A gps can be used for so many more things than just getting one back to the truck. When they were first available i wasn't interested. In my pockets were paraphernalia i could use to make fire should i have to spend the night whilst hunting. Thirty year i hunted in the mountains, and got along just fine; never spent a night out.

One day a fella came fishing with a gps. As usual we marked where we hooked walleye, with a buoy we tossed over. As we fished, the chop really really blew up. There was near zero chance of ever finding our buoy(s). We couldn't no way find buoy in the chop. Well wouldn't you know, the gps took us right to them buoy, and allowed us to pick them up, then allowed us to catch more and more fish.

Next day, i now owned a gps. It wasn't so very good compared to what is available today. It did have the ability to have maps loaded into it; so we purchased a map, and installed it into our gps. What a wonderful change the gps brought to my life. The map showed contour lines, creeks, and roads. The unit could leave tracks on the map for where i walked. I was able to learn, learn, learn, about the country i hunted. I could hunt an area one day; leave tracks, and come in from a different drainage the next day. The tracks from the day before i could hunt toward by walking over the mountain. No spot was unknown.

These day i hunt with a machine that is so cool compared to what i used a way back then. Color screen, electronic compass, better antenna. The first gps had a hard time seeing satellite through trees; these new one see so much better. The color shows blue cricks, red roads, brown contour. One of the best feature for me is the map shows property ownership in different colors. I can readily tell whose property i am walking on, and this is so valuable to one like me that hunts only government land. One thing i never worry about is trespass.

That first gps was like Dave described; one had to be moving to get it to point in the true direction. We used to run through the timber to get the gps to tell us the heading to a dead elk. Before owning these new gps, i always carred a compass along with the gps to really be able to figure a path. Today the electronic compass reveals true direction to anything whilst standing still in thick timber. Nowaday with the electronic compass, however one holds the gps it is aimed like it say it is. One can hold the gps, and see what is ahead. If a road is up ahead, one can veer away from it or toward it. One can see a land mark, and point the gps at it. The mountain, or whatever, will be revealed on the map in the machine.

There is no sense for me to mention the model of my gps. They are no longer available for purchase; too old. I do feel strongly, that one should use a gps with an ability to install a contour map. An ability to utilize a micro-sd card is good. A color screen really really is a good thing to have. The electronic compass is not something i would like to be without. The last gps i purchased has all these feature, and cost less than $200.

Last week i went for a hike. I left the truck, and headed up a drainage with a good trail and climbed to the top, and out of the drainage into the adjacent. I used the gps to help decide a path back to the truck. I could see i could follow a trail around the mountain and connect to the road the truck was parked on. I didn't want to walk that far. The gps showed no easy path other than that one. So, i put the gps into my pocket, and followed a deer trail up the mountain. I let the terrain and deer tell me where to walk. It worked good. After a ways, i wondered what was up ahead. The gps showed a steep steep slope on ahead. It didn't seem prudent to tackle that slope, so i changed my heading and dropped toward contour lines spaced further apart. This took me through some wonderful bench terrain covered with browse. This spot i will remember if/when i get a deer tag for the area. The path i walked is still in the gps, and it is also in my computer. My hike was safely on government land with no chance of trespass. Becoming tired, i decided not to walk too far out of the way back to the truck. The gps was used to pick a path with gentle contours, and kinda direct to the truck.