So, I got a GPS

[mikeharo]

Hello everyone,

My Christmas gift this year was a Garmin GPSMap 76CSx (not ice boots). Anyway, should I keep this or send it back - it was not a cheap piece of gear? Are basemaps available for the ADK? So say I want to do an off trail hike or find a slide - how can the GPS help me do that? I guess these questions are coming from my ignorance in using a GPS. I really have no idea how to pre set a route. Say I want to get to Bennies like in the recent "how to die" thread. How can I use that GPS to get myself down the trail, make an exit at the right point to get to the slide? Or perhaps, I know the answer and it really is an artform. I am expert with map and compass and think a GPS can really only be better is for whiteouts or aiding in search and rescues where coordinates are known. So, I need some advice. How can I use that particular model to help my hiking experience? What specifically can I do with the unit?

Thank you in advance.

[Wldrns]

So say I want to do an off trail hike or find a slide - how can the GPS help me do that? I guess these questions are coming from my ignorance in using a GPS. I really have no idea how to pre set a route. Say I want to get to Bennies like in the recent "how to die" thread. How can I use that GPS to get myself down the trail, make an exit at the right point to get to the slide? Or perhaps, I know the answer and it really is an artform. I am expert with map and compass and think a GPS can really only be better is for whiteouts or aiding in search and rescues where coordinates are known. So, I need some advice.

I'm glad you realize knowing map and compass comes first. If you are an expert in map in compass, then the answer to your question should flow naturally from what you already know... use the GPS as a navigation aid, not as a replacement of your map and compass skills. First think of how you would find a route by map and compass alone - using map study you choose turnpoints and identifiable features to make up your route to a destination. Your choice at home then is to either manually enter those coordinates into the GPS, or to go more automated with any of a number of different software aids. In the field, continue to use your eyes on the terrain with map and compass, and use the GPS as a backup to verify isolated points. How many times have you been out in whiteout conditions? Would you be more likely to put yourself in that situation if you had a GPS?

If you are a SAR team member, then yes, the DEC will rely heavily upon GPS coordinates to cover and bound search sectors. Its use takes on a different primary tool role in that situation. As a trusted participant, the DEC still expects you to know map and compass cold.

[Neil]

Some handy uses of a gps:

-Using previously recorded tracklogs to stay on herd paths that are buried under fresh snow.
-pinpointing the base of slides from aerial photography mapping programs.
-knowing exactly where to leave the vehicle on a car spot in the dark.
-reducing the time spent determining position on bushwhacks in winter
-knowing where to leave the trail on bushwhack hikes.
-knowing when your approaching certain parking spots.
-recording tracklogs and downloading them onto maps on the computer as a debriefing learning tool.
-on bushwhacks where you deviate from the planned route due to blowdown and other obstacles you can check the gps for your updated bearing, dial it into the comapss and keep on moving.

[Roy Wires]

Keep in mind, that your GPS thinks in straight lines. When starting your hike or entering the woods always mark your trailhead/car with a waypoint. That way if you get lost, you always have a set of coordinates to come back to. If you're bushwacking from point A to point B, then your GPS will work fine, keeping you as close to a straight line as the terrain will let you. If following a trail, then put the GPS in a "track line" mode. It will leave a dotted line on the GPS map screen showing where you have been, and is helpful backtracking on the return trip or if you get off the trail. Having said that........there's nothing like a map, compass and a good set of eyes.

[Mavs00]

Here's something that was written awhile ago that can help you to see ho to blend GPS with what you already know. Perhaps it'll be helpful.

Blending Terrain Association, Observational Navigation and GPS Technology.

[Kevin]

Most newer GPS units have games too, so if you're bored...

[Bill I.]

I am expert with map and compass and think a GPS can really only be better is for whiteouts or aiding in search and rescues where coordinates are known.

Garmin does sell 1:24,000-scale base maps for "Eastern National Parks", including the entire Adirondack Park. Frankly, if you are already proficient with map and compass then you don't really need to use your GPS for pre-planning routes. In terms of terrain features, Garmin's software isn't going to tell you anything that's not on the USGS topo maps or suggest any routes that you can't see for yourself. So assuming you've identified a destination and a route on a paper map, you can do two things:

1) Turn on your GPS every now and then to verify you are where you think you are, or

2) Leave your GPS on continuously to get a track log of where you've been.

Personally, I often like to make my bushwhack routes up as I go along; so if I was going to start drawing pre-planned routes on my computer and then feel obliged to follow them in the woods, then I might just as well stick to trails. I see no reason to impose artificial constraints like that on myself. The beauty of "open space" is the ability to go wherever.

The best thing about the modern GPS units, which display a detailed topo map of your immediated surroundings, is that you are essentially still doing map on compass. The GPS just eliminates the uncertainty of your exact location (assuming you have a good signal).

[kayakrski]

Sorry for the hijack but I have a question for Neil. What mapping program do use with aerial photo's?

Gregg

[Neil]

Sorry for the hijack but I have a question for Neil. What mapping program do use with aerial photo's?

Gregg

USA Photomaps Click on Full Install.

Here's a tutorial I wrote entitled Using USA Photomaps for Finding ADK Slides.

[kayakrski]

Thanks, I'm going to check that out.

[mikeharo]

I decided to keep the unit (not sure why yet).

I am sure I will have many questions once I get working with it. I plan to get the map and trip manager software. I guess with the map software I can plan a route and then the trip manager is an easier way of putting the waypoints into the unit while avoiding manually typing the points into the unit.

Here goes nothing....


Thank you all for your help, I'll be back with more questions for certain. I may need drywall repair suggestions in case this thing gets thrown.

[Neil]

If you throw it, throw it my way.
But first....

1. Read the manual cover to cover.
   
2. Turn the unit on and go through the manual again exploring (and learning) the menus.
   
3. Go outside, waypoint your house and take the unit for a little walk. Play with the various features and screens.
   
4. Take the unit with you when you drive around (warning: dangerous driving!).
   
5. Go for a trailed hike with a route loaded into the gps. Check and see if your route is accurate or if the route as drawn on the map is accurately placed.
   
6. Bushwhack to the base of a slide.

[adk-46r]

The great part about the 76csx is that it works great under a heavy canopy. I turned mine on for the first time in a building I can rarely get cell service in and got 8 satallites . I could not get service with my Garmin rhino in the same building. I used it the last part of hunting season in some thick cedar swamps and had twelve satellites the whole time. So I assume it will work well in white outs. It is snowing heavly right now and I am inside and it is working great. The compass on the 76csx also works while you are standing still and not while moving like other units. I have a 1 gb card and i can hold more maps then I will ever use with tons of space left. If you decide to trade it in for ice boots I am sure you will have no problems getting a buyer.

[mikeharo]

OK - update - I got the Garmin 24K topo program and made a route just to get the program figured. Everything seems to be working alright, not greatly.

I do have an issue. The supposed basemap screen is blank. I have no map of where I am, just an arrow with a bunch of dotted lines - no town names, no roads. If I remember correctly, when I first turned the unit on, there was a map that showed the nearest town to my home and roads. What's the deal?

[adk-46r]

did you download topo maps to your data card? If you remove your card your basemap should come back on. Redownload topo maps to your card and see what your results are. Is your card in all the way?