GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers are becoming increasingly popular in backcountry navigation. When properly programmed they can accurately locate your position, keep track of your route and navigate you back to your starting point in all kinds of weather, day or night (and much more). Because they are high-tech, battery-operated devices, their best use is as a complement to the low-tech (unbreakable) tools of a map and compass.
Our field-based course will teach you the fundamentals of operating a GPS receiver: set-up (correct datum, choice of grid system, etc.), creating and editing waypoints, tracks and routes and the ‘Goto’ function. You will also learn how to use the GPS information with a topographic map. We will put all this information to practical use as we go for a hike in a wilderness setting (not in a store or parking lot), keeping track of our position and programming in new locations (waypoints) to find.
Course Locations:
• Los Angeles courses are offered at Malibu Creek State Park,
about a 20 minute drive from the West Los Angeles area.
•
Orange County courses are offered at Santiago Regional Park, about
15 minutes east of the I5 & 405 split.
•
San Diego courses are offered at Mission Trails Regional Park,
located 15 minutes east of Mission Valley, off of Mission Gorge
Road.
| Course Tuition:
$125 |
Preferred
Client
Activity Rating:
L1
Prerequisites: map
and compass course (or equivalent)
Included: one
full 6-hour day of instruction; extensive printed materials
(printed from your computer); a map; and use of GPS unit,
compasses, and navigational tools.
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What to Bring:
clothing and equipment suitable for
day hiking, lunch and snacks, water. If you own a GPS unit,
bring it with you. (A complete list will be e-mailed to you
when you register.) |
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