The maps do have an issue in that in many areas the PCT is not
shown. If you drive out to Campo and turn on your GPS you will not
find the PCT on the GPS maps. Same thing in many other locations along
the PCT.

The best way to use a GPS is to load waypoints into it. You then look
at your GPS to determine where you are relative to a waypoint. I have
converted GPS track logs of the PCT into waypoints every half mile.
This makes it very easy to turn on the GPS and tell immediately where
you are along the trail. I made maps that have the same waypoints
printed on them, so knowing your location very easy. If your gps shows
you to be near waypoint A198 you could look my maps see that you are 2
1/2 miles south of Barrel Spring. I have uploaded all of these maps
and waypoints to http://www.pctmap.net so you don't have to spend
hundreds of hours doing it yourself.

Because of technical limitations, you can only load 1000 waypoints
into a Garmin Vista HCx or Oregon so that will not go very far for a
PCT hiker. You can however, load the waypoints a special way as
something called a custom point of interest (POI). Your Vista or
Oregon can hold an almost unlimited number of POI's (they are stored
on that memory card we bought a few paragraphs ago to put the maps
on). You definitely want a GPS that supports POI's.

Aside from knowing exactly where you are on the trail, a mapping GPS
will have maps of the whole state. If you somehow wander off the
trial, get detoured by a fire, go into a trial town and your ride gets
lost on the way back to the trail you always have a map of where you
are. I always recommend carrying paper maps, but you don't have to go
very far off trail to be off the guidebook maps.

Some notes about the individual GPS models:

Garmin Vista HCx
-Small and light weight (5.2 oz with lithium batteries)
-Very good battery life (around 45 hours from a set of lithium AA batteries)
-Mapping GPS, but you maps are additional cost
-Expandable Micro SD memory, also an additional cost
-Supports loading of POI's for an almost unlimited number of stored waypoints

Garmin Oregon 400t
-Small size (6.2 oz with lithium batteries)
-OK battery life (about 25 hours from a set of lithium AA batteries)
-Mapping GPS (maps come preloaded)
-Supports loading of POI's for an almost unlimited number of stored waypoints
-Latest touch screen technology
-Allows loading of many GPS track (up to 10,000 sample points) so you
can actually load the PCT into this GPS as a track (line) not just
points every half mile.

Garmin Geko
-Tiny (3.2 oz with standard AAA batteries)
-Only around 10 hour battery life (but spare AAA batteries are light)
-No maps
-Limited to 500 waypoints
-No POI's
-No expandable memory

I don't own a Foretrex, but I think it is similar to the Geko, but
perhaps slightly smaller and with slightly better battery life.

The Garmin GPSMap 60CSx is also an exceptional GPS, but probably
larger than most PCT hikers will want or need to carry.

Anyway, I have probably rambled on about this stuff long enough.

-Halfmile


On Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 8:11 AM, Amanda Gardynik <aggardynik at gmail.com> wrote:
> Can anyone recommend a good GPS/ navigation system for hiking?
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> *Amanda*
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