GPS Navigation

Introduction: For this exercise we had to navigate to 6 new points using only GPS Devices. Using only latitude and longitude as our guide, compass' and maps prove to be a very important tool. The points that we navigated to were also new, giving us a new terrain and area that we were unfamiliar with.



List of Latitude/Longitude Points.

The 18 points on the paper above are separated into 3 courses, 6 points to each course. Each group is given a course to follow. This week we had points 1-6.

GPS unit used, along with coordinates.

 

Methodology:

Differing from using a compass and map, using only GPS coordinates to navigate terrain proved to be quite difficult. Besides the difficulty of making sure that we were headed in the correct latitude/longitude direction, there was about 2 feet of snow. Now if there was 2 feet of snow and you knew exactly what direction you needed to go, that would be difficult enough. When you have 2 feet of snow and you walk 20 yards to find out you are walking in the wrong direction, it can be quite frustrating. When I first created the image below I was quite surprised how my route actually looks quite simple. I remember the route being rather difficult and remember doing a lot of back tracking trying to get back in the right lat/long direction.

Chuck Peterson Route

Group Route

With the dramatic terrain at the Priory, I found myself wishing for a topography map more than a compass. For the most part, you can get a good bearing of where you are at in regards to elevations changes in this area.
Besides the difficulty of the snow, our group soon came up with a system. We split the responsibilities up between the three of us. One person concentrated on latitude, one on longitude and the last person checked on both lat/long and kept an eye out for the flag. With the foliage off of the trees, it gave us a good chance to spot the flag even though it was quite aways off. In fact, at one point later in the exercise we went to the wrong flag. It was a mistake due to fatigue and we got lazy and didn't even check our GPS to see if we were going in the right direction.

Discussion: This was a good exercise in the regards to comparing navigating with a GPS in contrast to using topology maps and a compass. As Dr. Hupy has repeated this semester you have to be able to adjust to technology breakdowns. Indeed, this was a good example of a situation wear the older technology would prove to be more useful.

Conclusion: I think this exercise really drove home the point of the importance of having various forms of navigation. With my limited experience with GPS device I can see their importance and usefulness. That being said, I can see that they are not a good stand alone navigation device.