High End Research Gear And Equipment

[BlackRockBigfoot]

4 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

Whatever works for you.  I prefer carrying one device that works rather than dealing with two.   I like to print a paper USGS map to carry and just position fix now and then.    I can map read well enough not to have to do that very often.    I have dealt with Garmin associated with aviation for years.    Their data base updates are expensive.    I carry a little solar panel in my pack capable of charging the phone.    

Same here.  We carry a small solar battery charger that could power the Inreach Mini in a pinch.

 

I am with you as far as paper maps go.  Never leave without a map and compass.  

[wiiawiwb]

You and SWWASAS are fortunate to have enough open sky to make a solar charger useful. Where I go, views of the sky are few and far between which renders a solar charger nearly useless.  I have to rely on a power bank which has recharging capability for a long weekend, at least i n my experience.

 

Map and compass are a must in my world as well.

Edited November 13, 2019 by wiiawiwb

[NCBFr]

Spelunker?

 

I must be an idiot as  I just get out of the car and follow the trail.  If I go off trail, I generally have enough directional sense to figure it out.  Something like road to left, river on right, Mt top ahead.  Eventually I will blunder in to my target without too much fuss. 

[SWWASAS]

19 hours ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

Same here.  We carry a small solar battery charger that could power the Inreach Mini in a pinch.

 

I am with you as far as paper maps go.  Never leave without a map and compass.  

The younger generations in this area have a propensity not to carry maps and rely entirely on electronic devices.    They find themself out of cell coverage,  get lost,  and have no clue how to find their way out.   I don't think a week goes by without someone getting lost in the Columbia Gorge area.   That takes some doing since they have a giant river to the North,  a noisey freeway the same direction,   up is the wrong direction and down takes them out.    But over and over someone manages to do that.     I think people that ill prepared should be made to compensate the searchers  and banned from the woods.  

[BlackRockBigfoot]

5 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

The younger generations in this area have a propensity not to carry maps and rely entirely on electronic devices.    They find themself out of cell coverage,  get lost,  and have no clue how to find their way out.   I don't think a week goes by without someone getting lost in the Columbia Gorge area.   That takes some doing since they have a giant river to the North,  a noisey freeway the same direction,   up is the wrong direction and down takes them out.    But over and over someone manages to do that.     I think people that ill prepared should be made to compensate the searchers  and banned from the woods.  

Haywood Country is right across the state line from me.  My girlfriend's family is from there.  Asheville, NC (which is nearby) is a booming area and has been attracting lots of folks who are attracted to the outdoorsy feel of the area.  Lots of these people are into that hipster hiker culture, but have no practical experience or skills in the outdoors.

 

Anyway, my girlfriend knows some of the guys from ESEE Knives, more specifically the guys who run their SAR training team.  Last time she spoke with them, they said that the Haywood County SAR teams were going on rescue calls at a greater frequency than any other group in the lower 48.  There is a constant stream of neophytes going into the mountains unprepared and then needing extraction.  Apparently, it is having a strain on their budget.  Haywood County has some fairly remote areas that attract these hikers from the next county over, however they do not have the population or the accompanying tax base to handle all these SAR calls.  If a chopper gets called in...that ain't cheap.

 

Apparently there has been some discussion on charging people who need rescued, however the prevailing theory is that they wouldn't want someone to avoid reporting missing hikers (or even holding off triggering a PBL themselves) for fear of the financial consequences.

 

I bought a SAR insurance policy when I got the Inreach Mini for this very purpose.  I figure (heaven forbid) that I ever need help then I can handle any expenses that result.

9 hours ago, wiiawiwb said:

You and SWWASAS are fortunate to have enough open sky to make a solar charger useful. Where I go, views of the sky are few and far between which renders a solar charger nearly useless.  I have to rely on a power bank which has recharging capability for a long weekend, at least i n my experience.

 

Map and compass are a must in my world as well.

What power bank are you using?

[wiiawiwb]

I have an Anker power bank. I think it is 20,000 mAh.

 

Asheville, NC is quite the town and I've visited the area before. They have a ton of restaurants and pubs. I ate at the Lobster Trap and was favorably impressed.

 

The younger crowd definitely relies on their electronic devices too much so for my liking.  I don't wish to reply on a compass either, god forbid something happens to it (I always carry a second).  Through practice, I've become very comfortable using just a topo map and navigating by terrain association. It becomes very easy in places where there are open spaces such as Colorado, Montana, Utah, and the like where you have a distant line of sight with objects visible.  When you're under the canopy of trees, particularly in a dense forest, you must rely on very subtle terrain changes and associate them back to a place on your map likes clues in a mystery or pieces of a puzzle. It makes it a lot of fun and is empowering when you know you can navigate without benefit of an electronic device or compass.

Edited November 14, 2019 by wiiawiwb

[SWWASAS]

One thing taught in  Air Force survival training is using the sun and stars to navigate.      Most lost just need a direction to head and the sun or stars are perfectly capable of that.    A watch and time of day can determine direction within a few degrees.     I find that young women in particular are clueless about compass directions.    Ask them to point to North and most cannot.     They seem to navigate (drive) using reference points, rather than by raw direction.     My daughter when she first started driving,   lived a few blocks from her high school so she walked to school.   She used the high school as a reference point for driving.     This was long before cell phones with maps.    She had a minor accident so I insisted on riding with her a few times to see what her driving was like.    

 

                              I rode with her once to a store and the layout of town was as below.   

    

                             Home/HS                  Store 1

 

 

                                       Store 2   

 

                          With home and Store one being North.         She took me to Store 1 and when I wanted her to take me to Store 2 she took me to Home/HS first then to Store 2  rather than a more direct route from Store 1 to Store 2.     I asked her about the route and her response was that this was what she always did.    Get her in the woods and she would not do well.  

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by SWWASAS

[BlackRockBigfoot]

10 minutes ago, SWWASAS said:

One thing taught in  Air Force survival training is using the sun and stars to navigate.      Most lost just need a direction to head and the sun or stars are perfectly capable of that.    A watch and time of day can determine direction within a few degrees.     I find that young women in particular are clueless about compass directions.    Ask them to point to North and most cannot.     They seem to navigate (drive) using reference points, rather than by raw direction.     My daughter when she first started driving,   lived a few blocks from her high school so she walked to school.   She used the high school as a reference point for driving.     This was long before cell phones with maps.    She had a minor accident so I insisted on riding with her a few times to see what her driving was like.    

 

                              I rode with her once to a store and the layout of town was as below.   

    

                             Home/HS                  Store 1

 

 

                                       Store 2   

 

                          With home and Store one being North.         She took me to Store 1 and when I wanted her to take me to Store 2 she took me to Home/HS first then to Store 2  rather than a more direct route from Store 1 to Store 2.     I asked her about the route and her response was that this was what she always did.    Get her in the woods and she would not do well.  

 

 

 

I am lucky in that regard.  My significant other investigates with me, and she has an almost uncanny sense of direction.  

[Bigtex]

Here's a good tip, and always works well for me.....depending on the thickness of the woods you are in, find a memorable feature, a rock, tree, piece of trash, or something, and walk past it a distance to where it can still be seen looking back. Turn around and remember the view, as it looks totally different from the other side. If you are trying to remember landmarks to find your way back, you will most likely get lost at some point because the feature you remember looks totally different from the opposite direction....give it a good study from the direction & view you will heading back on, then it's as easy as following bread crumbs:)

[SWWASAS]

I do the same thing.    Some big rock or tree does look different from the other direction.     So I note what the backside looks like when I go in,   then when I pass it on the way out,   I confirm it by looking at both sides.  

[Bigtex]

Giddy-up SWWASAS....I figured you would know that trick too:)

[NorthWind]

4 hours ago, Bigtex said:

Here's a good tip, and always works well for me.....depending on the thickness of the woods you are in, find a memorable feature, a rock, tree, piece of trash, or something, and walk past it a distance to where it can still be seen looking back. Turn around and remember the view, as it looks totally different from the other side. If you are trying to remember landmarks to find your way back, you will most likely get lost at some point because the feature you remember looks totally different from the opposite direction....give it a good study from the direction & view you will heading back on, then it's as easy as following bread crumbs:)

I do this too. Learned it way back in the Boy Scouts. I even do this at intersections on some logging roads in the woods when they get a little dicey.  Great tip, Bigtex.

[Bigtex]

Thanks NorthWind:)

[NCBFr]

23 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

The younger generations in this area have a propensity not to carry maps and rely entirely on electronic devices.    They find themself out of cell coverage,  get lost,  and have no clue how to find their way out.   I don't think a week goes by without someone getting lost in the Columbia Gorge area.   That takes some doing since they have a giant river to the North,  a noisey freeway the same direction,   up is the wrong direction and down takes them out.    But over and over someone manages to do that.     I think people that ill prepared should be made to compensate the searchers  and banned from the woods.  

Yes on the compensation.  I wreck my car and I have to pay for the ambulance ride to the hospital.  Banning from woods is a little harsh.

18 hours ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

Haywood Country is right across the state line from me.  My girlfriend's family is from there.  Asheville, NC (which is nearby) is a booming area and has been attracting lots of folks who are attracted to the outdoorsy feel of the area.  Lots of these people are into that hipster hiker culture, but have no practical experience or skills in the outdoors.

 

My mom's from Swananoa. We try to get back to Asheville once a year.  Just flat out beautiful place.  Love the Grove Park Inn.

[BlackRockBigfoot]

8 hours ago, Bigtex said:

Here's a good tip, and always works well for me.....depending on the thickness of the woods you are in, find a memorable feature, a rock, tree, piece of trash, or something, and walk past it a distance to where it can still be seen looking back. Turn around and remember the view, as it looks totally different from the other side. If you are trying to remember landmarks to find your way back, you will most likely get lost at some point because the feature you remember looks totally different from the opposite direction....give it a good study from the direction & view you will heading back on, then it's as easy as following bread crumbs:)

Ah, the fine art of the Back Bearing.  Simply looking at your back bearing while traveling makes the return trip so much easier.

 

Great advice, never wait until the return trip to identify landmarks.

 

I let my land navigation skills atrophy living in the city for a few years.  It has been a real pleasure honing those once more.