Re: compass or gps?

In message <13qiohmt9lt5la8@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Jim Harvest <mrgroan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
x-no-archive:Chris Townsend wrote:
In message <kaWdncY7pZF2dzXaRVnyhQA@xxxxxxxxx>, Paul Saunders <pvs1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
Jim Harvest wrote:

When I'm walking in cloud, I use the gps to locate myself, and my
compass for a bearing. It seems to be the easiest way to navigate
without the tedium of inputting waypoints before the trip.

What tedium? Just run your mapping software, place some waypoints on the map
by quickly clicking here and there, connect your GPS, upload them and you're
ready to go!
Even that can get tedious. I did it for a while but stopped when I got bored with it and couldn't see that it was of any benefit to me.

On the other hand, if you mean inputting them by hand, then I agree, that is
tedious. I wouldn't bother. Get yourself some GPS/mapping software. You
can't make full use of your GPS without it.

Is this what most people do?

I wouldn't have thought so.
It's what I do (using the GPS for a grid reference then using a compass) if I use the GPS at all. I find it simpler and easier than using the GPS to navigate. In fact these days I rarely use the GPS at all for navigation. Very occasionally I check the grid reference in dense mist or a white-out but mostly I just use it to record my route, useful for writing about walks. If I didn't need that information I probably wouldn't use it at all.

It's simplicity itself to navigate by GPS, far
better than faffing around with a compass. Apart from determining your
position, you're not really using the GPS at all.

Or are there even easier or more reliable
methods? I have no interest in gadgetry for its own sake, but do
appreciate usable functions.

A GPS is incredibly usable if you spend a little time inputting waypoints
before you go. It doesn't take long at all. I can enter and upload say 30 or
40 waypoints in a couple of minutes if I'm in a rush.

With a bit more pre-planning, you can create and save waypoint files
covering all the key locations in an entire area. When you want to visit
that area, just load the file and upload them straight to the GPS, adding a
few extra ones if desired.
You can also visit them by simply using a map. I reckon 90% of my navigation is with a map, 9.99% with a compass and 0.01% with a GPS. Okay I may be exaggerating the amount I use a compass. It's probably less than that.


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.

If you're walking you must have a rough idea of where you are, it can only be hours since you knew where you were (in the UK anyway - I did once walk for 10 days with inadequate maps in the Canadian Rockies and didn't know where I was to the nearest 20 miles for a week!). A compass bearing can give you an idea of where you are by telling you the direction of slope, the direction streams are running in and more. A compass bearing can also point you in the right direction. If you know you want to descend the north side of a hill then knowing which way is north is useful.

I guess I navigated in difficult conditions frequently before GPS appeared so I'm very used to map and compass navigation. GPS just makes things quicker and easier because you can get a grid reference.

--
Chris Townsend

http://www.auchnarrow.demon.co.uk
.

Relevant Pages

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