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Met A Lost Muggle


PNWWizard

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Last weekend we found the shelter where a cache was hidden. There was a muggle taking a break, so we chatted with him. He was hiking the trail around the lake, and asked us to confirm that he was about halfway around. We told him that he was only about 7% of the way around. He didn't believe us so DH whipped out our Garmin Vista and showed him where we were, and where the rest of the lake is. We finally managed to convince him that he'd only travelled 1.5 miles of a 22 mile hike! His parting words were "I've gotta get one of those!"

 

Maybe we've brought another muggle into the light???

:)

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I spent about 15 min in Sterling Forest showing a group of hikers my GPS about 6 weeks ago. I showed them Topo on it, the tracks I had gone already and how far (as the crow flies) we were from the parking area they were asking me about.

 

A couple of them were real interested and asked me about the costs, different models/features, etc.

 

I didn't discuss geocaching with them but they sure were likely candidates for a GPS purchase.

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I'm newly converted Muggle (is that lost non-GPS user?) - anyways, I just used my Garmin 76s for a few days driving to dairies to work. I have them marked at waypoints (with the Garmin "Zoo" Icon ;-) Its amazing to see the relationship in distance amongst them on one map. This will be handy on pre-light mornings when its foggy (and I am, too sometimes b4 coffee!). Im about to search for my first geocache - maybe this weekend!

 

PS: Maybe the manufacturers could send people into the woods to undercover market to lost people. Talk about a receptive audience :huh:

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Yeah, GPSr really rock in whiteouts. I used mine to bring my climbing team off Mt Baker in a full whiteout (I used a trek pole, like a white cane, just to see what the surface was in front of me). Of course, they're not any better than map & compass if you haven't marked waypoints (such as trail ends at snow fields)!

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Of course, they're not any better than map & compass if you haven't marked waypoints (such as trail ends at snow fields)!

Well, even if you don't mark waypoints, you can follow your own track back out. I'm forever forgetting to waypoint the car, and I just backtrack.

 

I might be a bit more conscientious if snow were coming :huh:

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On my Garmin 76S, do I press the NAV button to start recording my track? How will I ever outgrow my muggle-ness -- Im lost in the manual  :lol:

Manuals are for wussies!

 

The eTrex automatically plots your track unless you turn it off. Looking at the spec sheet for the 76S it says "Tracks: Automatic track log; 10 saved tracks let you retrace your path in both directions" so I'm guessing it does the same. Page through the various menus and see if "tracks" isn't one of them. It's the screen with the map -- your track is plopped on top of the area map. You might have to zoom way in to realize what you're looking at, especially on foot.

 

In a woodsy hike back to your car, the track screen is the most useful screen. It's the one that answers the question, "is this the fork of the path I took coming in?"

 

The coolest thing about saving tracks is that you can bring them home and upload them to the computer. A program like Mapsource will plot out your track on a topo map for you. After a day of caching, you see the long, straight lines where you were driving, and the tortured, squiggly lines where you were stumbling around in the woods searching for Tupperware.

 

tracks.jpg

 

Also, if you're a hopeless geekburger, you can go out in a big field and try to draw pictures with it.

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VERY cool! I didn't realize all the various features you can have on a GPS system or how to use them. Glad I read this thread since...um..yeah....manuals. I don't do manuals.

 

Anyway, I just picked up a Magellan SporTrak Map off Ebay for a good price (came with the Mapsend Topo software and PC cable, etc). So I'm glad to see what other stuff it'll be able to do! :-)

 

Can't wait until it gets here and my hubby and I can get out hunting caches!

 

Angela <><

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  Garmins have a "TrackBack" mode. Check your manual using that term.

 

Thanks. I learned something (now I can call it a day ;-) Got it: (on the Garmin 76s screen called "Track Information Page" ) Ok - I can turn it on , select options for recording, and then follow it back: "track back" - hey even their name for it is backarsewards ;) makes sense now.

 

Ahhhh, so that is the electronic bread trail. If only Hansel & Gretel had a Garmin - they wouldn't have had to bake that nice old lady :lol:

 

edited for attempted humor timing.

Edited by GeoPup&ShelpieGirl
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