Relying too much on technology...

X

x39

Joined
Dec 27, 1999
Messages
1,296
The other day my neighbor across the road came over and asked me if I knew of a place he could take his kids fishing where they stood a good chance of getting a few. I pulled out my map and showed him a spot that Fisheries and Wildlife stocks and restricts to anglers under age sixteen. While the pond is fairly remote, it is easy to find. I went so far as to tell him which road to turn on relevant to a prominent landmark. "No problem" he says, "I've got a GPS." and off he went. The next day I saw him and asked how they had done. He said he'd had a hard time finding the pond, as the GPS would not recognize the existence of the road I told him to turn on, and despite the road being exactly where I described it, he was afraid to go down it. As a result he drove down three different wrong roads before finally making the leap of faith and turning where I told him to and getting to the pond! Talk about a disaster waiting to happen!
 
Well if the GPS says there no road there then a road there mustn't be!! HEHE
Never used a GPS for a car, dont need to...maps and a compass do fine. A GPS on depth chart in a boat now there is a good use of one.
 
tried to use a GPS recently to navigate around a lake earlier this summer.

i couldn't figure out how to make it work for me...so i stuck with the map. i'm lousy with a map and compass, and it still worked better for me than the GPS. lighter too.
 
I like the map and compass idea. Don't have to try and pack or find batteries in the bush with that. Then again, I was in the BSA when we learned how to read maps and such...not bake cakes...:rolleyes:
 
We have a problem in Richmond BC with people taking their car GPS a little too literally. "Turn here" and they do, right into stores, people, buildings, ponds..........
 
Yeah, Scouting for me since I was old enough to join, 5 or 6 years old, all the way up to Eagle. We had to learn, and most of us wanted to anyways. I wouldn't want to worry about fumbling with batteries and a machine when I'm supposed to be out in the wildy.
 
My Garmin GPS manual says , do not rely only on the GPS !!! But there are many stupid people out there !
 
Reliance on GPS BEFORE learning to navigate is just the yuppy version of loading up a pack with brand-new, never-tested/tried/learned gear and heading off on an "adventure". We spend a lot of time on this forum discussing different aspects of survival -- wandering around in the woods without getting in trouble -- but how many people go out there without any experience? The news stories pop up all the time: they think because there's a trail, it's "safe". Darwin rules.
 
x39 said:
He said he'd had a hard time finding the pond, as the GPS would not recognize the existence of the road I told him to turn on, and despite the road being exactly where I described it, he was afraid to go down it. As a result he drove down three different wrong roads before finally making the leap of faith and turning where I told him to and getting to the pond! Talk about a disaster waiting to happen!
Click to expand...

I saw this with the first map program I got way back when, I think it must have been 1990. I played with it navigating across New York. it would tell me which streets to take to get from point A to point B -- but it had NO idea that most streets in NYC are one-way. It constantly sent me head-on into traffic ... good thing this was a desktop program that I knew better than to rely on.
 
I have a simple timex - expedition watch from wally world for about $50.00, and it has a built in compass with a bubble level as well. Even if I somehow lost my pack, my brains, and my survival skills, as long as I don't lose my left arm I'll be okay, :D. There's always the sun trick if the suns out.
 
A gps is not all bad. I love using my compass and maps but I have to admit that on flat land that does not have easily visible landmarks for sighting to triangulate your location the gps comes in handy.

I wish someone made a tiny gps that only gives it's current coordinates and altitude.

I used to have a garmin etrex and used it for verifying my coordinates but I got tired of carrying the extra 1/2 lb on my belt so I sold it. I still want to be able to verify my location but the gps needs to be super light weight to meet my needs.
 
I did a hike a few years back, for a youth club and their mentors - all hunters, BTW. (not to slag hunters but to identify them as a group who head off into the bush).

At the beginning of the hike, one of the men(tors) said to me, "My wife bought me a GPS for my birthday and I wonder if you could show me how to use it." I replied that I had no idea as I didn't own one.

Anyway, the hike consisted of pointing out different plants and talking about how early peoples used them. Demonstrations - fire making etc. were also part of the day. Primitive navigation was included. One of the easiest methods to remember, in my opinion, for solar navigation is the 'Shadowless Stick' method. Not as accurate as some others, but like I said, easy to remember.

I originally saw this technique on Ron Hood's navigation video, and since then, elsewhere. For those of you who have not realized the value of Hoods Woods videos, yet, the technique is that you take a fairly straight stick 2-3 ft or so long and you stick it into the ground so that it is pointing directly at the sun (casts no shadow). As the day progresses, a shadow begins building out from the base of the stick in an Easterly direction.

The new GPS owner says to me, "OK, that's East but how do you find North?" :eek:

Doc
 
There shouldn't be many places out in the open where a compass isn't your best direction finder and a small compass is easy to keep around. It's also a great teaching device for people who know where east is but can't figure out north! :D

I think GPS is a wonderful system. But like any complex technology, the more you know about it, the more valuable it is. Give a stick to a caveman and he can kill a rabbit with it -- if he can catch the rabbit. Give him a rifle and he won't need to catch it, the bullet will catch and kill it for him. But how are you going to provide him with long-term rifle technology? And safety ...
 
good thread and points x39 (and everybody!) ;)

I try and learn the simple, tried and true stuff first, like friction fires, navigation,
basic hand tools, then the techno stuff after, but I forget sometimes,
thx for the reminder :thumbup:
 
Last Sunday's edition of the Boston Globe Magazine had a good article about people getting in trouble in the mountains of New Hampshire. The prevailing attitude seems to be that a cell phone and GPS will work as talismans to ward off all evil. Much to their credit, the article suggested a simple survival kit, but made no mention of becoming proficient in the use of the items therein before going afield. A good friend of mine gave me a Garmin GPS a while back, I haven't really done much with it. Looks like a fun and useful gadget. Regardless, I'll always have a baseplate compass of one brand or another in my pocket!
 
Man thats pathetic. Reminds me of people who go into remote areas with no supplies b/c they have a cell phone to bail there butt out of trouble.:jerkit:

My boss always says, treat the pt not the machine, meaning believe what your eyes and training tell ya, not what some doodad tells ya.:rolleyes:

GPS is an excellant tool, but IMO it should be used in direct conjunction with a map and compass. I think there is not enough emphasis on land nav for a life skill(I say life skill b/c you need to no how to do it all the time not just in a survival situation). It is a skill that needs practicing frequently, probably more than others b/c it is so easily forgotton. Dont rely on the fact that you took a class in the scouts years ago and think you are set. Ive took MANY MANY gnarly military land nav classes, and was a scout in the army, and I forget crap all the time. Its just not a skill that used very often, but that doesnt mean it is not an important one. Refresher land nav classes are a must.:thumbup:

Sorry for drifting a little, it just sorta happened:o
 
Topgear, a motorist thing on TV, showed a list of dullards that mindlessly adhered to the GPS. People drove off cliffs, into ditches, dirty great road haulage vehicles getting wedged up country tracks...

There's a classic bit of GPS fail made famous. I don't remember the exacts but it was something like the best way from London to Bristol. The route went to Liverpool, across to Ireland, over to France then back to the UK.

It amuses me when people use a battery gadget as a prosthetic for an intellect.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top