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My first trip were done with the only map being the park map which was the entire park on one map, showing portages but no campsites.  During one trip we crossed paths with someone who had a McKenzie map and were amazed.  Like you, even the compass was seldom used but we wee constantly looking at our maps, keeping track of where we were.  On later trips using better maps, it was just more fun having better info.  yes it perhaps was easier to navigate to campsite, but for me, just successfully getting from point A to point B was not something from which I derived "satisfaction" (I can understand how it would be a plus for others, just not my thing).

My GPS is mounted on the canoe and always on.  Not so much to get me where I want to go but because like with the earlier paper maps, I enjoy "placing" myself.  But then again, because of computers and digital mapping, before I even get to the trip, I have already been on the adventure in cyber world.  The planning is all part of the enjoyment of an outing.  Using the GPS during the trip is just an extension of that effort.  To me it is no different than instead of carrying just one kind of map, immersing yourself with copies of different kinds of maps.

So there are a number of ways to use a GPS.   Just a different perspective, your mileage may vary.

(Then there was the one rough day in the wind, rain, fog, and waves on basswood lake
that the GPS became a safety item.  Being able to instantly know exactly where we were without ever having to stop paddling to pull out a compass or map, that made that day a safer one.)

mastertangler wrote on Jun 5^th, 2011 at 4:20am:

I buy lithium batts to power my GPS.  They are more expensive, but they are lighter weight and have a longer service life.  At my usage level, one set of AA's is more than sufficient for a 2-week trip.  The only reason I take any backup is in the event I do something stupid, like leave it on.

As far as marking waypoints, let me recommend that you complete the process and then use the search function to see if you can find the entry you just made.  I have a bad habit of marking a spot, giving it a name and then managing to exit without saving it.  I don't necessarily discover my error until after I've moved on.  So, if you can find it, then it has been saved.

dd

I have my GPS on and saving a track almost all the time I am traveling. When I get home I save the tracks to my computer.  Helps when I am reliving the trip later. I also have a good record of where the portages are.  A set of lithium batteries will last me 4 to 6 days in a garmin etrix in battery save mode.

Another excellent tip Azalea. I could see something like that happening easily enough.

While I'm familiar enough with my route (I bet I have stared at it 10,000 times) I failed to make use of the "message" portion of the garmin base camp program to provide mental "cues" on the GPS as to what I was thinking when I established the way points. Probably 1/2 of my waypoints are cuts not portages. Unlikely it will be required but would of been more comprehensive usage of the program.

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Different strokes, I guess.

I tried "Track up" for a few trips and didn't particularly care for it.  Since  I mostly use maps and will generally orient the map with North up, I found it to be sometimes difficult to make the mental translation between what the printed map said and what the GPS representation was.  So, I now generally just leave the GPS with a "North up" representation.  (However, I do find that map direction pointer helpful, rather than use something like to "go to" feature.)

I'd recommend giving each selection a try in relatively known or involved water before you commit to one or the other for the extent of a trip.

dd