Maps / GPS

GPS + Outdoor Activities

A GPS-device will help to guide you to your destination, and will also take you back to where you started. Even with the most basic receiver you can always find your car and know pretty close exactly where you are.

If you want to figure out your location, speed, distance traveled and backtrack a route, you will need a more sophisticated device that is also small enough to carry with you. Remember that a GPS needs a clear view of the sky to find the satellites, so don’t carry it inside your backpack or the pocket of your jacket. Some protective GPS covers come with a clip (e.g. Garmin eTrex series) which allows you to click the device on to your belt or the shoulder strap of your backpack. Since the top of the device should face upward to receive satellite signals you can also Velcro the GPS to the top of your backpack. The only disadvantage: you can’t see the display. We recommend you additionally tie the lanyard around something too for added security.

Sometimes maintaining a reliable signal can be a problem. If you hike near large bodies of water, near canyon walls or under heavy canopies of trees, any GPS unit will have errors. Satellite signals either bounce (water, rock) or degrade (trees) in those conditions. Nowadays most modern devices can acquire a satellite signal in light forests; under a dense jungle canopy they will still fail to acquire signal though. Although the GPS signal frequency of about 1575 MHz was chosen expressly because it represents a "window" in the weather as far as signal propagation is concerned, i.e. as far as the GPS signal is concerned, an atmosphere loaded with water vapor and rain is virtually transparent to it, rain can cause some multipath effects that may degrade signal accuracy. To sum it up: as GPS units don’t always work the way you might expect them it is essential to carry a map with you.

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