[pct-l] Using a GPS

[Eric Lee]

Mags wrote:
>
Even going SoBo on the PCT it may NICE to have, but when people say you NEED
it..well, 
my Spidy sense tingles. :)
>

The word "need" is one of those uniquely individualistic words - it means
something different to each person.  A GPS is one of those things that you
definitely don't need . . . until you do.

Last summer I spoke with a south-bounder named Butterscotch who (if I
remember the story correctly) attempted and failed *twice* to get through
the Glacier Peak Wilderness using only a map and compass.  The second time
he and his buddies spent several hours on a peak summit trying to reason out
where they were and which way the trail went, and failed.  (Can anyone share
a more reliable version of that story?)

I don't know if they were just terminally bad at reading maps or what, but
in general I think it's pretty reasonable to say that a GPS is very helpful
when dealing with continuous snow cover in unfamiliar terrain.  In any other
situation it's just a toy.  I own an older-model GPS and I never take it
with me on summer hiking trips but often pack it for winter snowshoeing.

Eric