Re: Basic navigational skills badly missing

Paul Sanders wrote (with reference to GPS and compass):
>Yes, but if you have 2 methods available, one of which is easy and the
>other less so, then it's natural to choose the easier

There's two ways to get from one side of the mountain to the other, and
the easiest is not necessarily to walk over the top but most of us do
it...

On a slightly less silly point, as an occasional group leader (for
school parties) I'm starting to wonder if carrying a GPS ought not to
be considered basic equipment along with the survival bag, rope etc we
lug. For the simple reason that, if we did get lost or got our location
wrong when summoning MR a perfeclty reasonable question would be "why
didn't you have a GPS in your bag to check your navigation against?".
And you know, a perfectly decent answer would *not* be "I was too damn
proud".

So we're going to get a gps unit and, certainly in winter it'll go in
the bag and it'll be used as others have suggested - when it seems
vital we're right, when traditional methods are too unreliable and to
have fun with at the end of the day comparing actual route to intended.

But for minute-to-minute navigation it'll still be map and compass.

Ken

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: compass or gps?
    ... navigating by map alone with an occasional compass hint then however ... whizzy GPS navigation is becomes a moot point. ...
    (uk.rec.walking)
  • Re: compass or gps?
    ... can't make full use of your GPS without it. ... It's what I do (using the GPS for a grid reference then using a compass) if I use the GPS at all. ... I reckon 90% of my navigation is with a map, 9.99% with a compass and 0.01% with a GPS. ... But I would say that the bit I use the gps for is incredibly useful, because a compass bearing isn't much good when you don't know where you are. ...
    (uk.rec.walking)
  • Re: GPS Vs COMPASS
    ... If I am still walking in 10 years time I will still be ... >>>using my compass to orient my map and to take bearings when it is not ... A GPS ...
    (uk.rec.walking)
  • Re: Basic navigational skills badly missing
    ... >> Traditional navigation is all very well if you can do it, ... >> their exact position with a GPS. ... I didn't suggest taking a compass as a backup, I was suggesting taking a GPS ... prevent you learning how to use a compass too. ...
    (uk.rec.walking)
  • Re: GPS Vs COMPASS
    ... > using my compass to orient my map and to take bearings when it is not ... > Clearly you must be using your GPS merely as an emergency device ... > checking your route is correct by consulting your map in combination ...
    (uk.rec.walking)