T-Satellite

[yknpdlr]

For 50 years I wandered in remote Adirondack wilderness areas, mostly far from any trail with only a map, compass, a standard wrist watch, and a bit of experience. My wife has a written itinerary and local DEC forest rangers who I knew, knew generallly where I was going, although I often made small changes while enroute. Funny how I survived all of that for so many years. Not that it could not happen, but I never got "lost" or hurt. Then at first, I when on a SAR incident, I only added a GPS with a radio on DEC frequency as a necessary part of the job. But since the DEC has recently transitioned to primary navigation using Caltopo on cell phones, I must also now reluctantly carry that device now when on SAR. But a map and compass is always also with me.

 

[billconner]

Not too many places in the Adirondacks you can't get out from in a day walking, and their are marked trails. Not so in BWCAW and Quetico. And just looking at the trip from Minnesota to Hudson Bay.

 

[yknpdlr]

Not too many places in the Adirondacks you can't get out from in a day walking, and their are marked trails. Not so in BWCAW and Quetico. And just looking at the trip from Minnesota to Hudson Bay.

I have always spent my time bushwhacking mainly between remote western Adirondack area ponds, with or without a Hornbeck in my company and the lowland ridges in the Pepperbox, Five Ponds, Pigeon Lake, Ha-De-Ron-Dah, and West Canada Lake wilderness areas. I am not a peak bagger by any means and tend to avoid those overcrowded areas and trails.

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[Erica]

For 50 years I wandered in remote Adirondack wilderness areas, mostly far from any trail with only a map, compass, a standard wrist watch, and a bit of experience

When the men at Monet found out I was using a compass and maps, they were as surprised as if I said I was using witchcraft

I respect the no tech in the back country and practice it with exception of communication for my wife.

I made the mistake once of taking my cell phone and having it on. Sitting on the shore at South end Bald Eagle I got a business call. Ended up an hour long meeting. It was unique and doing it once, showing the people what I was looking at, had its charm. Turned it off and never turn on cell service in trips there after. I take a pocket watch that I rarely look at; a head lamp I almost never use - some trips not once; and an old super cheap Garmin GPS: gives me latitude and longitude, time, sunrise, and sunset. It only comes out once or twice in a trip.

I agree.

 

[ppine]

In 1988 I was on a horse packing trip in Wyoming east of Yellowstone NP in the Absaroka Range. We were in 50 miles from the nearest dirt road. We had no cell phones then. I got bucked off a horse. I was not seriously injured, but what if I was? That one still haunts me all of these years later. Sat coverage is good. I plan to use it.

 

[MJones]

When the men at Monet found out I was using a compass and maps, they were as surprised as if I said I was using witchcraft

I agree.

Maybe you were, hmmmm.....

 

[yknpdlr]

When the men at Monet found out I was using a compass and maps, they were as surprised as if I said I was using witchcraft

For many years, I taught land navigation to young wilderness guides in training. Some got it, others struggled (a lot). There was no greater feeling of pride than to teach proper procedures and then to observe a student under test do it properly and successfully and to lead a group to a specific point destination. Magical.

 

[Punkinhead]

My main hiking partner is a true Luddite who refuses to use a phone or GPS in his car or on the trail. I'm fine with map and compass being the primary navigation tools on the trail but having a device tucked away that can save the day just seems like common sense. No need to have your nose in it continuously - but in the pack for those times when weather and visibility make a map difficult or impossible. Funny story... my wife and I were on a two month cross country RV trip with him and his significant other last summer. It was very common for my wife and I to arrive at a campground and an hour or two later get a phone call that they were lost. Despite the numerous times I texted his SO a Google Maps pin to lead them to the campground they'd still get lost the next time we moved. He refused to use a GPS or phone and she refused to use a map. I know we got by fine with an atlas back in the day but why not use a modern tool that makes life easier? Plus road maps seem to be so much less accurate than they were pre-GPS. At least good quality topo maps for hiking are still available.

 

[Gamma1214]

having a device tucked away that can save the day just seems like common sense.

Oh, I think anyone who goes very deep into the woods these days without some way to send an SOS is taking unnecessary risks. (I just don't want cell service or interweb connectivity out there but YMMV)

A close friend of mine is the founder of the Fowler-O'Sullivan Foundation, a non-profit that promotes hiker safety on the Pacific Crest Trail. They give away (I think 15-20) inReaches to thru-hikers every year and can document at least 10 instances where hikers attributed their safe extraction to those little pieces of tech.

 

[Erica]

Oh, I think anyone who goes very deep into the woods these days without some way to send an SOS is taking unnecessary risks. (I just don't want cell service or interweb connectivity out there but YMMV)

A close friend of mine is the founder of the Fowler-O'Sullivan Foundation, a non-profit that promotes hiker safety on the Pacific Crest Trail. They give away (I think 15-20) inReaches to thru-hikers every year and can document at least 10 instances where hikers attributed their safe extraction to those little pieces of tech.

Yeah but just about anyone can step onto the PCT and with such a low bar I’m sure many are going to get themselves in trouble.

The wilderness first aid course I took said the vast majority of emergencies were day hikers who had no maps, no warm clothing, etc. or people who just stepped off the trail, or whatever.

I had a friend in college that went on a far north trip: 3 canoes, six people. They wrapped one canoe. They could only take out 5 people plus gear - there were 30 days more of the trip. They left my friend with tent, sleeping bag and 30 days food. He had no way of knowing when the others could get out and how long a rescue might take.

We really are spoiled wimps. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be safe or not take communication. But we are really more likely to get ourselves killed in a car than on a canoe trip.