[pct-l] GPS

[msaenz at mve-architects.com (Mike Saenz)]

"how far to..."

LOL!

Ain't THAT the truth.
When I'm hiking with someone who knows I have a GPS, I am constantly
asked "How far...?" It's quite annoying.
I prefer to measure distance on the trail in terms of time: "we're two
days from...", "we're a couple days out of..."

On my last hike, I passed a guy climbing Glen Pass who was visibly in
trouble. He was hiking a few slow steps and stopping to gasp air. When
he saw my GPS, he asked "what elevation are we at?". We were hiking up
Glen Pass from Rae Lakes. You can simply look up and see the ridge of
the pass. But as I came up behind him, passed him, and hiked ahead, he
asked me this question (yelling it the last time) no less than four
times...
He'd take a few steps and ask what elevation he was NOW at...poor guy.

Definition of a great trip: having to ask someone - "what day is it
today?"


Michael Saenz, Associate Partner
McLarand    Vasquez    Emsiek   &   Partners,   Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e  |  P l a n n i n g  |  I n t e r i o r s
MVE       MVE    Institutional       MVP    International
w  w  w   .   m  v  e   -   a  r  c  h  i  t  e  c  t  s   .   c  o m

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Richard
Woods
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 12:24 PM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [BULK] - [pct-l] Re: pct-l Digest, Vol 29, Issue 21

have to agree, map reading skills are a must. My last hike, dozens of
people asked me "how far to...." I usually knew within a half mile how
far they were from where they were heading. I carried an Etrex Vista for
a while, really tried to make it work, but the tracking and location
accuracy was usually no better than just estimating my position on my
topo. If you are on a known trail, and not particularly concerned over
your exact location down to less than a hundred feet, you really only
need one or at most two known landmarks in sight to cut a bearing across
the trail on the map. Sure topo and GPS readings frequently diverge, but
in the long run, a GPS was just another piece of gear that I had to
admit belonged in the "fun stuff" category when I was paring down my
pack weight. A good compass and topo are in my essentials list however.
Everything I need to know is there: location, terrain, altitude, if you
know how to use a compass and read a topo.

On Tuesday, September 20, 2005, at 10:11  AM,
pct-l-request@mailman.backcountry.net wrote:

> From: "Deems" <losthiker@sisqtel.net>
> Date: Mon Sep 19, 2005  5:31:37  PM US/Pacific
> To: "pct" <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
> Subject: [pct-l] GPS Altimeters
>
>
> Before one embraces GPS, they should learn basic map skills expertly, 
> period. It's just basic wilderness common sense. I'm old school, like 
> Greg, and have found very little use for GPS in the wilderness, except

> for my forestry work. There are some places on thruhikes where GPS 
> could be lifesaving though; along the southern CDT (and other trails) 
> there are minor water sources which may only be found using GPS due to

> the homogenous nature of the landscape. Tailor your gear and your 
> skills to the adventure you seek, in order to succeed, which could 
> mean your survival. Be leery of basing your adventure on anything that

> requires batteries or satellites to succeed, without a map and compass

> backup. Anytime someone spouts GPS!, I mumble it's hocus-pocus.  Hike 
> your own hike with wisdom and experience.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> I once taught a map and compass course to some Boy Scouts.  I started 
> off by showing them that in an area with good landmarks and 
> visibility, you don't really need the compass, just very good map 
> reading skills to orient the map and recognize features that will zero

> you in to approximately where you are.
> This is predicated on you following where you are frequently so that 
> you never end up in a situation where you have absolutely no clue 
> about where on a map you are and therefore the landforms and landmarks

> make no sense.
>
> IMHO, a GPS is unnecessary on a thru-hike.
>
> YMMV,
>
> Greg
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