george

SOme interesting thoughts there.

I always assumed that most hikers use a topo map like a highway may. That is - if they stay on the trail, they should be able to figure where on the trail they are. Do to the extreme difference between topo contours and actually being there, its a tough call to say that a topo will help you find more places than you would find by wandering around and seeing close up in real time. Since I am rarely ever on a trail, a topo has little to offer me. If I can SEE the canyon, mtn etc, then I don't need a topo to know its there, and if I'm wandering around on a mountain I frankly could care less where I am, as long as I can find my truck when its time to go home, and I'll travel cross country following a GPS directional arrow because it has never failed me yet, whereas other systems have.

I think if I look at a map at home, it has little value to me on the trail, and often the maps are wrong and just confuse you. I trust my GPS. I mean GPS systems are accurate and reliable enough to be incorporated into missles and to deliver payload with extreme accuracy. The technology is not in its infancy. Do you worry about your wrist watch failing?
Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />