[pct-l] SPOT Alternatives

Tue Feb 22 17:59:04 CST 2011

hmm tent fire, better carry a spare tent! ;)

How far do we carry this? LOL

On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 4:42 PM, James F. Miller
<jamesfmiller at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> Probably should carry a spare set of paper maps in case of a tent fire!
>
> > Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:33:21 -0800
> > From: paulrobisonhome at yahoo.com
> > To: devon.taig at gmail.com
> > CC: pct-l at backcountry.net
> > Subject: Re: [pct-l] SPOT Alternatives
> >
> > i would like to respectfully disagree,
> > i've broken a lot more compasses than garmins in the past... and have
> dropped
> > both about the same number of times. compass's do shatter / break / leak
> fluid
> > ... and i'm often replacing my compass's when i take a spill (at 60 bucks
> a
> > piece for the brunton TDCL i use). my last eTrex fell about 15 foot onto
> > granite and was fine, and later washed away in a "creek" (waist deep
> snowmelt)
> > and i recovered it the next day in the water and it ran once i opened it
> up and
> > dried it out.
> >
> > so far my dakota has only taken one good spill about 12 foot onto a stone
> > wash... it didn't even reboot. many compass's would not have held up to
> that.
> >
> > ... that said you could carry 2 compass's for the weight of a GPS. of
> course
> > once you add in paper maps the compass route is FAR heavier (like 0.03
> > micrograms heavier! j/k )
> >
> > a compass that you're using for real navigation is going to be 3 ish
> ounces, at
> > least 2.5 " 0.03 micrograms " is a drastic understatement. a compass's
> weight
> > is real and significant. those 2 dollar micro compass's aren't going to
> help
> > you if you have to cover a long distance.
> >
> >
> > ... there was a time when people didn't trust cell phones... they wanted
> a land
> > line... compass's are going this way too. btw, by the time you add in a
> bunch
> > of paper maps, and 2 compass's, you could carry 2 GPS's as a backup ; )
> >
> > My humble opine,
> > ~Paul
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Devon Taig <devon.taig at gmail.com>
> > To: James F. Miller <jamesfmiller at hotmail.com>
> > Cc: pct-l <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> > Sent: Tue, February 22, 2011 5:16:57 PM
> > Subject: Re: [pct-l] SPOT Alternatives
> >
> > I've been told by sources that if you can hike 2650 miles on the PCT,
> then
> > you aren't too old to import .gpx data into your Droid. This apparently
> > spells doom for me though since I'm still struggling to program my VHS
> > recorder (but if I ever do figure it out, I'll be taping Miami Vice and
> > that's gonna be radical, man!).
> >
> > Anyway, just a word from a wise old man who hiked the PCT in 1991...carry
> a
> > compass and the knowledge to use it. The .03 micrograms won't break your
> > back, and the likelihood of the earth's magnetic pole shifting is
> > considerably less than running out of batteries or breaking your GPS.
> Back
> > in 91' on the trail, by gum, we didn't have no fancy GPS thingies. And we
> > had to carry a compass! Built character, yes-sir-ee. And the trail was
> > uphill in *both* directions back then too...30 foot drifts of snow (and
> that
> > was in the Mojave)...
> >
> > Devon
> >
> > On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 2:15 PM, James F. Miller
> > <jamesfmiller at hotmail.com>wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > I have Backcountry Navigator (BN) on my Droid X. I have started the
> work to
> > >
> > > to put the halfmile maps and data on it, but I haven't figure out the
> > > importing of the maps to BN.
> > >
> > > Am I too old?
> > >
> > >
> > > > Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:49:43 -0600
> > > > From: ron.a.guay2 at gmail.com
> > > > To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> > > > Subject: [pct-l] SPOT Alternatives
> > > >
> > > > Those with android devices... Consider using backcountry navigator...
> It
> > > > allows you to import gpx data... and download maps off-line... I have
> my
> > > > phone setup with the entire p c t... using my topo maps and half
> miles
> > > > data... his way points and track data. In theory this should be
> cool...
> > > > since I can see all the water icons trail junctions..etc... relative
> to
> > > my
> > > > location. It is a lot of work... but it was fun...
> > > >
> > > > However, in practice this could all fail... and that is why I have
> > > packets
> > > > of paper data... as described in yogi's handbook.
> > > >
> > > > If you want to record tracks/waypoints...you may want to
> > > > consider...oruxmaps. The apps take a bit to get comfortable using...
> take
> > > > your time.
> > > >
> > > > (Typed using google voice)
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