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Just came across a "memory"

Kejtar

PostMaster General
NAXJA Member
http://www.orienteering.org/ have any of you ever heard of it? seen it? participated in it? It's a really interesting activity. You are given a map, (you have to have a compass) and you have a go at it..... Sometimes the actual locations are based on distances from something that you have to find and so on......

If you ever have a chance to try it, I definately suggest it

Kejtar
P.S. I already know what's one of the replies gonna be to it :D but.... I used to be pretty good at it, although last time I did it was in 8th grade and on a totally different continent.
 
LOL isn't that what GPS is for?

J/K, actually I've never used GPS...but have done enough map & compass work to consider myself good at it. Of course it really helps if ya know where you are to start with!

Some good things are keeping a good pacecount, and setting up 'handrails' (features alongside your route) to guide you, and a 'backstop' (something prominent you will notice if you overshoot your objective.) Another good thing is triangulating off 2 or more prominent features-if any-to confirm where you are.

Also keep in mind that magnetic North and map north are different (and this difference varies depending where you are on Earth)
 
GPS ?? Oh, yea, company commanders loved it cause then they didn't have to ask the fist team where they were anymore :)
Definetly prefer maps, my arty compass with adjustable declination and good old section and resection, LARS and RALS, I just wish the civilian market over here used mills instead of degrees though. I do have a very good military map collection of conus, germany and some maps of sea from the 70's. I have alot of maps mounted and framed in my cellar rec room.
USGS really needs to do an update in the next few years, at least for this area. They have not done one of PA in over 20 years. It is very annoying to be following a trail off the topo in the XJ and ending up in a: someones back yard in a housing development or b: terminating at a new 4 lane limited access hiway where you may have to drive a mile along an incline to find an opening in the guard rail.
 
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GPS in combo with paper maps is an ideal situation. I use a compass to orient the maps, and the GPS to get a fair idea of where to start looking :) And the track info is great. I've said this before and I'll say it again many times I'm sure ... it'll save you time to know for sure how to get back to camp when it gets dark and every logging road intersection looks the same. That's where the GPS really shines, so to speak ;)

An aside ... the first GPS I tried out in the store was an off-brand gizmo that looked more like a kid's video game ... I turned it on and it asked me to input a starting lat and lon. I don't think I could ever trust a GPS that wakes up and asks "Where am I?".
 
This seems to be quite popular in Europe, but not very popular in the US. We did this all the time in Sweden during my junior year in high school (forign exchange). You haven't lived until you try it in the snow. It really is a good skill to have & is one hell of a workout.

Matt
 
Farmer Matt.... try snow on skis :) :) IN A WOODED FOREST! LOL.... Actually it was rather enjoyable (btw for those that don't know... you use cross country skis for such an activity).
Anyways, I went to almost every single event in my area as my sister (somewhat older) would go with her best friend who's brother (older) was really into it and dragged his sister who dragged her best friend (my sister) who dragged her younger brother (me).

Btw, "GPS in combo with paper maps is an ideal situation" no.... not really. I got momentarily lost in Big Bear area twice because the GPS has a somewhat "challenged" map in it, and the USGS maps definately need improvement. My biggest peeve is that the GPS and a map don't match on road names (if one displays a number then the other displays a name and vice versa)

Kejtar
 
an ideal situation ... no.... not really

hmmm ... ???

GPS is better than paper, and GPS + paper is better still ... ok, if not ideal then damn close. If you still get lost with a GPS, compass, and USGS maps ... stay home. It just doesn't get any easier.
 
lol.... actually not that simple :) I'd say that's a perfect combination if I had lattitue and longitute on the map down to minutes. If you got 3 or 4 curvy and windy roads next to each other, each one ending up going in a different direction, 2 of them not being on a map........ and they are named/numbered inconsistently....... it's a recipee for trouble :(

I know what you mean about GPS being a great invention but I must say sadly that the maps in the GPS need some redoing as they leave a bit to be desired... I did hear something to the effect that quite a few areas are being remapped with new maps to be released... so maybe.... there's hope :)
Kejtar
 
Yeah ... missing minutes :( ... all of my maps are all scribbled on with lat/lon lines and notes and corrections and they all have coffee rings in the corners.

I agree wholeheartedly, electronic maps suck. They have a whole host of problems ... resolution, accuracy, even projection anomalies. Most of the USGS maps haven't been updated since 1973, some are even older. With the advances in photography and cartography that we've seen since then, the next generation of maps should be awesome.

I didn't mean to sound condescending in my last post, sorry if it came off that way. What I really meant was to agree with your original post, orienteering with a map and compass is freakin' hard. GPS has made it a lot easier for me...

There's a group around here that makes stele's or something similar, a stone obelisk or stack at a precise, but very remote, location. They publish the location and when you visit, you are free to take or leave mementos as you choose ... most choose to leave something. The things are usually boxed up in an ammo box or something ... heard of that? I don't remember what the group is or really anything more about them except that they don't make it easy to find them.
 
Tucker said:
There's a group around here that makes stele's or something similar, a stone obelisk or stack at a precise, but very remote, location. They publish the location and when you visit, you are free to take or leave mementos as you choose ... most choose to leave something. The things are usually boxed up in an ammo box or something ... heard of that? I don't remember what the group is or really anything more about them except that they don't make it easy to find them.


www.geocaching.com

:)
 
I know what you mean Tucker :D and I keep hoping that California will finally get some new maps (read better, more accurate) sometime soon!

Kejtar
 
Kejtar said:

Btw, "GPS in combo with paper maps is an ideal situation" no.... not really. I got momentarily lost in Big Bear area twice because the GPS has a somewhat "challenged" map in it, and the USGS maps definately need improvement. My biggest peeve is that the GPS and a map don't match on road names (if one displays a number then the other displays a name and vice versa)

Kejtar


GPS & Paper Map may not be ideal, but it's the best you can do in many situations. One of the OHV Volunteer groups I work with has a Map, Compass, & GPS class taught by a Licensed Surveyer

GPS and Map Survey coordinates are based on a Datum with distances measured (surveyed) off a fixed baseline. Remi, in Big Bear the baseline is a road you cross on the freeway below base of the mountain (Baseline Road ;) ). The earth is not exactly round and the Map error grows the further you travel away from the baseline, as much as 1/4 mile compared to aerial photo surveys and GPS.

Map Datums are updated every twenty or so years. The last major update was WGS84 (1984 survey), and can be up to 1/8 of a mile different from the typical USGS Quad, from NAD27 (1927 survey) . My E-Map has close to 100 different Datums to choose from to better the localized accuracy.

Some parts of the Western desert have not been surveyed since the late 1800's, and the error can be worse than the 1/4 mile between baselines.

The advantage of GPS is it indicates where you really are in Lat/Long or UTM coordinates (within 30 yards, much closer with differential error adjustments). The downloaded GPS map however is based on a survey map, and map error is the reason for the difference.

Cal Poly teaches classes on Orienteering (and there is a geocatching club as well).
 
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