Thoughts on GPS use?

[SETX_Mason]

Im looking at combo the etrex 20 and the Trail-head Series maps for the AT....

I dont intend to use it as constant running only for when ever i want to turn it on and look ahead and such....

one less thing i got to water Proof i guess... and ive been wanting a reason to buy a GPS so imagine this is a good excuse....

i know i dont have to have maps... but id like some thing at least

Do yall think it is a system that could work?,...

[Wil]

There are two usenet groups, at least one of them very active and occupied by intense users, and at least a couple of good websites/forums that talk endlessly about GPS's.

I am not current except as I need to touch base to be satisfied that my old Garmin 60csx is, on balance, still the best for backpacking.

I used an Etrex, two different models, years ago and they were horrible under tree cover. Nothing was bad enough, but they often displaced me randomly dozens of miles. Sensitive to how you held them, how they were pointed, metal in your pack, signs of the Zodiak for all I could tell. Just unacceptable. Maybe they are better today, I don't care, the 60csx is better.

[steveinator]

I would never use one in a million years, but if you're into that, then go for it. It sounds do-able.

[Spokes]

I just bought an eTrex 20 after much research and am happy with the device. Much improved over my old eTrex Legend model. Reception is way better too.

I got an Amazon class 10 micro sd card and imported the AT gps waypoint data from the ATC website for future hikes.

On my 2009 thru hike I just used a guidebook and got by just fine. If I do over I'll carry a map for Maine and New Hampshire only. You'll find navigating the Whites a pain in the arse due to so many connecting trails. That's why thru hikers have knife marked all the trail signs there with helpful arrow markers. Even then it's confusing.

[starman1210]

Completely unnecessary for an AT hike unless you simply want a gadget to play with. It's so well blazed it's tough to get lost.

[TOMP]

For a thru-hike no I would rather have a guide book, its just much more detailed. For any other hike, sure its just good fun.

[Ironbelly]

It is a possibility for sure and would work fine if you wanted to carry it. Personally i would bring an iphone or other smartphone , they have gps and you can download the maps(satellite,topo,road,and hybrid available from most gps programs) to the phone for offline use, not to mention its also a phone, camera, video camera, and email/internet access if wanted/needed. I only carry my 'real' gps on multiday off trail trips now. I also carry a 9900mah battery pack that can recharge my iphone about 5 times.

[SassyWindsor]

GPS on the AT is just extra weight to lug. But, if traveling wilderness cross-country or a trail like the CDT, it can be a handy item to have. Won't need one on the PCT either.

[Spokes]

Yep, agree with previous comments. Don't need a GPS for a thru hike on the AT. Just a guidebook will serve you well.

I use my eTrex 20 for short hikes, weekenders, and for good ol' fun.

[q-tip]

My Vote-Guide Book (cut down)

[Thenixon]

You'll send it home at Neel's Gap if you take it to the start. It's wasted weight.

The trail is well marked and well-worn. In contrast, there is no accurate publicly available GPS track of the trail, so how exactly will it guide your journey? The only time a GPS is useful on the trail is in town. I carried a smartphone with GPS capability that helped me find things in towns my guidebook didn't cover.

[Spokes]

...... In contrast, there is no accurate publicly available GPS track of the trail, so how exactly will it guide your journey? .....

Hmmmm, not according to the ATC:

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/abou...l-gis-gps-data

Guy Mott has tracks of the AT as well:

http://guymott.com/atgps.html

[Thenixon]

don't want to start a fight, and the computer I'm on no longer has ArcView, but I don't think a 2180 mile line in a 3.5 megabyte file is going to be accurate or high resolution. I've collected more raw data than that on a plot just a few acres in size.

[Spokes]

don't want to start a fight, and the computer I'm on no longer has ArcView, but I don't think a 2180 mile line in a 3.5 megabyte file is going to be accurate or high resolution. I've collected more raw data than that on a plot just a few acres in size.

Would you be happy with 312,000 points? http://www.topofusion.com/at-gps.php

[jj2044]

Thenixon is right, you will end up sending it home in Neels gap like 95% of the other people, the trail is VERY clear for 99 precent of the trail.

[long2bhiking]

I'm section hiking and have used my gps on all hikes for several reasons. You can load waypoint data which has all of the shelters / trail data, mine has US topo maps, and i geocaches along the trail So I use it to look ahead at trail elevations, distances to shelters, road crossing information, it keeps track of my miles hiked for the day and trip, find geocaches along the trail, it has a compass if needed, I take all of my pictures with it, etc, etc. it's also helped me a couple of times from going off on the wrong trail and having to back track. Though the trail is marked generally well there are places which are not.

[Thenixon]

Would you be happy with 312,000 points? http://www.topofusion.com/at-gps.php

You're going to take close to five million steps. You're not ready for the rest of the math.\

[Thenixon]

Would you be happy with 312,000 points? <a href="http://www.topofusion.com/at-gps.php" target="_blank">http://www.topofusion.com/at-gps.php</a>

<br><br>You're going to take close to five million steps. For each point how many positions fed in to it? and did differential GPS and the global corrections feed in? What is the error at each of those 300k positions?

And does it matter? Because who is bringing a standalone GPS, which can use said positions, on their hike?

[Spokes]

If you keep that up, Slide Rule will be your new trail name.

[Thenixon]

Oh wait, I remember this one time a year ago, I was in a mountainous area in southern NY - a bit of mountains the AT bypasses incidentally - with a GPS that boasted sub-foot accuracy on its handhel unit alone. There were places - at least 25% of the places I tried to get a fix - that even with an extra 8-ft tall backpack-mounted antenna, a system meant to boost reception and accuracy, we couldn't get a GPS fix. GPS is useless in the woods if there are mountains in the way.