Paper maps vs GPS
I read people stating constantly in these forums that they don't trust GPS and want to always verify with a paper map. Can those of you that believe that's true, please explain why you feel a paper...
Forum Discussion
The GPS is good for live tracking, showing where you are, when. When we're in the bush, it's invaluable for letting us know the topography, how much further to hike or drive the bumpy backroad before reaching the lake or river for fishing.
BUT I don't use the "features". Gravel Gerty (as we call the voice) is known for routing us into the sticks on roads that haven't existed for 50 years. The routing features are only as good as the programmer.
I had to chuckle once, while talking with a Garmin staffer, she asked me why I'd use a GPS if not to find points of interest such as the coffee shops or restaurants or gas stations. What? The places we prefer to go don't have commercial establishments. We use the Garmin to get into the bush. I also use it to geotag my photos. It's good to discover exactly where I was when I took a photo. Now some cameras have GPS built in - in fact I used the camera to take a picture when we were hiking without the GPS and we wanted to know how far we got in the bush. Back at home at the computer, I figured it out.
The GPS is just another tool. It isn't meant to override common sense.
BUT I don't use the "features". Gravel Gerty (as we call the voice) is known for routing us into the sticks on roads that haven't existed for 50 years. The routing features are only as good as the programmer.
I had to chuckle once, while talking with a Garmin staffer, she asked me why I'd use a GPS if not to find points of interest such as the coffee shops or restaurants or gas stations. What? The places we prefer to go don't have commercial establishments. We use the Garmin to get into the bush. I also use it to geotag my photos. It's good to discover exactly where I was when I took a photo. Now some cameras have GPS built in - in fact I used the camera to take a picture when we were hiking without the GPS and we wanted to know how far we got in the bush. Back at home at the computer, I figured it out.
The GPS is just another tool. It isn't meant to override common sense.
