any ideas about gps ,maps,ideas regarding finding my way around the bush and returning back to the car. The last creek flattened out to a large plain with few landmarks.
Navigating in the bush
- Thread starter The geezer
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toecutta
JasonB
i always have a gps with me
get out of the car.. 1st thing set a waypoint so i know where i am... 2nd thing carabeena the gps to my harness rig... 3rd thing.. check the spare batteries
that way i always know where the car is to navigate back to... if you leave the unit powered on all day it also helps for you to work out the path you took out so you dont cover the same path
i tend to be a bit analretentive with these sorts of things having spent a few nights out "hard camping" in my youth <giggling>
cheers. jason
get out of the car.. 1st thing set a waypoint so i know where i am... 2nd thing carabeena the gps to my harness rig... 3rd thing.. check the spare batteries
that way i always know where the car is to navigate back to... if you leave the unit powered on all day it also helps for you to work out the path you took out so you dont cover the same path
i tend to be a bit analretentive with these sorts of things having spent a few nights out "hard camping" in my youth <giggling>
cheers. jason
Before I got the GPZ (has built in GPS) I always used the phone with app called GPS MotionX. Its designed for bike riders/ bushwalkers. You can save tracks, put in waypoints etc. Then you can just backtrack to the car or campsite.
If you have an android phone I would suggest taking a look at Oziexplorer.
It will record your path while out in the bush so you can follow it back or you could set a waypoint and get a bearing back to that point. The trial version of the app is free with the full version around 20 bucks from memory but you will need the desktop version to create your own maps and for advanced functionality.
It will record your path while out in the bush so you can follow it back or you could set a waypoint and get a bearing back to that point. The trial version of the app is free with the full version around 20 bucks from memory but you will need the desktop version to create your own maps and for advanced functionality.
peterau
Peter
Hi, I always carry a quality gps, and I always carry on my harness a plb and a sat phone. Cant be too careful especially if you get bushed as soon as you cant see the car like I can. People get lost every year, mostly from not being properly prepared. I have a garmin oregon it's an excellent gps.
Cheers peterau
Cheers peterau
G
Guest
my comments in another thread
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=157200#p157200
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=157200#p157200
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A compass,or the old yellow ribbon around the tree ((not oak )) lol
I left one for you, and you didnt show gyps'.....whats going on?
condor22
Mike
I use a small E20 Garmin
I have a waypoint always in the GPS called CAR.
When I get to a spot, I go into the waypoint manager, menu and reset position here for that waypoint, then tell the GPS to GOTO to confirm.
I then turn the GPS off and put it into the small Velcro covered pocket in my trousers.
I only take it out and switch back on if I need to.
I put new Duracels into it in Nov 2013 I've just come back from a 3 week trip to the GT (my 3rd since the battery change), the last time I looked at the battery level it was still at 3/4.
Why leave it on when detecting, you don't look at it unless you need to and in a pocket below belt level, the odds are it won't pick up the satellites anyway.
I have a waypoint always in the GPS called CAR.
When I get to a spot, I go into the waypoint manager, menu and reset position here for that waypoint, then tell the GPS to GOTO to confirm.
I then turn the GPS off and put it into the small Velcro covered pocket in my trousers.
I only take it out and switch back on if I need to.
I put new Duracels into it in Nov 2013 I've just come back from a 3 week trip to the GT (my 3rd since the battery change), the last time I looked at the battery level it was still at 3/4.
Why leave it on when detecting, you don't look at it unless you need to and in a pocket below belt level, the odds are it won't pick up the satellites anyway.
I don't go anywhere up bush without the Garmin Etrex 30 nowadays 
I continue to use old school ribbon on the trees, spotting obvious landmarks ( tree, wombat hole, large boulder ), flowers, etc.
Keeping in a gully or stream is pretty straight forwards, but if your out around the triangle, one gully can turn into 10 in minutes. Walk in a straight line as much possible there and back.
Keeping in a gully or stream is pretty straight forwards, but if your out around the triangle, one gully can turn into 10 in minutes. Walk in a straight line as much possible there and back.
XIV
Kane
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I never take anything with me other than my water, first aid kit
I never get lost, must be this great sense of direction I trained as a kid,as I grew up in the bush
following land marks
honestly tho, you could drop me off anywhere and i would get my way out,
as long as I have water
the great thing of having total freedom as a kid, and trying to get my self lost
I never get lost, must be this great sense of direction I trained as a kid,as I grew up in the bush
following land marks
honestly tho, you could drop me off anywhere and i would get my way out,
as long as I have water
the great thing of having total freedom as a kid, and trying to get my self lost
XIV said:
Basically it is a hard one to get lost, panic is the biggest worry causing exhaustion and loss of sense of direction can happen very quickly. Ive only had it once, no gps, no phone signal, no water or bag. When I noticed I had no reception to contact anyone or use gps, the area began to look the same everywhere.
The sun direction helped me with exiting the dense bush and hills this day as I pushed back through the bush heading north, not the same way I came in. Eventually made it to a road with relief which I walked for 40mins to get back to my car. Which of course had my water, bag, compass, rope etc....always take that bag now, even on short trips out
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I suppose technically you can never get lost if you're capable of navigating without a gps but it may be of limited help knowing if you walk 400kms east you'll get to this or that town. The golden triangle is small enough that most places will see you hit a road within a 30km hike if you stick to a choosen bearing and don't wander in circles. WA is more tricky if you decide to drive out 300kms from civilization. It means if you get lost you have to find your camp. There's places to walk to if you've got 2 weeks spare and enough water. I'll take 2xgps and a PLB over that scenario any day.
mdv
Martin
I have a hand held GPS but don't need it to prevent getting lost - I usually know exactly where I am and how to navigate to my destination without the GPS. However GPS enables me to accurately retrace my steps when I absently minded leave behind a bit of kit when I stop for a break.
On a recent trip to the GT I did a detector recce through the bush and discovered that I had left my pick behind at the previous target signal location some 15 minutes earlier. I knew that pick was somewhere in an area no more than 300m long by 50m wide but after searching for it for over 4 hours using every different search pattern, I could not find it - as the pick colour blended perfectly with the ground cover, I would have had to be within a metre or so of it to be able to see it. Had I bothered to have my GPS unit with me that occasion and retraced my steps to 1m accuracy, I would have probably found the lost pick within several minutes.
PS. That darn pick is still out there somewhere, but I have painted the handle on its replacement in fluoro pink.
On a recent trip to the GT I did a detector recce through the bush and discovered that I had left my pick behind at the previous target signal location some 15 minutes earlier. I knew that pick was somewhere in an area no more than 300m long by 50m wide but after searching for it for over 4 hours using every different search pattern, I could not find it - as the pick colour blended perfectly with the ground cover, I would have had to be within a metre or so of it to be able to see it. Had I bothered to have my GPS unit with me that occasion and retraced my steps to 1m accuracy, I would have probably found the lost pick within several minutes.
PS. That darn pick is still out there somewhere, but I have painted the handle on its replacement in fluoro pink.
When I was at Waanyarra (near Dunolly) camp site just recently one of the guys camping there found a CC pick in the bush, don't suppose it was yours. I think he was from QLD.
mdv
Martin
petere said:
That'd be the one. Finder's - Keeper's I guess.
I am sure if he knew who the owner was he would hand it over, am thinking I might carve my ph. no. onto the handle of mine.
If it makes you feel any better he and his partner didn't find any gold that day and neither did I
If it makes you feel any better he and his partner didn't find any gold that day and neither did I
peterau
Peter
Misplaced my pick recently out from Leonora, took a while but found it. Tried to find some fluro paint in Leonora but that didn't happen, so bought some fluro pink nail polish and done the Picasso thing to it. Would be very hard to lose now.
