Quote:
|
Originally Posted by toejam
GPS can do some neat stuff, but I haven't felt the need to carry one yet. Once I backpacked in West Virginia where the forest was real thick and the mountains were short and you couldn't get a view of the land - that would have been a good place for GPS. I usually backpack in small Texas parks or mountains with big views and really big landmarks so it's easy to know where you are.
|
I have so much fun reviewing my GPS tracks and sharing GPS waypoint data, I think I need to clarify that I carry my GPS more for fun than "necessity" (though, by definition, fun while hiking is a necessity for me... that's one reason the camera always comes along, as well!)
It's fairly difficult to get lost at most State Parks, and on the rare occasion we have, it's only caused a little back-tracking. In the cases where my GPS map includes park trails, the GPS can be useful in helping ensure we don't follow "non-trails," namely footpaths that get formed at busy parks over time, due to many hikers following the same off-trail route (witness
Enchanted Rock's many unmarked trails snaking in every which way). GPS is also a nice reference for things like exact sunrise and sunset times, which photographer's ordinarily either need to check before they get to a park or make a mental note of after 24 hours there. And, if I'm ever at a park when Justin's flying, I have a mind to share my GPS coordinates with him so his passengers can take photos of me on the ground, and I can take photos of him in the air. (Yes, I'm a geek... does this still
surprise anyone, however?!
It's why I run
WildTexas.com, afterall.)
For someone like me who enjoys sharing detailed trip reports with others, the exact distance and time hiked, elevation gain/loss and especially useful. I used to have to rely on published mileage, which as you know varies depending on the source. In fact, while writing my
Hiking the Guadalupe River Multi-Use Trail trip report (
now online!), I noted a fairly significant discrepancy between the park map and the actual trail distances. Unless you're carrying a USGS quad when you visit State Parks, that's something only the GPS can accurately record.
Now, the GPS in my car *is* a necessity... I use that religiously, and it's saved me many headaches on the road.
Justin does a little gratuitous product placement, with his Garmin Rino in his right hand and his Garmin Forerunner on his left wrist! 