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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: GPS :: First Trip With GPS
 
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Savage Voyageur
06/07/2015 07:48PM
  
I agree with you, it is a worthy item in your pack. I'm a map/compass guy from way back. But ever since I got a GPS, most trips my maps stay in the pack. I have it on at all times on travel days mounted to the canoe,in front of me. Battery life is 18 hours max on 3 AA batteries if I don't turn on the backlight as much. So cool to see the portages or campsites and paddle right to them. I even have the fishing spots plotted for my next trip. I also hit the button and mark every fish I catch. Then I can see a clear pattern where the fish were hitting and save the area for next time.
 
swiftone
06/15/2015 01:07PM
  
A map and compass along with the ability to be able to read and use them in the wilderness no matter where you are at is a skill that all folks visiting the wilderness should know and stay up on because it is a perishable skill. Sometimes a GPS will just not cooperate with you- sometimes.......


That being said, today's GPS units are quite a useful tool. They are small, accurate, have a lot of available satellites to talk to, they are reliable, and have very good "user friendly" features.


I see no reason why a person would not want to bring one along with them when trekking through the wilderness. A few hundred dollars is worth it in my opinion for a piece of gear that can save your life.


And like said before, they are great at marking locations for fishing, hunting, and general points of interest. I waypoint stuff all the time while out in the bush and it is quite nice to come back home, download those way points on a digital map and/or store them in electronic files on your computer for reference and future use. Just a great all around tool.
 
OldGoat
06/07/2015 06:34PM
  
Took my Garmin Etrex 20 on a trip out of Sawbill. I'm an old school map and compass guy, but it was nice to be able to use it occasionally to determine our exact location. I would turn it an and check the map feature, find that location on the paper map and turn the GPS back off.

I can think of several times in the past when I spent a few minutes figuring out a location that the GPS would have saved some time.

I think it's worth the weight, I'll take it again.

Goat