Robert's Question:
What is your preference for navigating a thru-hike such as the Continental Divide? Do you feel that a GPS unit is a necessary supplement to a compass and maps? If so, do you carry the GPS for the entire trip, or only in certain areas such as New Mexico? What are some of the pros and cons of taking a GPS unit along?

—Robert

Karen's Answer:

	Karen Berger Meet Karen Previous Answers Hiking Forums

Hi Robert —

This is the kind of question that makes me feel like an old grandma talking about"when I was a kid we had to walk 10 miles barefoot through the snow because they hadn't invented leather yet."

When I hiked the CDT in 1990, GPSs were not yet something that backpackers routinely used. So I got pretty good at using a map and compass. (And, I might mention, Lewis and Clark and James Fremont and all those other old-time explorers got by on a lot less, too. After all, they didn't have the excellent maps we have available today...)

But okay, I've joined the Third Millennium (kicking and screaming, but hey, I'm on the internet, aren't I?), so here's my take: Today, GPSs are cheaper than ever— and, since last year, when then-President Clinton removed the intentional distortion from the satellites, they are more accurate, too. They can be extremely helpful supplemental tools on unmarked trails and when traveling cross-country.

On a trail like the CDT, you need to be able to do two things when navigating: You need to know where you are, and you need to be able to plot a route. GPS is great for requirement number one: It can pinpoint exactly where you are, within a few feet, which makes it especially useful when you're trying to find a spring or decide if the trail you think you're standing on is indeed the trail you're standing on. But requirement number two is a little trickier. A GPS can tell you which way is north, or northeast, or whatever (just like a compass). Unfortunately, backcountry travel rarely goes in a straight line. You still need to be able to read a map well enough to plot a route that works with the hills and gullies of the landscape. A GPS can't help you with that. Of course, if the route is already plotted on the map, you can enter various intermediate "waypoints" into the GPS, and it will tell you which direction to walk in. The bottom line is, somebody has to put the route on the map, and GPS can't help you with that.

I confess to be old fashioned enough to take pleasure in being able to use a map and compass—and I take comfort in the knowledge that even if my GPS batteries runs out, or it gets drowned in a storm, or I fall on it and smash it, I can still use my low-tech skills to keep going. GPS isn't a substitute for knowing how to use a map and compass, but it's a great additional tool. I would absolutely take one on a trail like the CDT if I were to do it again, although I wouldn't bother with it in places where the trail is well-marked. In Colorado, for example, I rarely had much trouble with map and compass. And I wouldn't take a GPS on a trail like the AT or the PCT—it's just not necessary. But when going cross country or linking unmarked trails together (as you do on New Mexico and southern Wyoming's CDT) it would have saved me a lot of time, frustration, and in one memorable case, thirst.

Karen