Flashlights and Arrows: Stay the course

Someone once said ...

"Where ever you go there you are"

These words ring true... but exactly where is "there"?

Having an understanding of where you presently are is a key requirement to being able to navigate successfully to somewhere else.

Knowing how to use a map and compass is a fundamental skill for anyone to help find their way in the forest...

Knowing how to use a GPS is of further benefit to anyone heading into the woods...

I like to use both a compass and GPS when finding my way in the woods...

Until recently the navigation equipment I carried in my pack has been fairly basic...

My simple Garmin GPS, under ideal conditions, if you marked a starting waypoint at a known location, could lead you back to where you began after you traveled somewhere if you were lucky...

The units sensitivity was poor though in extreme settings and because its display had no topographic maps, if you weren't watching what you were doing the unit might point you back to where you were right through the middle of a lake or swamp!!!...

For my purposes an upgrade to a more sophisticated, sensitive and reliable unit with a map display seemed in order!

As fate would have it last week while on a scouting trip to this years moose hunting grounds my good friend "Cap" gifted me his old Lowrance GPS after he had upgraded to another unit himself...