deenpea

The US Topo does not have hiking trail detail for most areas (I cannot speak for Magellan). The MapSource US Topo *does* include some hiking trails here and there, most commonly in certain National Parks and National Monuments (Ben Johnson trail in Muir Woods National Monument, CA, for example). Some dirt and Jeep roads are shown, too. It would be nice if US Topo could include all hiking trails, but it would be an act of magic for a software company to obtain this information. Often it is impossible to get trail maps at all, especially maps to scale with reference positioning. Look at most US Geological Survey maps and you will rarely if ever see hiking trails. It is understandable that GARMIN -- and most likely Magellan too (and DeLorme) -- would find it impossible to locate and include most trails in their topographic maps. Maybe one day someone will undertake a project to collect bread crumb tracks from qualifying GPS hikers and compile them into a comprehensive map of trail systems. Until then, the US Topo maps should still prove very useful in identifying bathymetric contours, land and water features.

In my collection of GARMIN GPS units I now have a GPS 12MAP, a StreetPilot, an eMap, an eTrex Vista, a StreetPilot III, and a GPSMAP 76S. And no, this is not a compulsion.... When I bought the eTrex Vista almost two years ago, I was sure it would be the unit I would grab for all hikes and outdoor activity. I loved the compass and the map capacity (I still wish they would accept MapSource cartridges), and I liked the compact size. I soon discovered that the (or at least *my*) Vista has terrible satellite reception. When there is any tree cover or a narrow sky view, the Vista is unable to obtain a signal. To some extent this is to be expected with all GPS units -- but carried side-by-side with the eMap and GPS 12MAP, the Vista's weak reception was glaring. During many hikes, my Vista had a signal 10% of the time while both the 12MAP and eMap had a signal 100% of the time. Sometimes it was even 0%/100%, as it was in the Yosemite Valley. In geocaching, Pea would carry the 12MAP (for ease of use) and I would carry the Vista. In most areas I would eventually have to put away the Vista and rely on her 12MAP for guidance. I sent in the Vista and GARMIN told me it was operating within spec. Don't get me wrong: it works great and with high accuracy in the desert, on the plains, and on the sea -- but hills and trees are no friends of the Vista. In emergencies I would never entrust my life to the Vista. I reverted to carrying the GPS 12MAP on hikes, which is rugged, easy to use and long-lasting, and it almost never loses signal. I did this until the GPSMAP 76S came out. The GPSMAP 76S map is an excellent unit. The screen is large and detailed. The interface is classic GARMIN, easy to manuever like the 12MAP. (The eTrex Vista mouse-and-menu system was sometimes nice, sometimes tedious and awkward: try panning a map!) The GPSMAP 76S seems to have very strong signal reception. I have not done a side-by-side with the eTrex Vista, but on recent cache hunts it has kept pace with the 12MAP, which I know is good. There are still a few quirks in its software that will hopefully be fixed in upgrades. One that annoys me is the inability to find POIs near another POI using the map pointer. Choosing a POI and showing it on the map with the "Map" button brings up the POI with the map pointer on it, but subsequent finds will only use the "Current Position", not the map pointer. This makes it very hard to find, say, restaurants near another city. The only way is to manually move the map pointer all the way from the current position. Another quirk is the calculation of ascent and descent rates. The barometric altimeter jumps around quite a bit, and this gets figured into the trip computer. Standing still, I can reset the vertical data, and within a few seconds the 76S will probably say that I have both ascended and descended a total of some 50 ft, and that my maximum ascent speed was 90 feet/min. This is probably fixable with an upgrade, too. One reservation I had about the 76S was the vertically-oriented antenna. It must be oriented vertically to get a good signal and accuracy. And, unlike the Magellan Meridian Platinum, the compass must be held horizontally to work. This means that the GPS signal is not very good when using the compass -- not a show stopper, exactly, but a little annoying. Fortunately, unlike the Vista, the 76S has an MCX port for an external antenna. I rigged up a hat with a GA-27C antenna. The antenna is on the very top of my head (magnets removed) just under the hat fabric, and the cord runs discretely into my shirt. It is dorky, but the signal strength is excellent no matter which way I hold the GPS. Anyway, from my own experience I can highly recommend upgrading from an eTrex Vista to a GPSMAP 76S. Since upgrading (and using the hat), my accuracy and reliability has enormously improved.

In my collection of GARMIN GPS units I now have a GPS 12MAP, a StreetPilot, an eMap, an eTrex Vista, a StreetPilot III, and a GPSMAP 76S. And no, this is not a compulsion.... When I bought the eTrex Vista almost two years ago, I was sure it would be the unit I would grab for all hikes and outdoor activity. I loved the compass and the map capacity (I still wish they would accept MapSource cartridges), and I liked the compact size. I soon discovered that the (or at least *my*) Vista has terrible satellite reception. When there is any tree cover or a narrow sky view, the Vista is unable to obtain a signal. To some extent this is to be expected with all GPS units -- but carried side-by-side with the eMap and GPS 12MAP, the Vista's weak reception was glaring. During many hikes, my Vista had a signal 10% of the time while both the 12MAP and eMap had a signal 100% of the time. Sometimes it was even 0%/100%, as it was in the Yosemite Valley. In geocaching, Pea would carry the 12MAP (for ease of use) and I would carry the Vista. In most areas I would eventually have to put away the Vista and rely on her 12MAP for guidance. I sent in the Vista and GARMIN told me it was operating within spec. Don't get me wrong: it works great and with high accuracy in the desert, on the plains, and on the sea -- but hills and trees are no friends of the Vista. In emergencies I would never entrust my life to the Vista. I reverted to carrying the GPS 12MAP on hikes, which is rugged, easy to use and long-lasting, and it almost never loses signal. I did this until the GPSMAP 76S came out. The GPSMAP 76S map is an excellent unit. The screen is large and detailed. The interface is classic GARMIN, easy to manuever like the 12MAP. (The eTrex Vista mouse-and-menu system was sometimes nice, sometimes tedious and awkward: try panning a map!) The GPSMAP 76S seems to have very strong signal reception. I have not done a side-by-side with the eTrex Vista, but on recent cache hunts it has kept pace with the 12MAP, which I know is good. There are still a few quirks in its software that will hopefully be fixed in upgrades. One that annoys me is the inability to find POIs near another POI using the map pointer. Choosing a POI and showing it on the map with the "Map" button brings up the POI with the map pointer on it, but subsequent finds will only use the "Current Position", not the map pointer. This makes it very hard to find, say, restaurants near another city. The only way is to manually move the map pointer all the way from the current position. Another quirk is the calculation of ascent and descent rates. The barometric altimeter jumps around quite a bit, and this gets figured into the trip computer. Standing still, I can reset the vertical data, and within a few seconds the 76S will probably say that I have both ascended and descended a total of some 50 ft, and that my maximum ascent speed was 90 feet/min. This is probably fixable with an upgrade, too. One reservation I had about the 76S was the vertically-oriented antenna. It must be oriented vertically to get a good signal and accuracy. And, unlike the Magellan Meridian Platinum, the compass must be held horizontally to work. This means that the GPS signal is not very good when using the compass -- not a show stopper, exactly, but a little annoying. Fortunately, unlike the Vista, the 76S has an MCX port for an external antenna. I rigged up a hat with a GA-27C antenna. The antenna is on the very top of my head (magnets removed) just under the hat fabric, and the cord runs discretely into my shirt. It is dorky, but the signal strength is excellent no matter which way I hold the GPS. Anyway, from my own experience I can highly recommend upgrading from an eTrex Vista to a GPSMAP 76S. Since upgrading (and using the hat), my accuracy and reliability has enormously improved.