Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25179
•• • • lines, wires + waves Ever since Homo sapiens came down from the trees and walked upright on two feet. we've been explorers, Over time we have colonized the most remote parts of the world. from barren deserts to frigid mountains. But one fact remains inescapable: we originally discovered many of these places by getting lost. Historically. the best way to guard against getting lost was by paying close attention to the sun and the stars. Around the twelfth century. mariners in China and Europe discovered a way to tie a rock to a stick and make it point north and the compass was born. This helped explorers tremendously. but it took centuries for maps to become accurate enough to navigate precisely. Fast forward several hundred years to the United States. In 1978. the Department of Defense (000) launched a network of satellites whose signals could be picked up by Global Positioning System (GPS) units to determine the unit's exact location on the planet. The GPS units were a tremendous advance over any other form of navigation. but for years civilian versions were rejected by hardcore adventurers as cumbersome. power-hungry. devoid of features and inaccurate. Successive generations of units yielded smaller receivers. improved reception and increased features. The major breakthrough came in 2000 when the DoD-which for years had purposely scrambled the signal slightly to ensure that it was not accurate enough to be used for missile guidance-did away with its scramble. With that decision. GPS devices were elevated from a useful toy to a "must have" for anyone venturing beyond their neighborhood boundaries. In addition to providing accurate positioning down to 30 feet or less. new units provide a wealth of data such as route times and distances. They mark waypoints (places you've been to and want to return to. like a trailhead or a campsite). They provide information on the direction. distance and speed to any waypoint. minimum. maximum and average speeds and sunrise/sunset times. They even show maps of routes taken. High-end units also feature digital compasses. altimeters and a PC interface. Of course. none of this beats the peace of mind of knowing that if you need to summon help. you can provide your exact coordinates even if you have no idea where you are. Sure. a GPS doesn't replace good orienteering skills. The ability to use a map should be a prerequisite for outdoor activities and a compass together with a topographical map will never run out of batteries. But with the amount of data now available to the average outdoor enthusiast in such a small package. it's a mystery why every outdoorsperson doesn't have one. Whether you need a GPS to conquer your first peak in the Himalayas or navigate your own backyard. there's one designed to suit your needs. The following five units represent the spectrum of what's available. 66 .. '" ~ 1f:. z ~ 5 ... Z :t: 0.