>Ah, I should have known Truman would have beat me to it (mentioning
>GPS). However I noticed that there was a very cheap GPS now on the
>market for PC's. I know that commercial GPS's have some fuzziness built
>
>into them and they aren't allowed to be as accurate as Mil Spec stuff,
>but one of these GPS's in a lap top, sampling every thirty seconds or
>so
>should be accurate enough do the job. Stick one of those in along with
>the HRM and ride the trail. If the GPS gives elevation as well then you
>
>will even have the hills accounted for.
Some inherent problems with GPS for mapping trails for Endurance or for
trail preservation/proof of usage (here in the east, anyway). The tree
canopy will inhibit your ability to get a 2 or 3 satellite fix on your
position which <really> limits its use. In addition, the accuracy
ranges from zero to 100 yards. The military has a <DIAL> that they use
to reset the actual accuracy of the signal every day, hence the
variation. The idea is to prohibit other countries from using our GPS
broadcast against us.
The coast guard has gotten around this variation in position, but I'm
not too sure if it would be of such help inland. They plot their
position to 2 or 3 known points, then check the position with the GPS.
"Yep, we're off by 50 yards today", and make appropriate adjustments
throughout the day. Of course, the rest of the US military hadn't
thought of this! My husband sat in the meeting where a Navy Admiral
bragged on how the system was "unbeatable". When the Coast Guard
officer explained their system of "correction", the Admiral asked, "Do
the RUSSIANS know about this?" The Coast Guard officer replied, "What
do you think? WE figured it out, and we're the COAST GUARD!"
We have found a surveyor's wheel and a compass more than enough to plot
the trail. Head on bearing 45* for 120 yards, then bear 68* for 500
yards, etc. It is quite possible to later go back to a good US
Geological Survey map and plot your trail with a great deal of accuracy
as long as you have at least one known point on the map. That could be
a road, a stream intersection with the trail, a trail head, etc.
Assuming the map is topographically correct (it should be), read the
contour lines for the elevation changes. I've found elevation changes
plotted as a function of distance to be VERY helpful when planning my
ride strategy.
E |
L | /\
E | / \
V | / \ ___ /
|/ \ / \_______/
|____\/_____________________
DISTANCE
I hope that this is useful.
Linda Flemmer
Blue Wolf Ranch
Chesapeake, VA