A Gps For Lunch?

[+Inmountains]

So my wife and I, and another couple, decide to do an ATV trip over Black Bear Trail in Southern Colorado. We get up to 12,000 feet, more or less, and decide to have a picnic. I leave my GPS on the ATV, as we did a little geocaching as well. I have the Garmin ETrex, the little yellow one, inexpensive but adequate. After a lunch in a mountain meadow, we get back to the ATV and find the entire rubber on around the GPS chewed into dozens of pieces. We had seen dozens of Mountain Marmots, but did not see any tracks around the GPS, which a Marmot would make due to its size. So I am wondering if little chipmunks decided the feel of the soft rubber in their teeth was too much to resist?! Has anyone ever had wild animals damage their GPS?

 

Luckily, I called Garmin and they sent me a new rubber part and the GPS was not harmed. There are still teeth marks on the battery cover, but it doesn't affect the operation of the GPS.

 

Next time, the GPS gets put away, and not left hanging on the ATV handlebar!

[+GOT GPS?]

I bet the GPS probably smelled like there may have been food inside of it?

 

Do you have pictures of when it was chewed up?

[+jacques0]

I'm guessing a red squirrel. They are notorious chewers. By any chance were you eating GORP (nut/candy mix) or some other snacks while you were carrying the gps? The residual scent may have triggered the chewing.

[+Couparangus]

Count your blessing they didn't chew the sparkplug wires. This is a common problem in Europe, but I have to admit I've never heard of it on this continent.

[+Night Stalker]

It could have been the whole ATV. My brother-in-law in Alaska found his ATV literally eaten by a large bear when he got to his cabin one spring.