[Cdt-l] gps with maps question

[David Thibault]

I've thought about going the smartphone route but am leaning against it
becasue I am hoping to stay disconnected from the real world.

This is kind of a quirky thing with me when I get out to the wilderness.
On my last thru hike I did take a peek email device to journal with but I
only used it to send,  I didn't use it to get email.  Since peek is no
longer in business I might consider a smartphone to allow me to journal and
as a GPS but I'd probalby still use it only in the send mode.   Then again
I may just have someone transcribe my journal from paper and carry an
actual GPS unit.

Decisions decsions . . .     I'm probably one of the few people left in
this country that doesn't have a cell phone.

Day-Late

On Sat, Apr 14, 2012 at 7:29 PM, Chris Pratt <chrispratt89 at gmail.com> wrote:

>  Day-Late,
>
> I used my Android smartphone last year hiking the Colorado Trail (it was a
> Samsung Galaxy S) and Backcountry Navigator application (I think its about
> 20 dollars).  The nice thing about the smartphone is that the battery is
> replaceable (I carried 3 extra batteries I bought off eBay with a
> lightweight charger for about $35.00).  It also uses a microSD memory card
> (16 GB) that was more then large enough for the CT's 500 miles of trails
> plus I had roadmaps on it as well so if I had to get off the trail).  I
> used Bearcreeks CT waypoints.
>
> Besides being a GPS is was of course a phone, had email, internet
> connectivity, camera, MP3 Player, etc...
>
> On a trail as long at the CDT you would need to preload a series of
> microSD cards  with the different sections/states and use BearCreeks CDT
> waypoints.  You should also be able to put Ley's maps on it as well.
>
> Although the phone is not waterproof I had a heavy duty cover for the
> phone and a waterproof bag that I kept it in.  Under most circumstances I
> probably only needed it a few times when I wandered or got really curios
> about where I really was.
>
> Backcountry Navigator is a great app and allows you to highlight topo maps
> and download only what you need on the phone.  You do not need cell service
> to use it once you have downloaded the topo maps (you would get this all
> done before you start the trail).  Although I have a dedicated GPS I'll
> never use it again due to the flexibility of using the smartphone as a GPS
> and everything else it can do.
>
> Chris
>
>
> On 4/14/2012 8:37 PM, David Thibault wrote:
>
>
> I'm new to gps's but have been thinking of getting one for next years CDT
> thru hike.  I've been looking at the Garmin etrex 20 and think it would
> more than meet all my needs.
>
>  I understand how to use the Ley maps and a GPS together and also that
> there are some gps tracks available from bearcreek.  But I may take
> different routes then these tracks, hey I'm open about exactly which way I
> go.
>
> My question is for a device like the Garman etrex 20 - if I want the maps
> for the whole area of the CDT what are my options.  I saw where Garmin had
> topo maps (24K) for sale that you could buy for mountain south, central,
> and north but I would be looking at $300 for all of these plus the $200 for
> the device.  I can hike a lot of miles for $500.  Is this the typical
> option or am I missing something.   I could get by with just the
> data points and I will be carrying paper copies of the Ley maps but it
> would be nice to have the maps on the GPS device too,  I'm just not sure if
> it would be $300 nice.  Any GPS folks want to let me know if there are
> other options for the maps or is this just the way it is.
>
> Thanks
> Day-Late (still a compass guy)
>
>
>
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