[pct-l] GPS

[Brick Robbins]

On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 5:31 PM, Stephen Clark <rowriver at gmail.com> wrote:
> Wonder what would happen if a few of those satellites were disabled by a
> meteor storm...? Would foot traffic on long distance hiking trails (PCT,
> CDT, AT, ADT) come to a halt?

I carried a compass 1995, a very heavy snow year. I never used it.
South of the Sierra the biggest navigation challenge is which way to
turn when you get to a road crossing to pick up the trail on the other
side.

In the High Sierra, it is not hard to keep yourself in the right
drainage, the terrain is so dramatic.

North of I-80, the terrain was not dramatic enough to make navigation
superfluous so you followed the tread. In the areas with too much snow
coverage follow the tread,  there was nothing to take bearings on
anyways, and your view was obscured by the trees, rendering the
compass pretty useless. I REALLY could have used a GPS there.

Otherwise, navigation is pretty much a non issue.