[at-l] Okay, the question I thought I'd never be asking...

[David Addleton]

Not certain what part of the boundary waters you're heading into, but
as I recall from Fall 1973 (ya, that dates me) I learned how to
navigate with compass and map there, so, back then there were
sufficient geophysical landmarks: you have to be wary of "artificial"
stuff that changes, like old logging roads, houses, docks, etc, and
you learn not rely on the size of bogs because they change with the
rains and seasons . . . . elevations, lakes, creeks, cliffs were
enough.  GPS won't assist except to leave a bread crumb trail to
follow your path back the way you came, unless the gps comes with a
useable, viewable map; even then you are warned by the manufacturer to
carry a map and compass as a back up in case the unit becomes damaged
or you run out of batteries. The lithium batters seem to work longest
and are lightest, in my experience; they were good for 2-3 days of
heavy use, including camera (Garmin's Oregon 550t).


On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 5:05 PM, Mark Hudson <mvhudson at gmail.com> wrote:
> GPS?
>
> If plans work out I'll be heading out to Minnesota to hike through the
> Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I've heard more than once that there aren't a
> lot of landmarks there, I know the trail I'm heading for may well be grown
> in at the time of year that I'll be there, and that a GPS is probably a good
> idea, at least to back up the map and compass.
>
> So, I just found this one on sale at REI:
> http://www.rei.com/outlet/search?vcat=OUTLET_SEARCH&query=gps&button.x=0&button.y=0
>
> Any comments on that one, or suggestions on others, appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
> skeeter
>
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