RE: [Philmont]: GPS e-Trex

-----Original Message-----
Or does anyone have the coordinates of the campsites located in Philmont
Scout Reservation that can be manually programmed into my GPS unit.
-----------------------------------------------

Selden's Philmont page has several spreadsheets of GPS waypoints from
Philmont that others of us who have been there have offered.

I found that to be very useful when I first took a GPS unit to Philmont. I
did not solely rely upon those given numbers tho, but also did my own map
work ahead of time to do my best to verify them to what I saw on the maps.
This in itself is not 100% accurate either, even taking +/- deviation of the
GPS into consideration, since some of the features on the Philmont maps (at
least the ones before they are now being re-worked) are not totally accurate
either.

One of my favorite tools for finding waypoints is www.topozone.com
Here you can enter waypoints into the program and it will pull the map up
and show you exactly on the map where that waypoint is. And you can find
your own waypoints to enter in a similar fashion if somebody has not already
put it into their chart. The topozone maps allow you to move your cursor to
anypoint you want to and at the bottom of the page, the waypoint is
displayed. I gained practice in understanding waypoints & was much more
proficient with a paper map after working with the computer in this way. I
had great fun trekking all over Philmont & the Valle on topozone & feel like
even tho this was my 4th trek, I gained a must better overall perspective of
the lay of the land and sense of where I was in relation to everything else.

I won't argue against the need for everyone to have strong map & compass
skills. This is a must, it is basic, and technology fails. For Venturers,
becoming proficient with a GPS is also a step along the path to the Ranger
Award and utilizing the GPS at Philmont can help the Venturers improve their
skills in a number of ways.

Signe Rogers

-------------------------------------------------------
Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org
Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/
Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp
-------------------------------------------------------
Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com
Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com
List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp
List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com
-------------------------------------------------------
As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow
Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
-------------------------------------------------------

 
Received on Wed Mar 12 16:54:45 2003