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GPS
#45484 03/18/16 08:35 AM
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I considered posting this on "Gear Heads" page but it looks like mostly reviews.

I want to by a GPS unit but know nothing about them. I figure it will be helpful on my upcoming backpacking trip. Hoping to find campsites that I designate ahead of time.

A friend just purchased a Garmin GPSMAP 64st. Any advice about what product to buy and how to learn to use it?

Re: GPS
RenoFrank #45485 03/18/16 08:49 AM
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I got a GPS unit years ago, but it was so clunky to use that I never used it. I now have a Garmin Oregon 600, and have used it a few times.

On the Half Dome trail, I was able to pinpoint a spring that is noted on old topo maps, and then went to find it. I also found a nice shortcut route that I could follow that avoided too much brush. I actually created the route with the online gmap4 website, downloaded the route to the unit, and then could follow it while on the hike.

I did something similar with a mountain bike trip.

However, I use the thing so little, and the menus in the unit have SO many options, that it is hard to learn to use. I really consider myself a novice at it.

Garmin has a computer-based app, Garmin Base Camp, that lets you work on a large screen with routes, and it can be used to upload and download tracks (or is it routes).

Oh yeah, and the other thing: If you want a decent topo map to display on your unit, you have to buy the separate CD of maps. I think mine cost about $100. The unit's memory can't hold everything in the CD, so it lets you identify and load sections of maps via the Base Camp software.

You need to give yourself time to learn to use the unit. Good luck!

Re: GPS
RenoFrank #45487 03/18/16 10:08 AM
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Originally Posted By: RenoFrank
I considered posting this on "Gear Heads" page but it looks like mostly reviews.

I want to by a GPS unit but know nothing about them. I figure it will be helpful on my upcoming backpacking trip. Hoping to find campsites that I designate ahead of time.

A friend just purchased a Garmin GPSMAP 64st. Any advice about what product to buy and how to learn to use it?


I have a Garmin GPSmap 62stc that I never use. I'll sell it cheap:-) Really, iPhone apps are really inexpensive, and do more than the dedicated GPS units (battery is the only shortcoming of the iPhone vs dedicated GPS). I use an app called ViewRanger. App is free, works on iPhone and Android. Only cost is maps - $20.00. And only if you want USGS topo. Other maps are free, but the $20.00 is cheap. App allows download of maps to your smart phone for use when out of range of wifi/cell. Upload to web site. Link to flickr to show pictures, plan hikes on the web site, create a route, download to smart phone, etc.......

I will not buy another dedicated GPS unit, only do day hikes. If you are doing multi day hikes the battery may be an issue. There are chargers (including solar) that will help with this issue, but there is the 'hassle" factor.

Re: GPS
John Sims #45490 03/18/16 10:46 AM
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Likewise, I use an app called Gaia. It's $20, but everything after that is free. There's lots of different map layers you can choose from - USGS, USFS, OpenStreetMap, Google Terrain, Satellite, Shaded Terrain, etc. You can download these maps ahead of time, create and upload tracks/routes/waypoints. I use it all the time and it's saved my butt in whiteout conditions.

Re: GPS
goldscott #45495 03/18/16 02:45 PM
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John S and Goldscott, what iphone units do you have, and what is their storage capacity? I'm afraid my old 4s would get overloaded fast.

Re: GPS
Steve C #45496 03/18/16 03:46 PM
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Originally Posted By: Steve C
John S and Goldscott, what iphone units do you have, and what is their storage capacity? I'm afraid my old 4s would get overloaded fast.


Hey Steve,

I do have an iPhone 6 with 64 GB of memory (much unused), but have previously used ViewRanger on an iPhone 4 without problem. You decide which map, and how much to download. You select a "grid" of squares and only that portion is downloaded. You can download several sections, and "manage" your maps, deleting those that you will not be using, and downloading those that you need for any given hike. It's a bit of a hassle (so I like having lots of memory - I just keep them all downloaded), but still very manageable.

Download ViewRanger from the app store. It comes with many free maps, download a few sections, and see what the strain is on you iPhone memory. As long as you have wifi no need to "download" it will pull whatever is needed as you browse (these are not "downloaded" but may be in cache memory for subsequent use).

Last edited by John Sims; 03/18/16 03:46 PM.
Re: GPS
John Sims #45497 03/18/16 04:19 PM
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My 4s has 8 GB total, only 1.7 available, and I use it for pictures and an occasional video, so need some open space. My wife's has 16 GB, so maybe I'll play with that one. She hardly uses it anyway.

Re: GPS
Steve C #45498 03/18/16 04:50 PM
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Originally Posted By: Steve C
My 4s has 8 GB total, only 1.7 available, and I use it for pictures and an occasional video, so need some open space. My wife's has 16 GB, so maybe I'll play with that one. She hardly uses it anyway.


One other suggestion. If you have an iPad, download the app on the iPad, and use it to create your "saved" maps. Since you will have registered on MyViewRanger it will know who you are, and you can share maps. No extra charge for two versions (including maps if you buy them). Just easier to create them on the iPad due to display size.

Re: GPS
goldscott #45500 03/18/16 08:39 PM
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I use GaiaGPS as well on my iPhone 6+ for all my hiking tracking/route/off line maps.

Works well for me and even has an Ample Watch app so I can check my progress without using the phone.

You do have to make sure you have space for all the maps you want to download. I have 64GB, so never really had a problem downloading what I needed. I actually download USGS, Openhiking, and satellite maps. I find the later sometimes helps when I get off the trail (intentionally or unintentionally) to find my way home. smile

You do need to keep it charged, so a extra battery pack of some kind is a good idea for longer hikes. GPS does eat power when used continually. A day hike usually isn't a problem (I keep a small battery in my day pack just to be safe), but for overnight tips I have a bigger battery.

I'm actually thinking of getting a solar charger to help for my two planned 5 night hikes this year, plus my 6 night Japan Alps trek. Probably the Instapark Mercury 10M Solar Panel Portable Solar Charger.

Re: GPS
WanderingJim #45501 03/18/16 10:30 PM
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Back nearer to the middle of the last century, we wanted to bushwalk in the area west of Newcastle, on the Dividing Range. No good topo maps, so we ordered aerial photos in a pretty good scale. We could actually pick out the features from the photos really well.

Now we have all that in our pockets - anywhere in the world.


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Re: GPS
goldscott #45502 03/20/16 07:06 AM
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the thing abut these phone GPS apps is that your phone battery won't last very long. Fine for a day hike, but beyond, you need to lug solar charger and other stuff along that's not always reliable.

I never cared to look into what is possible with these my phone, as I can't keep mine running on standby for much more than 24 hours. Fine for short hikes, but for the hikes I do, where there's no charger for a week or more, I need a GPS with interchangeable batteries that last as long as possible.

I haven't really looked at current models in almost 10 years now, since my Garmin 60csx works fine for what I use it for. It is indestructible and runs for two days on a pair of light Lithium AAs. I bought the California 24k topo map for it years ago and that's almost more detail than you need.

You can find these units on ebay for under $100 if lucky, but many are selling close to what I paid a decade ago. The new version of it is the Garmin 64st. not much has changed, and the price is still up there. These things don't work much better than a phone when it comes to GPS reception, but they are bulletproof and efficient.

My unit has seen about 50,000 miles on a dirt bike in all kinds of weather and dirt, about 10 summers in the Sierra with probably 6 months total in the outdoors, plus many thousand miles on a bicycle. I also use it in cars on longer trips away from home, so I'd say it has been tested thoroughly. If it ever dies, I'll try to find another one just like it.


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