Author Topic: OS Maps and direction indicator  (Read 12033 times)

WhitstableDave

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Re: OS Maps and direction indicator
« Reply #60 on: 18:22:15, 23/08/20 »

It doesn't and I didn't imply that it did, I was replying to a post that stated navigating Kinder on the periphery was easy because it was all slabbed or a well worn route. Crossing Kinder is another matter.

Ah, I see. But surely no one was talking about "crossing Kinder" - the OP simply referred to being "on Kinder Scout" (and that was in the context of a discussion about paper maps vs GPS).

But yes, I fully accept that heading off across the untracked moors in the mist would be a different matter to staying on clear-cut paths.  :)
« Last Edit: 18:28:03, 23/08/20 by WhitstableDave »
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Greytop

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Re: OS Maps and direction indicator
« Reply #61 on: 19:15:50, 23/08/20 »
I have been on Kinder in those conditions with a map and compass - not pleasant.  While I have not repeated the experience since with a gps, I have done similar in other areas.  For example, while solo hiking I have navigated to tors on Dartmoor where I have virtually bumped into the tor before I could see it.  I have followed the winding centerline of ridges in the Howgills and the Lakes in less thas 20ft visibility.  There was one occasion leaving the trig point on Ingleborough to find the right path off it, where I could not see more than a few feet, let alone the edges of the summit. Using a gps, one has confidence in both in your position and the direction of travel, even in near zero visibility.  With the best will in the world, the same cannot be said of map and compass navigation, especially across rough or boggy terrain requiring frequent detours from the intended track.


Very interesting and I have been in such situations myself, however I have never ever said or implied that a map and compass is superior to a GPS device in those situations. If you look at my post which you quoted you will see that I was merely commenting to a person (who stated that navigating Kinder Scout was easy) that it was a different matter crossing Kinder Scout, than walking the periphery on well defined and often slabbed paths.

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: OS Maps and direction indicator
« Reply #62 on: 19:58:47, 23/08/20 »
That is a non sequitur.  As an experienced walker, I can read a map on a screen or paper to get myself out of trouble.  The advantage of a screen is I can relocate my position instantly.  An inexperienced walker can no more make sense of a map on a screen or paper.  At least on a screen they can see where they are so perhaps have a fighting chance. 

Where there have been problems. it transpires the problem is often an inappropriate choice of map such as GoogleMaps.  What we do not have data on is walkers who have not called out the MRTs because they were able to find there way off the hill using a mapping app but would have been incapable of doing it usin a paper map and compass - which is an altogether blacker art.
I am not saying that experienced walkers with GPS will get into trouble. However, the social media generation who know nothing except their phones are a different matter.

ninthace

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Re: OS Maps and direction indicator
« Reply #63 on: 20:04:00, 23/08/20 »
I am not saying that experienced walkers with GPS will get into trouble. However, the social media generation who know nothing except their phones are a different matter.
On that we are agreed, but that sort of idiocy has always existed and is not a reason to denegrate the tool as distinct from the user. 
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Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: OS Maps and direction indicator
« Reply #64 on: 20:16:58, 23/08/20 »
On that we are agreed, but that sort of idiocy has always existed and is not a reason to denegrate the tool as distinct from the user.
I am not denigrating the tool, just saying that it is more likely that experienced users will rely on the device too much and possibly get into trouble. I must admit that I have come across a few people in the British hills that were well on the way to trouble, well before the days of hand held GPS devices, including a pair who were ‘following’ a laminated outline of Snowdon and looking for the Pyg track were about to start down Crib Y Ddysgl having not notice the obelisk at Bwlch Glas. I don’t think they would have enjoyed descending Crib Goch against the flow on a busy day.

Eyelet

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Re: OS Maps and direction indicator
« Reply #65 on: 22:49:58, 11/09/20 »
One other benefit of using a GPSr to navigate that has yet to be mentioned is that particularly in bad conditions, it is much quicker than using a map and compass to navigate. On pathless ground or snow-covered terrain in mist, with a howling wind blowing there is no contest between a GPSr and navigating by multiple short legs or leapfrogging with pace counting with a map and compass, it is much quicker and less error-prone. If you have pre-loaded the GPX track that you intend to follow, it's even more speedy to check where you are on the digital map, which direction you want to go and the next feature you should encounter.


I'm with Ninthace in much preferring the new technology on a dedicated outdoor GPSr, but I still occasionally practice with map and compass to stop my skills becoming too rusty. My Garmin then helps me work out what sort of positional errors I'm making e.g. timing over/under or pace counting short/long, drifting downslope on a traverse, etc.


Why not use both tools and become 'bilingual'?

 

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