Hiking the JMT this summer.I need some input concerning GPS and also does any one know where I could purchase the maps for the GPS.Not sure if the National Parks West, map offered though Garmin has JMT on it.If any one has a recommendation for a good GPS and were to get a map with the trail on it please repond.Thanks
P.D
Using GPS is contrary to the hiker spirit. You might as well bring a boombox and a rifle to fire into the air when you set up camp.
Cheers
You probably don’t need a GPS because the JMT is a well defined trail. That being said, if you want to bring it, I wouldn’t worry about maps on the GPS. They never have enought detail and are too small. Bring paper maps and then just program your route in the GPS or mark inportant waypoints.
Bob
GPS against the hiker spirit. Very funny. Go hike the CDT.
Anyway, you really don’t need a GPS on the JMT. It’s very well marked.
Apple Pie
I’d second what Bob says. The JMT is well defined, and travels in very well defined topography. It’s almost impossible to be too far misplaced because the only ways out of most of the valleys are the pass you entered and the pass you’re going to exit. Of course that’s not entirely true, but with a modicum of maps and a very simple compass, you’ll do fine. You do not need a mirror sighting compass on this route. Plus, you can usually see exactly where you’re going in the greater sense (few trees).
Only slightly misplaced Jimbo
If you’re hiking the JMT after the snow melts, you don’t need a GPS. The trail is very well-defined. If you’re there before all the snow melts, a GPS could be fun to use, but probably not NECESSARY.
On the CDT, I carried a Garmin GPS. Garmin has a CD titled “Mapsource”, which has good maps to load into the GPS. The GPS maps do help a lot when you’re lost and trying to get found.
But seriously, if you’re on the JMT after the melt, you won’t need a GPS.
yogi
yogi
You don’t need a GPS on the JMT, but last year I took a Garmin eTrex Vista into the backcountry for the first time on my yearly solo treks. I found I had a great deal of fun playing “What if…?” regarding route planning.
Of course, I didn’t have a real goal for the trip - other than to be back at the Shepherd Pass Trailhead two weeks after leaving.
No plan, no agenda, no clue - it was an awsome trip.
Booger
all the info you need is at www.morethanamile.com/pctcd/support.htm
their maps come with the gps coordinates marked on them and sortware that enables you to upload the gps co-ordinates.
i used this maps last year and highly recomend them, they are very accurate and as detailed as you will get at 1:24,000
have an awesome trip, “SQUEAKY”
:cheers
“SQUEAKY”
Which Mapsource CD did you get? The US one or the National Parks one? Trying to figure out of the US one is detailed enough . . . the National Parks one seems to have more detail, but I think it doesn’t look like it covers much outside the parks. Thanks.
kanga