Author Topic: got lost for the first time in Kent  (Read 4585 times)

ninthace

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Re: got lost for the first time in Kent
« Reply #45 on: 17:46:00, 20/09/20 »
Well some people are like that aren't they. Not wanting to brag but I have a very good sense of direction. Looking at your maps, I reckon I could walk south from the car park to the point without a map, having only a memory of it in my head, and then turn west towards the sea, never mind on which path, any one would do that would take me to where I wanted. Then I would turn north keeping parallel with the coastline until I'd had enough, and then turn eastwards and find the car park.
I've done similar things before in areas unknown to me, both in GB and abroad, and without any map or navigation aid. I recall only one occasion when I became really lost, that was on a field meeting in a large Essex wood. I was with an elderly gent who I used to give lifts to, and he was having panic attacks, wanting to find houses to go and knock at and stuff, but I used my intuition to press on and find the way back to where we had parked.
I can do that - not difficult, been there, done that!  I wanted to visit a specific location, the D-day memorial, I did not want to walk far on the beach, it is very wearing and at one pont I wanted to head inland and cross a stile into the MoD range without having the walk along the fence to find it.  There are some interesting ponds and dune features worth a visit too.  Just to give you a feel, somewhere in the picture below is the turning off the beach on the northward track.  You find it with a map, compass or sense of direction!  It is a dip between 2 dunes, much like all the other dips between the dunes.

If you look at my track on the map, I wasn't ever on the beach but you can see I was on the aerial picture. The point I turned to pick up the path I wanted is the kink, bottom left next to the s of Burrows.
« Last Edit: 17:51:17, 20/09/20 by ninthace »
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WhitstableDave

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Re: got lost for the first time in Kent
« Reply #46 on: 17:41:19, 29/09/20 »
What’s far superior about the dedicated GPS? I have both btw.

Sorry, just about to set off on a walking holiday in Devon. I'll let you know when I get back...
...

Our week of walking on Dartmoor reminded me of two advantages that my dedicated GPS (a Satmap Active 20) has over my phone (a Samsung Galaxy 7)...

The first advantage is its ruggedness. I dropped the Satmap while climbing onto the summit of a tor; it fell at least 2m onto the rocks below. It didn't bat an eyelid and there's not a scratch on it. I realise of course that some people never drop their handheld device. I thought I was one of those who don't, but I did.

The second advantage is that it has both a touchscreen and physical buttons. I've found that touchscreens (whether on watches, phones or GPS devices) can behave badly in the rain. I find that being able to switch the touchscreen off on the Satmap and use the buttons instead means that it works perfectly however wet the screen gets.



It seems to me that while a phone can run very similar software to a dedicated GPS device, it's probably the hardware that makes the latter superior in use. I could have mentioned the Active 20's excellent battery life too, but phones vary tremendously in that respect so I won't...  ;)
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ninthace

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Re: got lost for the first time in Kent
« Reply #47 on: 18:31:45, 29/09/20 »
Dave - try a lanyard.  My gps is always attached to me, either looped through a belt loop or a loop on my pack.  If I drop it, it does not even reach the ground!
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gunwharfman

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Re: got lost for the first time in Kent
« Reply #48 on: 18:39:14, 29/09/20 »
That's what annoys me about modern phones, they used to have a little hole in the bottom corner to attach a lanyard to but not now. I bought a dirt-cheap elasticated 'spider web' from Amazon that wraps and grips itself around the phone which is attached to a lanyard. It does the job for me, if I drop the phone it now doesn't hit the floor.

WhitstableDave

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Re: got lost for the first time in Kent
« Reply #49 on: 22:11:45, 29/09/20 »
Dave - try a lanyard.  My gps is always attached to me, either looped through a belt loop or a loop on my pack.  If I drop it, it does not even reach the ground!

Thanks, a lanyard is worth investigating, or perhaps a wrist strap. I was holding the GPS when I tried to jump to a narrow ledge. I let go of it in an attempt to get a handhold but I failed - and I followed it anyway. It wasn't a great distance, but I had enough time to think, "I'm going to break my leg." Luckily I didn't!
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