A recent J.O. entry;
"Oooh.. first one doesn't move me, but the second one does!"
-jeff "
I'm at a loss for words.....
And here's another nugget where he describes his total ineptitude in the woods. He's one GPS malfunction away from reaching ground temperature.
"I will admit I'm not as obsessive about this as I was in my pre-GPS days, but I do carry a topo map of the area and I have a little compass clipped to my fanny pack (which I wear up front) so that I can check my general bearings as the day goes on... plus, I make sure I have a general sense of what's going on. As in: worst case, follow the water down to the road, or whatever.
I do carry extra batteries. My GPS only goes about 6 hours on a set. The real question is what do I do if it breaks, and I will admit to being somewhat addicted to it. That breadcrumb trail thing is great, plus, I'll usually drive the main roads surrounding our hunting area and get a bread crumb trail for that too. So with a little topo map on my screen and bread crumb trails showing the roads and/or any trails I've been out on it's pretty obvious where I am and even better, I can connect things up- I can see that I'm only a half-mile from that trail I hiked out last year, even though it might not seem like it. It's great.
I am not a sourdough elk hunter- only done it 6 seasons- but they've all been in wilderness areas in late October. My first two years I had only maps and compass, now I have those and the GPS. I LOVE the GPS. When that big black cloud is headed your way at 35 mph with whiteout snow... and you are 4 miles from the Jeep... which has happened to me... that GPS is worth it's weight in gold if only for the re-assurance factor.
-jeff "
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