Author Topic: Walking Disaster  (Read 2873 times)

gunwharfman

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #30 on: 14:12:00, 20/02/21 »
£24 a year! I don't like yearly payments, once only for me and I've only laid out money twice, the other payment was for a year on Wikiloc. I don't do that anymore, I now use the free version. I also paid £5.99 (a once-only payment) for the Backcountry app a few years back which offers me OS maps at any time. I can pay for extras but I've never bothered. There is also a free Backcountry app if you don't mind the adverts along the bottom. I think the Backcountry price is now £14.99 as a once-only payment.

I've been very lucky with my French IGN maps, a few sites on offer, and all free.

I have a free Streetmap app as well which I find to be better if navigating myself through a built-up area.

And as a final backup I use the free Windymaps app. Good for getting the 'bigger picture' as to where I am at the time.

Islandplodder

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #31 on: 15:03:27, 20/02/21 »
Don't worry too much about your son being put off walking.  Once he has told his friends in exhaustive detail how his Mum really messed up AGAIN, it will probably turn into an epic adventure, especially if the camping out bit went well.  As a parent it is easy to beat yourself up about everything, and I remember as a lone parent of 2 sons I always felt I had to do everything perfectly and fulfil both parental functions until a disastrous day out with a friend in the same situation.  She turned the whole thing into a joke against us and our incompetence, and it became something we could all look back and laugh about.  I do remember coming down a hill with younger son saying "I am never going to climb another hill. Not ever!" and for a few months I had to call every walk birdwatching.  The trouble was, the older one wasn't interested in birds so I had to convince him it was a big boy serious walk and then try to stop them conferring.  Younger one now grown up with his own children and recently asked for walking boots for his birthday .

If your son learns to map read, especially if you can convince him he is much better at it than you, it will give him an added interest in the walk.  If you could find one of those 1 day Navigation courses that you could both go on, they can be really helpful.  I went on one when I reckoned I was too old to have the energy to retrieve the situation if I ended up in the wrong valley.  I found it useful in all sorts of ways, but particularly in stopping me believing my unerring instinct that I was going in the right direction was more likely to be right than what the map and/or compass were clearly telling me.  But from your description of your walk, your navigation is better than mine and at least as good as most peoples.  You landed up in the right place after all!


Little Foot

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #32 on: 09:47:39, 23/02/21 »
I've had good info from you guys, including websites and suggestions so thanks.  :)


I've tried the 'I enjoy your company' when asking him to consider going on the next trip (maybe Scotland Lochs with a bit of Glasgow to mix it up), and he appeared to be considering it for a brief moment. Perhaps I will grind him down haha


Looking at the websites linked, I think I've found a nearby gate on the Geograph website that Eyelet posted about (interesting site). There's maybe another fence crossing the path as I can see a post on the right side of the tree. Maybe it's just the contouring that led me to believe the path going straight ahead was leaning left. Oh well.


I'm going to spend some spare time brushing up navigational skills with the links here. I might also ask my son to pick a nearby train station and find a route to do for once things are closer to easing off.


Thanks again all. I'm off to read April's TR now, and how she made a mess of one.  ;D





I'm going to do more local walks using the Satmap. From what I remember, even though I had it with me with my route logged, I made the mistake of not having the rain cover with it so would only look at it very briefly, being worried the rain would damage it, and the same with my phone. I guess I got complacent and didn't study the map too much beforehand.




pdstsp

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #33 on: 10:32:23, 23/02/21 »
Good idea to walk more with the SatMap - particulalry somewhere you know - it allows you to get fully acquainted when not risking getting lost!!


Which version do you have? - I think the SatMap 10 was not waterproof while the 20 is.  I use a 20 and the one thing I do is to turn off the touchscreen if its raining - while waterproof, it is hyper sensitive to rain drops and will rearrange your screens, reroute the walk and order a pizza if you leave it switched on!  I just use the buttons in wet weather.

Little Foot

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #34 on: 13:21:01, 23/02/21 »
Good idea to walk more with the SatMap - particulalry somewhere you know - it allows you to get fully acquainted when not risking getting lost!!


Which version do you have? - I think the SatMap 10 was not waterproof while the 20 is.  I use a 20 and the one thing I do is to turn off the touchscreen if its raining - while waterproof, it is hyper sensitive to rain drops and will rearrange your screens, reroute the walk and order a pizza if you leave it switched on!  I just use the buttons in wet weather.


I have the Active 12. I'm so rubbish with it that I can't work out how the supplied lanyard fits on it! Mine isn't touch screen at all but I still find myself pressing the screen at times.  ;D

Dodgylegs

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #35 on: 13:28:39, 23/02/21 »

I have the Active 12. I'm so rubbish with it that I can't work out how the supplied lanyard fits on it! Mine isn't touch screen at all but I still find myself pressing the screen at times.  ;D


Place the Active 12 in the hands of your son, this will .. maybe! ... work out for both of you, he will be keen to try it out and he'll be able to pass his knowledge onto you.


I do not have any electronic devices, study route beforehand and print out copies of route map.
Have been out a number of times with someone learning their electronic devices, surprised they haven't thrown them away... short tempered. Had an argument on a difficult route to follow, their device said one direction, my map said another... guess who was proved right?

jimbob

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #36 on: 13:56:59, 23/02/21 »
. Had an argument on a difficult route to follow, their device said one direction, my map said another... guess who was proved right?
So, either he had the wrong track on his device or you had the wrong map😁.
Learning point, when walking with others always ensure everyone is prepared for the same route. Destinations may be the same but many tracks may lead to them.

My daydreaming leads to some very interesting tracks on my gps.I'm becoming an expert in plotting  back to where I should be by the shortest possible route. Thus by painful experience I taught myself a lot more than I needed to know about contours.
Too little, too late, too bad......

Dodgylegs

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #37 on: 14:02:38, 23/02/21 »
So, either he had the wrong track on his device or you had the wrong map😁.
Learning point, when walking with others always ensure everyone is prepared for the same route. Destinations may be the same but many tracks may lead to them.

My daydreaming leads to some very interesting tracks on my gps.I'm becoming an expert in plotting  back to where I should be by the shortest possible route. Thus by painful experience I taught myself a lot more than I needed to know about contours.
I wasn't allowed to go anywhere near the electronic devices! ... the map won!!

pdstsp

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #38 on: 14:08:35, 23/02/21 »

I have the Active 12. I'm so rubbish with it that I can't work out how the supplied lanyard fits on it! Mine isn't touch screen at all but I still find myself pressing the screen at times.  ;D


Me too - I broke the lanyard trying to fit it. :-[

Eyelet

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #39 on: 14:21:31, 23/02/21 »

Me too - I broke the lanyard trying to fit it. :-[


This GPS Training video on how to fit your lanyard might help you both https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdYqP9rFhkA

Satnavs are too far expensive to drop O0

harland

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #40 on: 15:53:32, 23/02/21 »
This GPS Training video on how to fit your lanyard might help you both https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdYqP9rFhkA
Why didn't they actually open the back of the SATMAP to show you where to attach the lanyard? I have the Active 10 that is a bit easier to fit!

Skip

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #41 on: 18:39:53, 23/02/21 »
I might also ask my son to pick a nearby train station and find a route to do for once things are closer to easing off.

Good idea  :)
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Little Foot

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #42 on: 14:21:27, 28/02/21 »
I think I checked out that vid of fitting the lanyard when I first got it. The problem with my Active 12 is the lanyard holes are at the top of the unit, so if you fit them you would be holding the gps upside down. But, also, the holes for the lanyard are complete right angles so the thin threads won't even push through.


I think I need to get some wire perhaps and tie them to it maybe. The satmap came with a couple of cases but one is canvas which covers the device entirely so there is no access to it and the other fixes on to a bike. That one seems waterproof, but has a metal fixing sticking out.


Apart from all that it is just very, very slow. I was looking at a YouTube vid earlier and mine seems a lot slower than the one demonstrated, to the point where is unusable. I think it might be because it wasn't connected to a satellite so going to have a play outside this evening and check it. I might have to send it back. It was a refurbished device.

Mel

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #43 on: 20:31:51, 28/02/21 »

Another post that sneaked past my radar.


Oh Little Foot, don't you know that stuff like this is a rite of passage for walkers and something that has to be maintained on a regular basis?  ;D  You know you're a pro when you re-name these navigational mishaps as "exploring an interesting diversion"  :D


But seriously, as I think everyone above has said, we've all done it and we even give everyone else a good giggle at our expense about it on here.  Here's my offering:


http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=32070.0


Sorry the pics are no longer there but I think you'll get the gist. 

 I think returning to do the walk in better conditions might help. I'd like to see that gate junction again. I also feel I cheated following the road in the end so I don't think, with hand on heart, I can say I did that leg of the journey. I do need to brush up on my navigational skills I reckon. I'll look at doing that. I'll start with learning my left from my right    ;D  
 


I'd be quite happy to do this with you once this madness is done and dusted.  We can stand and look at maps and scratch our heads a bit and fathom out what's what. 

Little Foot

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Re: Walking Disaster
« Reply #44 on: 13:32:58, 01/03/21 »
You are right I guess Mel. I think that walk will certainly be the most talked about one so suppose I got my monies worth.


And yep, would be good to scratch our heads together going over old ground, definitely!


Off to read your trip report now, sounds amusing.  ;D

 

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