Originally Posted by kaos joe

Maps for these particular rides are in my head, I've been doing them long enough. I do love maps, but one of these days my Luddite resolve will crumble and I'll take the electronic plunge. Driving, I use GPS all the time. Maybe tonight when the ladies are all playing yahtzee or something I'll look into the 810.

4 of us are headed to the Wyoming/Montana border country again in 3 weeks, for a week of mostly off trail backpacking. We have the USGS maps and compass skills, but we do bring a GPS in case we mess up. In a cumulative month+ of backcountry navigating in this area on previous trips, we've never really needed it, but have turned it on a few times and confirmed we were OK. Of course things are simplified when you can see the terrain around for miles.

August before last we ran into a VERY confused troop of boy scouts way above tree line in Custer Nat. Forest. We showed them where we were and it turned out we were aiming to make camp at the same lake. They wanted to go around an intervening ice field & we went up & over, & we never saw them again. We joke that they're still out there.......