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[pct-l] GPS



If you have proper maps and/or the guide book you do not need a map. Still
sometimes it can be helpful and in one case it got me out of a dangerous
situation. Walking southbound alone also was easier with the GPS since the
remarks in the guide book cannot always be turned around that easily. When
I used it most is after I took a turn and all of a sudden I was not sure
anymore if I was really on the right path. Even with the map it then was
often difficult to say where I was, especially in a forest and for sure I
could not properly remember how the intersection 5 minutes ago looked like.
When I really was glad I had my GPS was on Goat Rocks. It was foggy, strong
wind and rain respectively sleet. Going South I somehow missed the cairns
indicating that I should turn left. Shortly afterwards I did see some huge
cairns and thought they were indicating the turn off. By taking a left at
the cairns I lost my trail. Both my compasses did not work (the rocks must
have been full of iron?) and it was late in the afternoon. At least with
the GPS I was able to work out if I was walking back to the trail or away
of it. Finally I got back to the trail and by backtracking it I did find
the tiny cairns and the snow field I had to cross. I was running down the
mountain in order to gain some warms. That was a scary experience. Although
I did see people before I got up high, including a father with his young
son, which told me I should be able to cross the ridge, I did not see
anybody after that for more than a day.
Battery use is not too much of an issue. With my Garmin eTrex Legend I used
approx. one set of batteries per month. I always had 2 spare batteries with
me which I used either for the GPS or my MP3 player. On the AT I did not
take my GPS.
Matterhorn AT01, WA-OR04