It’s hard to get lost with GPS units

A week ago, I was the guest of a friend, Kathryn McGloin, and the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club at the group’s September meeting to hear Master Guide Dick Parker give the 35 or so in attendance an introduction to the global positioning system and the hand-held devices many have come to know as GPS.

Parker’s talk was particularly appropriate for a group like this one, which on any given weekend sees numerous members exploring the vast reaches of our state. While most trips are in familiar territory, outside influences such as fog or low clouds can play havoc with the ability to navigate visually. That’s where the skills of map reading, compass use and a GPS come in handy. If you have these skills, it would be hard to get lost, particularly with the accuracy of the latest generation of hand-held GPS units.

In the 10 years since the Persian Gulf War, when Parker said he first laid eyes on one, the sophistication and accuracy of the machines have increased dramatically while they have shrunk from the size of a cereal box to that of a cigarette pack. Where once the civilian GPS could establish your location inside a 300-foot square, today’s off-the-shelf versions can place you inside a 6-foot square, thanks in part to their being able to receive as many as 12 satellite signals, and in part to the recent launching of new, low-orbit equator-area satellites known as the wide area augmentation satellites, or WAAS.

Learning how to use a GPS machine takes more instruction than Parker could have offered in an hour-long talk on the subject, but his introduction was warmly greeted by the outdoor club’s members. Basically, he said, the machine receives a signal from several satellites in different orbits and pinpoints your location based on the time difference it takes for the satellites’ signals to reach you.

Some of the new units have a map display screen, and a locator dot on the screen will trace the route you are following. By entering key points, or way points, along the route, you have, in effect, left a trail of crumbs to follow on your return.

Or you could plot your course on a map or chart, enter the latitude and longitude of certain points you want to reach, and let the GPS tell you how you need to go to get there. All you need to do is use a compass and follow the course your GPS gives you. Piece of cake, huh?

It sounds easy, and with a little training you too could play the game. The Map Store in Old Town, which provided Parker with units to demonstrate, offers a six-hour class, taught by Parker, that will get you started. Consider taking a course at United Technologies Center; call 942-5296 for availability, cost and schedule.

The Map Store has just about everything you’d ever need to plan a route anywhere and the tools necessary to navigate that route. If you haven’t dropped by the store at 137A North Main St., you should take the time to do so. It’s right across the street from the Old Town Canoe store. If it’s maps and charts you want (or even a post card, globe, aerial photograph or wildlife print and, or, yes, GPS units by Magellan and Garmin from $120 to $400) drop by and check it out.

For those of you I confused last week, my apologies. I used a future tense in saying Dick Parker would be the guest of MOAC this week. Obviously he was the guest last week. I’ll see if I can get my clock fixed – if not fixed, cleaned.

Speaking of the future and MOAC, you should know about a few of the outings this club has in store for the fall.

On Saturday, Sept. 15, there’s a day hike of the West and East peaks of Baldpate Mountain in Grafton Notch State Park with possible side trips to Table Rock, Moose Cave, Mother Walker Falls and Screw Auger Falls. The hiking part is moderately difficult, but Screw Auger Falls is a quick and easy scenic picnic. Call Jim Rohman at 873-4370 if you’re fired up to go.

On Sept. 22 there’s a full-day hike at beautiful Gulf Hagas. This one’s got a 10-person cap on it. But call Kathryn McGloin at 866-7419 to see if there’s some room. She’s also organizing another Penobscot River full moon cruise for the first part of October, so ask her about that one too. (She’ll be glad to steer you in the direction of the club’s membership person should you want to join.)

If biking is your preference, how about a 22- or 35-mile loop bike trip (your choice), lunch, entertainment and the company of other bikers on Sept. 22 while helping to raise money for land conservation efforts by the Loon Echo Land Trust in the Sebago region. Raise $100 in pledges and pay $15 for an entrance fee and have fun. Trek organizer is Wendy Newcomb at 727-3927.

Or how about a full moon canoe trip in Scarborough Marsh (kayaks are welcome, too)? Sharon Fuerst at 846-6658, or Jim Hughes at 865-9096, will help you out with the details. There is a chance you could rent a canoe for $7.50 per person, so be sure to call ahead of time.

These are but a few of the many outings the club offers. The Bangor club meets at 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at Cadillac Mountain Sports downtown and is always looking for new people to play with. Membership is $20 per year. At each meeting new trips and outings are discussed. And should you wish to have others join you on your favorite hike, just speak up and say so. Joining MOAC is like gaining a whole bunch of new friends with interests similar to your own.

Jeff Strout’s column is published on Thursdays. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.