People these days! :@

[Bhunterbushcraft]

New-age walkers are getting ridiculous!

Now i say this but I am only 17. Most people nowadays use solely GPS as they are unable to use a map and compass. Recently I was up the Lomond Hills (Fife, Scotland) with friends camping and a German woman happened to stroll in. We were about half a click from any tracks so how on earth did she find us?

She was lost. She was using GPS...on her phone..

Now these are the time of people that phone emergency services to help them and it is ridiculous.
Never trust phone GPS OR leave the house without a map!

[Martin]

Well said that man!!

Having a map, a proper compass, and the ability to use them are as essential as a rucksack full of gear when out in the hills.

Having said that, I went for a walk on Dartmoor on Saturday. I planned the full trip using the map and then programmed the way marks into my GPS. That meant that I only had to get the map out a couple of times all day and the compass came out once to make sure I left the top of a tor in the correct direction.

Martin

[Ashley Cawley]

...
Never trust phone GPS OR leave the house without a map!

You would have laughed at me the other day! I left the house for a coastal walk (intended to take my map) but my friend and I were so keen looking at it in the office I left it there by mistake! Not only that but when we were out on the trail I decided to use my Garmin GPS for the first time in ages just to waypoint the car and measure walked distance - and the batteries ran out half-way through our walk!

Dosen't matter though, thankfully it was only a casual stroll along coastal footpaths... getting lost for me out there would have only put a smile on my face.

[rich290185]

i use a GPS WITH a map but the compass is always with me and never runs out of battery's.

GPS are great but as Martin said been able to use a map and compass (and having it with you )is essential!!!

[jbrown14]

Very well said, and awesome to know that a young man like you has that kind of good sense in his head as well. So many are fixated on their electronic gadgets and trusting in technology to get them out of a bind. There are also the people who just go blindly into the wild thinking that every trail out there should be as well marked as a city bus route.

Your story reminded me of something that I encountered was when I and two friends were on our way back to camp after summiting one of the High Peaks in the Adirondack mountains. Between us we probably had about 50 to 60 years hiking experience (aged 29, 38 and 49 at the time...) and all of us had been trained in the proper use of map and compass. We had been hiking about 10 hours already that day, and it was getting on toward early twilight when we ran into a group that consisted of one man I'd say was in his early to mid twenties, and about 12 to 15 girls who were all in their teens. Maybe one or two had a pack, the rest carried at most a water bottle. All were dressed in shorts and t-shirts, with maybe a sweatshirt (jumper) or a jacket tied around their waist. All wore running shoes. They were on a trail that was headed into the area we had just left, heading uphill, away from civilization, away from water, toward some very unforgiving terrain. As we began to speak with the man, he explained that he was a girls high-school basketball coach who thought it would be a good training exercise to take his team for a day-hike in the backcountry. We pointed out that he was headed toward trails that would take him a day and a half to walk back to civilization and he got confused for a moment and said, Oh, I thought we were heading back toward Marcy Dam. We said, well, if you get out your map, we can show you exactly where you are, and the shortest route back to where you need to go.

His answer? I left my map in the car, but I thought I remembered enough of it to get through the hike once I realized we didn't have it. We pulled him aside away from the girls so they wouldn't get too nervous and explained the true peril of his situation to him. You're in a remote area, realistically, you're about 6-8 miles from the trailhead, you have about 1 1/2 hours of real light left before it starts to get really dark, and you are not prepared to spend the night. We topped off all their water. Gave them detailed directions on how to get out (written down) and walked with them down to the nearest trail junction where we could point them in the right direction. Then we all prayed within ourselves that they would make it out before dark.

We still talk about that one. Just unbelievable.

[AL...]

16 folk taken off the hills here in Scotland over the weekend because they were useing there iphones instead of a Map and compass. That has to be the hight of dumbness .

Cheers
AL

[Silverback]

No surprise to find me making comment on this thread. I would urge those thinking of venturing off the beaten track without the ability to find your way about to spare a thought for the impact they have on others.
There is no right to rescue in the UK, you cannot demand a helicopter (people have) and mountain rescue and incidentally the rnli are staffed entirely by volunteers.

As someone who regularly turns out to search for the lost and injured I am no longer surprised by the reasons in which the person got lost in the first place. There are many and it would be inappropriate to post the details here although the group trying to walk the pennine way with a road map immediately springs to mind.

Suffice to say we do not stand in judgement and all are treat with equal dignity and civility although some words of guidance may be indicated

[FishyFolk]

We do get more and more of this silliness over here as well...that said. I have used my mobile phones GPS once or twice. But that was just as a speedy way of getting my grid sorted. As soon as I activate the GPS the batteries just goes "slurp" and they are empty. I do have a map and compass as well and know how to use it. The nice thing about the phone GPS is that you can send your coordinates via SMS to rescue services. But this of course requires you to be aware of the limitations of it, and that you actually learn how to use it, something most people seem to be quite ignorant of.

We used that with luck in Africa when some of our people got nabbed by a local militia group in Darfur. They had a Thuraya sat phone with them, that for some reason they where allowed to keep. So they simply got a GPS fix from it, and sent an SMS with their position to us, and our unarmed Danish and very courageous security officer simply boarded a helicopter, and went out there, and got them released...I think they militia guys where so dumbstruck that somebody could be that stupid that they just let them all go, lol

[TreeCamper]

Navigation and Hydration

We all know the importance of carrying sufficient water on our outings.

Having competed in a few Cross Country competitions in very hot weather. Every year there is someone carrying all the necessary navigation equipment even a mobile phone with connection and getting into difficulties.

The thing is once you become dehydrated and possibly overheat your ability to reason and calculate goes out the window. We have seen people below us from a hilltop walk in circles, drop their equipment and even walk away from a main road and farmhouse. We have had to run down to them get them in the shade and give them water and cool them down before they regain their senses. Some people are still carrying water but have not drank enough.

Now I know we are not competing but there will be times when we try to get somewhere a bit quicker carrying a heavy pack. Maybe we are wearing too much clothing, take a layer off, pace yourself, take it easy and try not to sweat.

GPS units are great and I use one a lot. (for first time users)Be extremely careful when entering your waypoints as a single digit incorrectly entered can get you well out of your way and leave you short of time for reaching your destination.

So my twopence worth is stay well hydrated at all times it will help with your navigation and general clear thinking.

Map & Compass first, electronics as an aid.

Apologies for stating the obvious to the experienced but there maybe new explorers reading this thread.

Tony

[happybonzo]

We used that with luck in Africa when some of our people got nabbed by a local militia group in Darfur. They had a Thuraya sat phone with them, that for some reason they where allowed to keep. So they simply got a GPS fix from it, and sent an SMS with their position to us, and our unarmed Danish and very courageous security officer simply boarded a helicopter, and went out there, and got them released...I think they militia guys where so dumbstruck that somebody could be that stupid that they just let them all go, lol

Good grief - they should have qualified for a Darwin Award doing something like that