GPS in the Everglades

[Juan Estevez]

Greetings to all, I am planning one or two trips to the Everglades this coming season, I had read Keith site and Connie's blog trying to learn as much as possible about what to expect. I also bought Johnny Molloy book that of course I'll bring with me.

My question is regarding GPS in the backcountry as an aid for navigation, I know that everyone agree that charts and a compass are a must and it should be the primary navigational tool, but; is it is possible to get by with a GPS alone? Has anyone uses it as the primary navigation aid and charts and compass as a backup? I believe Garmin sells maps of the Glades for their GPS, has anyone tried?

Thank you,
Juan

[vivian]

This will be my first season using a GPS but I am still bringing the chart.

All my paddling buddies use GPS but also have a map for backup or just for a wider view of the area you are paddling through. The mapping GPS is a wonderful tool but there are areas where signal is weak or the details are not as clear. If you are just following the WW and not doing any exploring you should be OK. But my recommendation is to bring a chart of the areas you will be paddling, a compass (and know how to use it). There are places that are so convoluted that require an aerial or satellite image to navigate (i.e., Hells Bay). I always use Google Earth to plan my trips and make copies of such places where the detail on my map or GPS is insufficient to get information I need.

One thing that having a NOAA chart and a simple compass with baseplate is good for is planning an alternative route when bad weather puts a damper on your journey. To sit at camp with a small GPS screen is not as easy as laying out a chart and plotting some compass bearings to get you through more protected areas.

[yakmaster]

Once I plan my camps, I know what I expect to paddle each day. Then for each day, I try to print the route on regular 8.5x11 paper from quads, navs & google earth. I put these in ziplocks or map cases on my deck in order so I can see what I'm seeing big picture without having to move too much stuff around.

I also take those standard rollup charts that are sat hybrids to a copy center & get them to make color copies of the pieces, last but not least where there are tight, complex or multi-optioned stretches, I will print tight zooms of the nasty parts so that if I take a "wrong" turn, it was semi-intentonal.

Then I try to plot the options and transfer points of interest/importance to my GPS & use it as the stroke by stroke navigator with the ziplocks as a backup. But you always have to double check the pix for a reality check on what you think the GPS is saying.

Besides the GPS, I'll have 2 or 3 compasses (one in my pocket, one in my deck bag & one under decks to keep Mr. Murphy at bay) and I also carry a square compass rose with a string through the middle to I can plot course headings on the fly.

I use Topo US & Blue Water Navigator from Garmin. Is anyone using tighter scaled products?

All the planning, mapping, & printing is half the fun. Even if you use the GPS the whole way, it's important to know where the heck you are on paper for when you lose the GPS or it goes dark (it happens, I think Wayne lost 2 on one trip).

[Keith W]

A GPS is like the safety on a gun - a mechanical device that is subject to breakage and failure, and is therefore inherently untrustworthy. I would never trust either with my life. Get your charts and a compass. When I'm on (or off) the trail, my compass lives on a lanyard around my neck and a spare lives in my PFD pocket.

A lot of Vivian's and yakmaster's tips are good ones. I print out close-up aerials of "iffy" spots and I laminate them for waterproofing with a laminating machine I picked up for cheap at a surplus house. One of these days I'll post the aerials I have in JPG format.

I use the Garmin US Topo 24K National Parks East. Very tight and detailed for the entire ENP and Big Cypress, including water trails.

[Juan Estevez]

Thank so much Vivian, Yakmaster and Keith. You guys brought very valid points that I missed, I can't imaging myself looking a tiny screen to find my way, it has to be so much easier to look a letter size paper. I already bought a very good book about kayak navigation that I just started reading, but it seems that it is not as easy as I thought. Practice is the name of the game.

I am planing my first trip during the Thanksgiving week to the 10k island region, maybe a 2 nights, EC to Tiger or Picnic Key, 2nd night at Pavillion and returning to EC the 3rd day.

One last question: Is there AM and FM radio reception in the ENP? weather stations?

Thank you again guys.

Juan

[Connie Mier]

Juan, sounds like you have a really nice trip planned for Thanksgiving. Consider also Jewel Key, recently opened for camping. You can certainly get radio reception and we always carry a VHF (5 watts) to get weather reports among other reasons.

Lately, I have been using the Top Spot maps that are easy to see (my eyes are getting old) and here is the website: http://www.offshoremapping.com/productcart/pc/pasadena-top-spot-map.... There is a map for the 10000 islands. This is a great map and as detailed as you need them to be.

Check your tides for that weekend. Seems to me there is an incoming on Thursday (Thanksgiving) until about 10 am. So if you get a late start, you'll catch the outgoing, perfect for heading out to the gulf. Here is a website for those tides:
http://saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/floridagulfsites.html

Connie

[Terry]

I mainly use the nautical charts and a compass. I carry a GPS in my bucket of supplies
but only bring it out if I need it. I print out aerials if charts aren't available (like the sloughs)
or for "iffy" spots. The nautical charts are very good, you can trust them, about
the only spot I have an aerial for along the WW is Charley Creek. Even way up
Rookery Branch in Bottle Creek, Hells Bay area, Labyrinth or through the islands
to Collier Seminole State Park I've found the nautical charts to be very reliable.
Probably the one biggest gripe with the nautical charts is Rodgers River Bay Chickee...
oops, I said too much, let everyone have the "first time" experience that's what makes
it an adventure. There's also quite a bit of nautical chart confusion down at Cape Sable,
the erosion is so bad at Middle and East Cape Canals that the charts can't keep up
with it. If you do get lost, stop, think, use your inner instincts and listen to
what the environment tells you. Then, like the rest of us, you'll have your first
"remember when" story.

[Keith Wellman]

GPS usage always generates a lot of discussion. Traditionalists, of course, insist on using charts and compasses. I've used a GPS in the Everglades for 15 yrs (not the same one, of course!) Through hard experience, I've learned to keep mine in a dry bag, like an AquaPac bag. Most recently, I add small bags of desiccant to my AquaPac GPS bags. My experience has been, that if you leave a GPS unprotected in a saltwater environment (like on the deck of your kayak during coastal outings), it will last 24 months or less. Most of my experience is w/ Garmin devices. If I am doing an extended trip, like 4-8 days, I set up daily routes on my computer using National Geographic TOPO! maps, then upload these routes to my GPS. You can download these routes from your Garmin GPS to Google Earth, and tweak them as necessary. I use a Garmin GPSmap 76CSx. My wife has a Garmin Legend C. I load the identical routes on both GPSs, so the one GPS is a backup for the other. These 2 GPS devices are going on 5 yrs old. We have never had either one fail. We have never had either one "lose" its GPS satellite signal for more than a few seconds. If a modern GPS "loses" its signal for an extended period, it is usually because you have placed it in a bad location on your boat. Move the GPS.

Both of our GPS units are mapping, meaning they accept Garmin "TOPO US" maps. These digital maps are pretty low res maps, but they work. You can actually set up a route on the fly--that is, if you want to alter a route for the day using the installed digital maps, you can do that.

I have done the 70 mi coastal trip from Flamingo to Chokoloskee about 9 times--I usually carry some kind of Everglades chart on this trip, mostly to show companions where we are going that day. However, I rely totally on my GPS w/ its routes to get me from one campsite to the next. I do have a compass in my emergency bag, but I can't remember the last time I used it.

In contrast to coastal Everglades, the interior is more complicated. A Google Earth image may be very useful in exploring the interior Everglades--this is the sort of thing that Vivian likes to do. One very useful tool available on all GPS units is the bread-crumb track that the GPS lays down. It is visible on the display and can always be followed back to some recognizable point, i.e., the point you made a wrong turn and got lost.

My feeling is that most people do not get to "know" their GPS. If that is the case, the GPS will always be underutilized, and probably never trusted. For those people, when they really need to use that "backup" GPS, they will not be able to take advantage of it. If you have a GPS, use it. Use it ALL THE TIME, until it gets to be second nature. Then, and only then, will you be able to trust it. Modern GPS units have a lot of features, and they are very reliable if protected from the environment. They are great navigational tools, and allow you to enjoy your surroundings more.

Keith

[vivian]

Keith Wellman and Wasserman, I found this topo site that has free maps. The Garmin Topo charts are a bit out of my budget right now. Do you have any experience with these?

http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/123/

[Juan Estevez]

Keith,

Thank you for your reply, you're right on target, I don't know how to fully use my GPS (guilty one here!) You basically answered my main question, it is possible to use the GPS as your main navigational tool and charts and a compass as a backup.

To me there is no controversy which one I should use; I will use both. I guess if you are in a solo trip you should know how to fully use charts as well, the thing is always you've got to have a backup plan and nor rely in only one toll.

Thanks again.
Juan

[Keith W]

Back in February I started a GPS Survey discussion which didn't get much response. Maybe this would be a good time to revive the thread, with the season just around the corner. Click on the link or look for it under the General discussion forum.

Mr. Wellman is correct about protecting your GPS. I abused my first one and had it fail on the trail 4 years later. Since I only use it for tracking speed and distance the loss was more of an annoyance than a threat. I keep the replacement in a Dry Pak case which provides the additional advantage of flotation.

Before you decide to place all of your faith, and your safety, in the hands of an electronic device, please take the time to learn how to read your charts and plot a course with your compass. When (not if) Mr. Murphy pays you a visit, you will need to, at the least, be able to correlate the surrounding topography with what you see on your chart. This is not as easy as it sounds, especially in an environment as flat as the Glades. The time to learn is not when you're lost and frustrated.

Vivian, I haven't seen those free topos before. I'll have to check them out, thanks for the tip!

[yakmaster]

looks excellent!

Alot of detail, but don't use it at night to find camps. I have mine entered & verified (either by visit or by google earth) and these maps get you into the neighborhood, but not to the chickee deck...

But for free....DANG GOOD!

hope it doesn't damage anything, so far it seems to work fine & play well with others.

[vivian]

Yakmaster, I used it today at Matheson Hammock. The creeks don't show up on the FL topo but the roads and main waterways do. I was able to toggle between my Blue Nav, Garmin Basemap using the method described here:

http://www.miscjunk.org/mj/mp_mapset.html

Not bad for free! I just wish there was something with more detail for the Hells Bay area that I am presently trying to explore and fish more this coming season.