Its now time to cave in and buy a GPS. What kind/model do all you experienced long distance hikers recomend.?? I will be using Bear Creek maps. Thanks
Miles
Best GPS for CDT
system
#2
I like the Etrex 20 and 30. About as inexpensive as you can get. If you want all the bells and whistles, the Oregon 650T is really nice. Expensive, though.
bearcreek
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#3
The Delorme PN-20 served me well on the CDT. Pick up their latest PN-60 and you won’t go wrong. If it were me I would pick up a like new PN-40 off Ebay for a fraction of the price. Big Bonus if you get a Delorme: you get all the US/Canada topos. Very solid GPS.
Soup Sandwich
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#4
I have a Colorado 400T which I bought from Abes of Maine quite cheaply (think it was reconditioned) and lazily bought the SD cards from Bear Creek. Plug 'em in and follow the trail.
Marti Andersen
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#5
First off, I’ve never used Bear Creek maps and I know absolutely nothing about them. Having confessed that bit of ignorance, I would recommend that you investigate the potential of using your smartphone as a GPS.
In 2012, I hiked the High Pyrenees Route using my Android phone, and as long as I had a few key coordinates from my guidebook, I had no trouble following a very poorly marked route (not a trail, but an intermittently marked route).
This spring, I hiked the AZT with my phone, and used the same approach. I downloaded some topo maps and the GPX trail track, loaded them to my Android, and that was perfect. I used my GPS probably 2 or 3 dozen times in Arizona on the few poorly marked sections, and it ensured that I never got too far off the trail (worst wrong turn cost me a mile:nerd).
The nice thing about using a phone as your GPS is that you’ll probably want to carry a smartphone anyway for the days that you’ll be in town. I carry an extra battery and when on the trail I only turn on my phone on the few occasions when I want to make a call, send a text or use the GPS to ensure that I’m still on the trail. In actual practice, the only time that I’ve ever used my spare battery were the couple of occasions when I forgot to turn the dang thing off after using it :nerd .
Anyway, that’s what I do, and it gets me GPS capability without adding any weight (because I’d carry a phone anyway).
Loup
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#7
Thanks for the advice on buying a gps. I hae hiked my whole life without one,no problem , but I fugure why not take advantage of all the tools available for navigation. I have just ordered an etrex 20. Now I just have to figure out how to use it. See you on the trail!
thanks, Miles
Miles
system
#8
I used the Delorme PN40. It was great. Had all the topos from Canada to Mexico in it with all of Leys waypoints and also water stashes in it. I drew all of the routes on Leys maps on the topos so everything matched up. That way we could compare with the paper maps and compass and with bearcreek also. Never really misplaced for long or far.
Macon
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#9
Some Garmin GPS models are ANT compatible. This is an extremely low power protocol similar to bluetooth which allows devices such as heart rate and cadence monitors to communicate with a compatible GPS. The Etrex 30 will work with these accessories but the Etrex 20 will not. Other GPS models that are ANT compatible are the Oregon, Dakota, 62S, 78S, Montana 650, Fenix, and newer Edge models.
One Garmin accessory I use and like is called a Tempe sensor. It is a tiny clip on electronic thermometer that weighs 10 grams - (about a third of an ounce) and can be attached to a strap or carried inside a pack. (I used to have a small keychain sized thermometer clipped on my pack and the Tempe weighs less.) I have one attached to my food bag which is always outside of the tent. The gadget records current and daily high and low temperatures then broadcasts that information to the GPS the next time it is turned on. The sensor itself is always on and runs about a year on a single CR2032 button battery, and I theorize that probably the same amount of power is required by the GPS itself. I can’t tell any difference in battery life on my Etrex 30 with it on or off.
Anyway, if you foresee wanting to use your GPS sometime with any of these accessories, you might want to consider a compatible models.
bearcreek
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#10
Another vote for the eTrex 20. Relatively inexpensive, acceptable screen and functionality when paired with Garmin’s 24k regional topo series (micro SD card), and the GPS also works like a standard USB flash drive when connected to a PC - drag and drop GPX files - and has more storage than you’ll ever need, even for a thru-hike.
tron
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#11
Bearcreek, you’ve GOTTA crack a smile in the morning when you turn on your GPS and discover how cold it got by your food bag the previous night. What a hoot. The king of your highly engineered, mobile castle.
tron
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#12
I love the idea of knowing how cold it gets. I have a Suunto watch that gives temperature, but to be correct it has to be off my wrist so it’s of limited value unless you just strap it to the pack.
Never even heard about this Tempe thing before. Definitely going to check it out. I have a Oregon 650 that it should work with. The Oregon is more expensive than the Etrex models, but it has a built in camera that takes good pictures so I don’t carry a camera any more and that saves some weight. I may just ditch the Suunto and use the GPS for a watch as well.
Wingnut
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#13
Tron - “more storage than you will ever need” is not correct.
There are over 9,000 waypoints along the CDT. The Etrex units hold 2000 points maximum at a time, so they must be re-loaded via a computer or SD card five times along the CDT. If you are using a Garmin map card, the SD option is not available.
DittoC
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#14
You can overcome the 2000 waypoint limit of a GPS by loading all the waypoints on the GPS in POI format. Here are the choices, in order of my personal preference:
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Place waypoints on multiple SD cards with user-created maps. This avoids having to buy Garmin map cards, and waypoints are easier to use on the map than POI’s.
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Place user-created maps for the entire trail and POI’s into the main memory of the GPS. One setup for the entire trail, and the SD card slot is not needed.
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Put the entire trail waypoint list in the main memory of the GPS as POI’s and use Garmin Map Cards.
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Place user-created maps for the entire trail and POI’s on a single SD card. The card can stay in the GPS for the entire hike.
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Place Waypoints in the main memory of the GPS, use Garmin Map Cards, and reload Waypoints several times along the trail. This requires access to a computer every time you need to reload. Some hikers have done this by putting all the .gpx files for the trail on a memory stick or CD and loaded at coffee shops and libraries.
The 1:24K Garmin Map Cards are generally of a higher quality than user-created maps and they cover a larger area. They cost $80 per card and three are needed for the entire CDT. They are write-protected so it is not possible to add waypoint or POI data to the cards - the data needs to be loaded into the main memory of the GPS.
The Montana 600, 650, and 650t, and Oregon 600, 650, and 650t models hold 4000 waypoints. The "t models have built in background maps but they are not of a suitable scale for backpacking. You can save a few dollars by getting a GPS without the “t”.
As always, the waypoint data is available for free download at: www.bearcreeksurvey.com If you want to make your own maps there is a tutorial there on how to do that.
bearcreek
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#15
DittoC & Bearcreek, I guess I assumed that your CDT waypoint data were available in GPX file format, rather than just a collection of freestanding points. The eTrex 20 will store 2000 GPX files, containing up to 10,000 points each.
By the way, I’ve never had any luck using the microSD slot for anything other than the Garmin MapSource products (or equivalent). The owner’s manual may indicate otherwise, I’m not sure.
tron
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#16
The Etrex 20 will store 200 GPX Track files of up to 10,000 points each. In addition to that, it will store 2000 Waypoints. Both waypoints and tracks are stored in gpx format, but they are different items. A track line is a collection of bread crumbs that can be connected to make a line. Waypoints are individual points which represent some sort of feature (like an intersection, stream, or road crossing) Waypoints are the bread and butter of navigation. They are clearly defined locations that can be navigated to with a GPS.
This link contains information on how many of each of these are supported by various GPS receivers.
http://www.bearcreeksurvey.com/gps_info.htm
bearcreek
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#17
No, the eTrex will store 2000 GPX tracks, not 200. See the link I referenced earlier.
Either waypoints, or tracks, or both can be placed into GPX files. If a GPX file contains only waypoints, and not tracks, then it will simply show the waypoints overlaid on the GPS map. These waypoints can be discreet locations, such as Bearcreek’s CDT waypoint list, and not simply arbitrary breadcrumbs as in a track file.
So my original assertion stands. All of Bearcreek’s waypoints will fit handily into an eTrex 20 unit if first converted to GPX file format. (Or the points could be arranged in separate GPX files, each for a trail segment or state, for example.)
Smile!
tron
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#18
2000 GPX files, I should say, not necessarily tracks. Just as it says on the Garmin support page.
tron
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#19
OK, I now see that Bearcreek offers 4 individual GPX files of waypoints for each state along the CDT. 9000 or so waypoints, correct in total, correct? I just loaded all of these into my eTrex 20 unit, as best I can tell successfully. I don’t know of any way to get the device to quantify precisely the contents in memory, or whether any data that wouldn’t fit has been truncated. No error messages appeared during the initial boot up following USB tethering to a PC. The loading status bar at the bottom of the startup screen took perhaps 30 seconds to complete. I can at least confirm that the unit now contains Bearcreek’s data, whether all of it or some of it. I see no reason why it wouldn’t be the full monty, based on Garmin’s specified ability of the unit to store 2000 GPX files. Perhaps the 2000 waypoint limit is just for waypoints recorded within the unit itself.
tron
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#20
Tron - GPX means “GPS eXchange Format”. It was designed so that users of different brands of GPS receivers could share the same information without having to make conversions. Waypoint and Track Files are both recorded in GPX format. (POI’s are a different format called GPI which proprietary to Garmin)
While it may be true that you can physically copy all of the waypoints for the trail onto your GPS, it will only be able to utilize 2000 of them, and you will have no control over which 2000. The remaining 7000+ will be unavailable so holes in the route will appear and major parts of the trail will be totally missing. Your GPS will be of limited value to you if you do so. You can demonstrate this to yourself via Where To - Waypoints - (Pick a waypoint) then follow along the trail of Waypoints displayed on the map. They will stop showing when you reach your 2000 point limit and the map will be blank.
Track files are constantly created on the gps whenever it is on. It is a record of digital breadcrumbs so is useful for showing where you have been. Great for finding your way back to the car or illustrating where you have been. Depending on GPS model, Track files usually have a maximum size of 10,000 points. When one of these files is filled it is saved, and another one is started. The Etrex 20/30 models will hold up 200 of these tracks at one time. (even more in an archived format)
Tracks are completely different than Waypoints. Your Etrex is capable of utilizing a maximum of 2000 Waypoints. Period. The only way to get around that limitation is to use POI’s instead.
This is copied from your source document above:
eTrex 20/30
2,000 GPX files
2,000 waypoints
5,000 geocaches
200 routes, 250 points per route
200 saved tracks
2,000 archive tracks*
10,000 points per track
100 custom map tiles
The GPS internal memory is similar to a hard drive and it has a file structure allowing 2000 file names. That has nothing to do with Waypoint capacity. The fact that the drive / file structure allows for up to 2000 gpx files is irrelevant.
bearcreek