+bananabrianna Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 Huh, I guess we should have remembered to make our car a waypoint before getting halfway into the middle of nowhere haha. Ended up not finding the cache, down in Prince Edward County. We were lost from 7pm-9pm but luckily came to a road, used our GPS map to find out which way to go and eventually ended up back at the car. There was a lot of going around in circles. I'm new to the whole experience and am HOOKED. Took my brother out on two today, was only successful in finding one. Holy bugs, Batman! Quote Link to comment
+rasj & Stacey Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Most GPS units have a feature called backtracking, or tracks. Not sure if your's has it or not, but It leaves a "trail" on the screen of your GPS (usually represented as a dashed or dotted line.) The trail is where you have been. Using that feature, you can follow your "tracks" right back out to your car(or wherever you turned on your GPS from). Check your manual to see if your unit has this feature, and if it does, turn it on. Quote Link to comment
+Jayloki Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 LOL!! I'm sure we have ALL done this at least once in our Geocaching lives. I recall heading out for a cache, marking my vehicle before I left, and only to end up erasing ALL my waypoints (vehicle included). Luckily , I had been constantly looking at my location and noting the location of my vehicle. 3.5 kms later, on a scorcher summer last year, I made it back to my Jeep! It does happen...hopefully only once though!! Welcome to Geocaching!! Quote Link to comment
VI Waypoint Hunters Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Yep, been there done that Lot more gratification on finding the car then the piece of tupperware. On a serious note, it also shows why it's a good reason to carry a compass and know how to use it. Why, you ask. Do this test, walk deep into the woods with yous gps on. Once there turn off the GPS, open back, remove batteries. Now throw one battery as hard as you can East, the other throw again as hard as you can West.... now find where you parked I've done search and rescue here in BC and a couple of times we've had to find persons who thought they'd be fine because they had a GPS. Quote Link to comment
+Couparangus Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Ah yes, I learned early on the benefits of marking where you parked the car! Quote Link to comment
+chris-mouse Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Even marking the location of the car doesn't always help. I've been looking for a cache in a park in Oakville. With 5 people, each having a GPS, and the car waypointed, it STILL took 45 minutes of wandering around the maze of trails before we finally managed to track down the car. Ever since then I've added a new bit to my navigation routine. Every time we pass a fork in the trail, I take a look behind me so I know what things are going to look like on the way back. Quote Link to comment
+Olar Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 BTDTBTTS Along the same lines, and it's something I manage to do frequently, is leave the trail and bushwack 30, 50 metres through thick woods to the cache area, go in circles trying to find it and after signing the log realize I have no idea which way to head back to find the trail. Not a serious problem most times but it makes you stop and think what would happen if the GPSr suddenly quit and no track display to follow. The simple answer is to make note of the compass heading leaving the trail and then just do a 180 to get back. Cheers, Olar Quote Link to comment
+AV Dezign Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 BTDTBTTS Along the same lines, and it's something I manage to do frequently, is leave the trail and bushwack 30, 50 metres through thick woods to the cache area, go in circles trying to find it and after signing the log realize I have no idea which way to head back to find the trail. Not a serious problem most times but it makes you stop and think what would happen if the GPSr suddenly quit and no track display to follow. The simple answer is to make note of the compass heading leaving the trail and then just do a 180 to get back. Cheers, Olar That's why I carry a compass, but do you think I actually use it? Most of the time not, I should be more consistant with it and actually take the time to take it out and get my bearings. Quote Link to comment
+yorelken Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 (edited) Yes, I once spent a long, tiresome time finding the right way out to the car. The GPS showed where it was, but trying to find the right way to it through a maze of trails was something else. The terrain didn't allow for bushwhacking. I have since thought I should take a quick waypoint at each fork of the trail. Now If I could only follow my own advice... Edited June 15, 2006 by yorelken Quote Link to comment
+What rock? Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 If I were caching someplace I could get lost for 2 hours or more, I would also definitely take water, 1st aid kit and other basic survival stuff. Quote Link to comment
+The Blue Quasar Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Mark the car... that used to be the first thing my kid said after we got out of the car to start the hike to the cache. I'll bet you can guess why he used to say that! No need to mark the car now, but often still do when I'm outside of my usual caching circle... But I've also had to use the 'breadcrumb map' to find my way back to the trail. We were talking about something similar at lunch today... the GPS is to the Compass, like the Airbag is to the Seat Belt. The Blue Quasar Quote Link to comment
+rhelt100 Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 My best lost in the woods story... I got lost while hiding my first cache. LOL. I wandered into the woods of the Pennsylvania State Game Lands about 750ft and located a great hiding place for the cache. While locating the hiding place, I got spun around and thought I knew the direction to the car...but didn't. I walked for about 500 ft, the wrong way, when I heard a car off to my left in the distance. I knew that if I was going the right way, the road should have been off to my right. So, I bushwhacked a couple of hundred feet out to the road, which involved a few river crossings and had to walk down the road to get back to my car. All in all, it only added about 30 mins to my walking time, but I still felt really stupid. Quote Link to comment
+1701eh Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Breadcrumb feature is great for getting back out. I also carry a compass just in case. Knowing which direction you are heading from the car/road and leaving the trail is good advice. It's also another great reason for using the GPS map (north up) instead of following the pointer. By using the map, I know what direction I'm heading, even when leaving the trail. If the GPS ever dies, I'll pull out the compass and head back out. Quote Link to comment
+Puddlemaster Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 When I taught map use in cadets it was always stressed to stop an look at your back traik so you can see what the trail looks like when you are heading back out.Also ,I keep an eye out for unique objects as reference points if I get messed up. Quote Link to comment
+Fuzzywhip Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 Strange how this works :-) You go looking for a small 2x4 tupperware container, covered in camo tape, hidden deep in the woods ... and FIND IT! Then you can't find a bright white van, weighing about 1600 lbs, parked on the side of a paved road, in the bright sunshine! Ha Ha Ha Yes, it has happened to me! Fortunately, I have a good sense of direction, a compass, and at least a passing knowledge of the immediate territory. Usually, if I head downhill or head South, I will eventually find a road. Quote Link to comment
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