GPS or Map & Compass?

[DrJJFate]

Always carry a map and compass though I don't use the latter too often. I'm just comfortable using a map.

Never used a GPS.

 

[Little Rickie]

Both. Safety first.

We need a poll.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

any of the people using GPS for bagging the trailless 100 highest summits should have an asterisk affixed to their scroll . It used to be that planning the approach and picking intermediate points and terrain hooks to head for using a map and compass was the majority of the challenge to do many of the 100 highest bushwhacks.

You could extend that to say anyone who has done it after 1990, 2000, whenever (pick a date) since there have always been some sort of herd path to follow, at least on the handful I have done so far.

Tim

 

[Nessmuk]

2) My wits - I am very, very aware of my surroundings, mostly because I hike solo. Where is the sun, what is the arc of the sun? What side of the tree is the moss? Where and how are the brooks oriented? What is the terrain like? And so on.

Especially with that statement, it almost sounds like you have been to some of my backcountry navigation training classes. I expand on that theme at length. Nature offers dozens of clues with every step, you just have to look for them and use your wits.

 

[DougPaul]

I use all three--they all complement each other.

I suppose I could elaborate...

Sometimes I use none, sometimes one, sometimes two, or sometimes all three and will switch off or transfer information from one to another as is appropriate for my immediate needs. For instance, I have gotten a bearing from the GPS and followed it using my compass.

The map on the GPS screen is adequate for locating oneself, but generally too small for planning. The paper map (or electronic map on the computer screen at home) is much better for planning, but the GPS map may be perfectly adequate for following the plan (or simply confirming that one is on plan).

I also often use the sun for direction (frequently just by watching shadow directions) while hiking. (As others have noted, there are many other navigational clues that one can use.)

Perhaps one should add an altimeter to the list of navigational tools. It can be very useful in combination with the map and compass.

A GPS can be very useful for finding the trailhead...

I guess I should be smashing textile machines next (see how many folks get that obscure reference)

Can you say Luddite?

Doug

 

[timmus]

...any of the people using GPS for bagging the trailless 100 highest summits should have an asterisk affixed to their scroll.

Do you really want to bring back the discussions about elitism ?

Navigation is overrated. That's my opinion.

 

[Rob S]

Using map and compass is fun.
Terrain association is even more fun.
While hiking, I like to use my GPS for making a cool tracklog.
Then later on, while enjoying a cold one, I like to see the cool tracklog overlayed on Google Earth.
Then I can see where I had fun.

To each their own.

 

[Will]

I guess I should be smashing textile machines next (see how many folks get that obscure reference)

Apparently not as obscure as mine.

 

[Neil]

Apparently not as obscure as mine.

I have to admit to never having used your technique with the needle. Can't wait to give it a try though!

Map and compass off-trail navigation is to GPS navigation as wolf is to lap dog.

Haha! Couldn't resist that, I just read it in a different context in a book by my hero Bernd Heinrich.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Looks like the Luddites are still in the majority.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Map and compass. Don't want to rely on electronics if at all possible. Own a GPS system, have yet to bring it on a hike and wouldn't mind selling it if I could since it's been in a drawer for almost three years.

 

[Neil]

Looks like the Luddites are still in the majority.

I get all of my food hunting and gathering in downtown Montreal. It's the paleolithic-urban diet.

 

[DougPaul]

Looks like the Luddites are still in the majority.

Yawn.

They get beta from modern communications, drive to the trailhead in modern cars* on modern roads, use modern clothing, modern boots, modern gear, modern maps, and all sorts of modern gear. Drawing a line at any particular place is completely arbitrary.

* except maybe for Pete, but he rides a modern bike...

When they demonstrate the skill to leave the modern gear behind, go into the woods with just a knife, and emerge a year later fat and happy then I'll be impressed.

Doug

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

I always have a map with me although since I've studied it before leaving it's rare I pull it out during a hike. I do carry a crib sheet with notes on it I can refer to.

I carry four compasses with me, two magnetic and two electronic. I have a small compass hooked to my pack strap. I refer to it occasionally. I have a larger map type compass in my sack I almost never use but it's there. My watch has an electronic compass. I more often use that compass in non hiking situations when I want to check directions. My GPS also has an electronic compass that is readily accessible. I use it more looking for Geocashes but it's there for reference.

But...I love my GPS. I do not leave home without it and refer to it continually. I must admit I do lose some time hiking while referring to my GPS but I'm not out to set any speed records anyway. For me, part of the fun of hiking is using the GPS.

 

[NewHampshire]

I was a strict map and compass guy for a long time. Then I got a Garmin 60Cx. Now I mostly just use that only because I have found I can load up detailed topo maps for the entire Northeast and save my printer from all those maps I used to print. I do always carry a compass for backup (actually, still being a map and compass guy at heart I carry 3 ), and I have the basic AMC maps as yet another backup for the Whites area.

Brian

Edit: I should also add that I don't treat my GPS as a natural extension of my hand. As my friend Mike loves to say, the GPS may tell you where you are, and what direction you need to go in, but it won't tell you where the good and bad woods are. To be totally honest I rely more on reading the terrain, even when I was a dedicated map and compass user (no GPS.) The GPS, like the compass, just provides the reassurance that my senses are not leading me astray.

 

[Woody]

I always bring a map and compass while hiking. I will usually bring my gps as well, but not always.
On a recent 6 day trip on the AT I left the gps at home to save the weight. On the other hand I've been glad I had the gps a few times as well. It was helpful navigating down Mount Hood in the fog by using the waypoints I had entered on the way up. It has also been helpful in the Whites while navigating in snowstorms.
I've never really needed to use it in the whites when there is no snow, but I bring it with me to mark waypoints that then can be used if needed in poor visibility conditions. It is fun to use as well.

 

[Peakbagr]

"IMVBO (In my very biased opinion), any of the people using GPS for bagging the trailless 100 highest summits should have an asterisk affixed to their scroll . It used to be that planning the approach and picking intermediate points and terrain hooks to head for using a map and compass was the majority of the challenge to do many of the 100 highest bushwhacks."

I know some pre-GPS but strong map and compass bushwhackers who've climbed thick trailless peaks believing they summited. Only to revisit the peak later on to discover they'd previously missed the top due to fog, rain, snow, drizzle or foliage impaired visibility. Probably more common than thought, particularly on summits without jars or notable summit features.

 

[RoySwkr]

I know some pre-GPS but strong map and compass bushwhackers who've climbed thick trailless peaks believing they summited. Only to revisit the peak later on to discover they'd previously missed the top due to fog, rain, snow, drizzle or foliage impaired visibility. Probably more common than thought, particularly on summits without jars or notable summit features.

I'm probably one of them, although if I'm dubious of a particular peak I'll revisit it.

It is also quite possible to visit the wrong summit with a GPS, if you entered the wrong coordinates or if the satellites are having a bad day. And many peaks have multiple coordinates for the highpoint which I doubt anyone enters in a GPS. My usual technique with a companion is to circle and approach the summit from opposite directions which covers 3 directions, then to drop off enough contours in the 4th to cover any bumps on the ridge.

 

[DougPaul]

It is also quite possible to visit the wrong summit with a GPS, if you entered the wrong coordinates or if the satellites are having a bad day.

It is always possible to enter incorrect coordinates (human error). However, an error in transferring the coordinates is most likely going to result in a location which is not confusable with the desired peak. And if you read the wrong location off the map (and enter its coordinates correctly), it is a human map reading error which has nothing to do with the GPS.

The satellites themselves are very unlikely to have a bad day. However, the signals could be blocked or reflected from local terrain or foliage. (Remember, you are on or near a peak which is likely to have a good skyview and thus good signals.) If you get a bad location (ie a large error), it is very unlikely to be on a nearby peak and it is likely to jump around unrealistically. If you get no location, it will be obvious.

And many peaks have multiple coordinates for the highpoint which I doubt anyone enters in a GPS. .

This is essentially the same problem whether you are using a GPS or not.

One approach for those who do not wish to use a GPS to navigate but wish to verify that they reached the proper peak is to carry a GPS to record a track without consulting it during the hike. One can then check after the fact. However, this reduces the risk since you know that in an emergency you can always use the GPS.

Doug

 

[Raven]

I used a map and compass on all bushwhacks. I held a GPS once in a store I think.

I plan a route with a paper map taking geographical features into account, usually note these on "crib notes" along with things like general elevations and directions. On the hike, I look for these features and check my bearings with the compass, using both to find my route.

Incidentally, finding the summits has often been relatively easy when compared to finding the way back out.