GPS Talk: An Annoying Blast From the Past

Last evening I spent an hour or so helping my friend, Rob, plan a 4x4 trip to explore some trails on Apex Mountain. In preparation, I set up my computers to display two separate map types (Garmin's Topo Canada and Mussio Ventures' BC Backroads Maps - Digital Edition) and overlaid on them my track and waypoint data from my last two visits to Apex. When Rob showed up, he had his Garmin eMap GPS but it used a proprietary data cable for transferring data, and he couldn't find it. Even if he had, I wouldn't have been able to transfer data to his unit because the cable required an RS232 serial port which today's laptop computers don't use anymore.

So the best I could do was copy the coordinates of some of the significant waypoints into a text file and he would have to manually enter them into his GPS. He tried marking some of the waypoints and tracks onto his paper maps but the resolution on those maps wasn't high enough. It helped that he was able to see the tracks overlaid onto the maps on my computers, but whether or not he'll be able to remember all that information is the big question. Rob might be able to, but I sure couldn't.

This obstacle of not being able to transfer data to his GPS reminded me of what things were like back before GPS usage was common. One of my most memorable trips was when we went to Windy Ridge for the very first time. This is a very long and infrequently used trail that isn't fully marked on a map (at least not the maps that were available at the time). For directions, I phoned a friend who knew the trail well, and he gave me directions over the phone while I tried to correlate them with what I was looking at on my map, which wasn't a very high resolution map.

In the end, we muddled our way through the trail but ended up slightly lost and on the wrong side of a locked gate, and on private property, and setting up camp around 1:00am. A GPS track that we could've followed would've saved us a LOT of grief.

With the low cost of today's GPS receivers, there really is no excuse not to use one anymore. And even if you've already got a GPS, if it's an older unit, it may be worth your while to upgrade to something newer. Today's high-sensitivity receivers can hold a signal lock under the heaviest tree canopy, and transferring waypoints and track data is easy if you choose a unit that uses the very common micro-USB port (ie: the same kind of data port used on most cell phones and MP3 players). Once armed with a suitable GPS, sharing trail data becomes so much simplier and enjoyable: Get detailed trail information without having to arrange a face-to-face meeting; provide everyone in your group with the same data in case you get separated. Record your travels for future reference; geotag your photos so you'll know exactly where they were taken. The possibilities are endless.

Here's something else to think about: a full-featured, off-road suitable GPS that has a high-sensitivity receiver and support for user-swappable memory cards can be had for $240 (Garmin eTrex Legend HCx). With today's soaring gas prices, how long would it take to justify a GPS purchase when compared to the gas wasted while searching for the right trail? Still too expensive? For $180 (Garmin eTrex Venture HC) you can retain the high-sensitivity receiver but limit yourself to 24mb of map storage. That's cheap.

One other thing: don't think a GPS-equipped phone will be a replacement for a dedicated outdoors GPS. Many phone GPS units are designed for urban use and don't support track logs or the ability to upload/download track logs and waypoints.