gps vs. maps

Learn map and compass and you will have a much better understanding of navigation. GPS is great and I use it, but map and compass is a skill you should know. Sort of like not bothering to learn addition and subtraction, just rely on a calculator.
 
I agree with most of the posters, maps are king, the GPS is a great tool, right under the compass.

For me the GPS takes on a greater importance when off shore. The unit will give you a precise location but with out a chart or map it means little. The go to waypoint function is much more usable on the sea than land, in the water “as the crow flies” navigation can be time saving, but the charts show you where the reefs are. In nasty or close weather the GPS can be pretty useful.

When on land or in the back waters of the Everglades or Florida Bay, especially around the Flamingo to Everglades City area the track back function is great. I’ve come through mangroves constantly looking back to keep my bearings and the pass just vanishes, after a while all the mangroves and water ways start to look the same. I would eventually find my way back with out a GPS but it sure is handy for paddling around the backwaters. Still, I’ll always have my maps, charts and compass for any area I’m in.
 
For me, an appropriate scale topo map provides a lot of information (vegetation density, slope, watercourses etc etc....). Couple a topo map with a reliable compass (and the knowledge to use both) and a lot of off trail country is open for exploration.

In my experience, where a GPs has it's advantages is in featureless terrain like our outback. It's harder to take cross bearings with a compass (to double check your location) when there are no distinguishing features in the landscape.

IMO, both have their place :thumbup:



Kind regards
Mick
 
I love my GPS with the topo maps loaded into it, but as many others have stated, you can't rely on anything with batteries. Always carry a backup compass as even compasses can fail. I was once hunting in a fairly familiar area and navigating by compass. The sun wasn't out and I had a feeling I was heading the wrong way. Upon returning to my vehicle after a much longer hike than I expected, I found out my compass needle was pointing west.
 
Here's the one snag... Although I rely heavily on USGS 7.5 minute maps, so many of them are soooo old.

I use ArcGIS at work, so I make my own maps and import shapefiles of recent trails, etc. Far more accurate.

For some of you guys that want to play around with it, I suggest downloading the free copy of ArcExplorer and do a Google search for shapefiles of trails in your area.
 
Map. All the way. GPS's work under the assumption that you know how to use them and can cause trouble.
Then there's the issue of batteries. Having to carry extras and such.
With a map, even if you do lose it you can look at it enough to commit a general area to memory.
GPS's have also been known to deliver false info from time to time.
My biggest neggie about it is that it's technology, so it's bound to fail at some point. And if you're too dependent on it and don't learn the basics of orienteering, then you're bound to fail at some point, too.
Just my .02.
 
mj125 said:
how are the feelings of the gps vs. a map? I tend to lead towards the map maybe i feel its a dying art form. Just like star navigation; but who here has gone strickly to the gps systems. And do you solely go on this form and why?
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On longer trips, I have used a combination of both. When I hiked the CDT in 2006, I used a non-commerical map set that had a simple GPE enabler on each page (a known data point with a compass rose).

Our basic CDT procedure was to refer to the map often to stay oriented, and use the GPS to confirm our position on the map when we weren't sure. Some days we'd use the GPS 10x (featureless terrain like southern NM), other times we'd go hundreds of miles without referring to it. I ended up selling the unit after the hike and haven't replaced it. I keep telling Mrs. Tradja that it would be SO COOL to get another, but she very pragmatically replies, "Yes, but what would we really use it for?"

The only longer trips we're planning are bike trips (road maps have always been fine for us on bikes) and the PCT, which doesn't require a GPS.

I agree that map/compass skills are a dying art in some circles. I am proud of mine.

I still think it would be cool to get another GPS.
 
Im not good at map and compass but i always carry with me on backpacking. What i do is i print the area i want to go to from my NG topo. I down load points of the trail on my GPS as well. Whill backpacking i turn it on once in a while Depands on how it feels. Get the cordinates of the GPS and transfeer them to the map. I also always make it a point to stop there for atlist 5 min to realy pay attention to the area. Doing that i can run my GPS on the the same set of batteries for a week time. But i always carry a spare set. Lithium batteries would last almost three times longer then regular. But i got away with rechargbale set. Now i do wish to learn how to use a map and compass better.

Sasha
 
SouthernCross said:
In my experience, where a GPs has it's advantages is in featureless terrain like our outback. It's harder to take cross bearings with a compass (to double check your location) when there are no distinguishing features in the landscape.

IMO, both have their place :thumbup:
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Very true sir, same thing on the tundra - very few if any distinguishable features or reference points, the land is much the same everywhere. GPS is a necessity for anyone travelling here these days.

Gives you a huge respect for the people living here in the old days, navigating hundreds and thousands of KM between summer and winter hunting grounds with what we consider to be very primitive technology.

Inuit had no maps or GPS but still found their way - no stars to follow during the endless daylight of spring and summer - just an incredible knowledge of the land and a mental blueprint. Although there was no concept of a drawn map, if given pen and paper, our elders can draw maps of areas not visited in decades, with incredible accuracy.

Anyone over 50 in this part of the world was born on the land, and the connection to it and intimacy with it is just incredible. If you ask the real old timers how they know where to go, when there are terrible conditions, or no visibility, or no light, or no darkness - they will tell you that they 'just know', it's no different from you finding your way around your back yard.
 
G'day Chunk

Chunk said:
Inuit had no maps or GPS but still found their way - no stars to follow during the endless daylight of spring and summer - just an incredible knowledge of the land and a mental blueprint. Although there was no concept of a drawn map, if given pen and paper, our elders can draw maps of areas not visited in decades, with incredible accuracy.
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IIRC, anthrapologists studying our Aboriginals (that were still more or less living a traditional way of life) concluded that even from a very early age they showed remarkable "spatial intelligence". That is they seemed to be able to develope cognitive maps of areas (even after only one visit) and they had an uncanny sense of direction.

The Inuit, like our Aboriginals and other indigenous peoples of the world, have long understood the natural world that is their home and their part in it.

I often wonder if the modern way of life, that all too often divorces us from the natural world, has robbed us of these abilities.



Kind regards
Mick
 
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