Thus, a GPS derived elevation may be spot on....or may be as much as 100 ft (30 m) off.
For most practical purposes in wilderness navigation, a error of this magnitude is usually rather insignificant, say in climbing to a 10,000 foot high pass, or a 13,000 high mountain.
True enough. But then again, if I'm using a GPS, I usually can find the pass or peak without needing an altimeter of any kind.
Truth be told, while I carry a both a GPS (with electronic compass and barometric altimeter) and a regular magnetic compass, most of the time I'm not using them. In the mountainous country I'm usually in, I can generally eyeball my location well enough from map and terrain. However, as I believe you noted somewhere above, there are exceptions (night, fog or whiteout, thick brush, flat terrain, etc). My experience has been that while I usually don't need the GPS and compass......when I do need them
....I need them really really bad! Which is why I carry them.
Previous Topic
Index
