GPS for Gorilla grows? I been against it, but having 2nd thoughts now.

[D.D.]

First, I tried using search, but to no avail... never did have many good results with forum search anywhile.

I know that I have seen people talk about using a GPS to mark theri dites in the past, but I just can' find the threads.

As you probably know I have taken a strong stance against using GPS in connection with gorilla grows. Now as I age, and I find myself walking new grounds...miles away from where I grew for years, I am rethinking my view of using the GPS.

In fact,, the GPS could come in rather handy since I have relocated.

So I come to you, my fellow gorilla growers, seeking your wisdom.

What GPS works for you in the field.

I need one that can save the proxcimity of my site, by pinpointing markers that only I will recognize...
Eg traxeling from marker 1 to marker 2, then making a left turn to marker 3 ...but instead of traveling straight ahead to marker 4, I would walk diagonally from marker 3 towards marker 1 ...ending up at my grow ...you get the idea.

Anyway... What GPS units work for you in the field? and Why?

I am looking to purchase one, so I need some specifics like brand and model number.
Also looking to buy used and user friendly model.

 

[Hank Hemp]

What you want is something like a Garmin eTrexLegend. I've got a older one and it works great even in the woods. Summertime not as good but will work for what you want. With one like it you can store tracks and waypoints. It's very easy to use and I think you'll like it or one similar to it. Most GPS's today will store tracks and the "markers" you mentioned.

 

[D.D.]

Thanks Hank,
I looked at these when i could stay awake after you posted.
It looks like these run on AA batteries.
Will it lose what i have marked on it when I swap the batterys out.
I found a good deal on one, but it doesn't have the charger.
I feel like I need to sleep a few more hours.
Will be glad when i get out from under this DR's care and off his big-pharma narcotics.

 

[VonBudí]

use to use my phones gprs to mark grow related spots (darwin award, i know), but then i worried about if the police would check records in the area in the event of a bust, could they do the same thing with gprs (if for some reason they were bored/desperate to pursue it)?

 

[supermanlives]

delorme earthmate gps pn 20. best gps I have used, altho there is newer versions too.allows hookup to computer and the net for updating. allows diff maps to be imported.the thing rocks. beats Magellan, garmin hands down. I threw away my Magellan. I have gps for my laptop too from delorme. no matter what brand ya get make sure it is updateable and able to hook to computer. its easier working on stuff on a bigass computer screen and then transferring it to handheld device.having a removeable data card helps too I got several. no data lost if batteries croak anyhow. have fun. been a fan of delorme since my maine days. as a hunter ,hiker ,guerilla grower it has everything you could want from a reputable mapping company. your gps is only as good as the maps contained inside.. I trust delorme 100%

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Sure i read here of a guy caught with a GPS lurking around in a park... they took his GPS off him and ended up using it to find a lot of plots, busted him with the lot.

 

[supermanlives]

if they ever take my gps they better get hiking . I got all lakes ,rivers,points of interest marked in about 100 miles around. good luck searching assholes. I don't mark spots directly but to an identifyable landmark if its a grow spot. I go to landmarks and then go east to grow areas.dont make it easy on em bro. so when I find a spot I go west till I am far enough away and find a recognizable landmark ,area whatever. then mark it. to return go to landmark gps marked area and then go east. I choose east usually as I am from east coast and always going same direction makes things easier to remember.

 

[wildgrow]

It would be a ton safer to learn your route using landmarks. Find the sites you want to plant, mark it in a inconspicuous way and see if you can find it 2 weeks later. You can mark it with gps at 1st. Get topos to pinpoint areas you want to check out - study them. Use geographic features like spring runoff drainages, ridgelines, etc. Anytime you can use a rocky stream scramble or the like, the harder it will be for others to find it.

Im just now wondering about growing within say 1/2 mile of geocaches. You can keep those stored in your gps. Use 1 of the waypoints (ex, right at boulder) but have your spot left at boulder. If youre found at your grow you can say you misread and ran into the plot completely by accident. A couple of trinkets (wheat penny, cheap emergency whistle, a 'id-rather-be-hiking' pin) in your pack would help to convince.

Shit, if you load up on geocache locations in your gps, you could probably hide your plot routes among them. Even go to a couple of real caches and take pics of yourself with the cache on your cell.

 

[supermanlives]

I would not plant near a geocaching spot. I belong to a geocaching site. theres a lot of newbs that might stumble into your crop. and you never know what direction they come from to find geocache. they might walk through your grow on the way to the spot.i am loading sequoia and area with hidden seed caches lol. fun practice for gps

 

[wildgrow]

True , maybe go 1 mile in opposite direction. Location selection can help deter folks from coming in from another direction - something natural like a swamp might make other routes unfeasible for cache baggers.

Ill hazard the assumption that cachers would be like most other passive hikers - using the specified trailhead, not wandering from the trail and only going to the marked location. As well as, following the path of least resistance. I forget the percentage, but most day hikers don't go more than 1 mile from the trailhead without a specific destination - campsite, point of interest, natural feature like a waterfall or a particularly nice trout stream.

 

[supermanlives]

geocaching is all about the gps. we like to explore. the whole point of gps for me was to blaze my own trails. my friends in the site also think similar. 1 mile is a good amount tho an your prob ok. after I find a geocache I check out the area as most geocaches are near something scenic or unusual. I like to go off the beaten path a lot. I also wear camo a lot , I am prob a bit crazy and not the norm

 

[wildgrow]

I think youre right! Apply that how you will

Im an adventurer too, though. I would scramble up the stream in absence of a trail or bushwhack to the next outcropping. This is why I have no hiking buddies.

Do any gps' have a lock feature? So no one else can look at it? Any idea if they can be tracked through sat data to find out where your particular unit has been should the law get their hands on it? I don't know if each unit has its own particular frequency or if sat data is stored anywhere. Gps units are receivers only?

 

[supermanlives]

my unit has a feature we call breadcrumbs. it automatically tracks your route and saves it. this feature can be turned off or cleared. no way to track me otherwise. I don't have a lock feature that I know of. will double check tho. like I said I got so many spots stored I aint worried and I don't mark the grows directly just a nearbye landmark. good luck to the crew that would try and find my spots,hope they got a lot of free time and hiking experience.i am more comfortable and at home in the woods then in civilization. I highly recommend delorme products they rule. with their software I can import any map to my computer and gps unit. but delorme has got everything already so no need so far.

 

[D.D.]

Straying from the topic for a minute...
I tried giving rep to yesterday and the computer said
"You must spread some rep around before..."
Today it says
"You cannot give Reputation to the same post twice."

I want to personally thank Everyone who has added to this discussion.

Today I find myself in the need for a cell phone and a GPS, due to my relocation and the major accident that I suffered from last year.

I have been looking at Garmin eTrexLegend on the cheap, and cheap is all i really need so long as it allows me to mark simple references. (Thanks Hank)

I'll add the delorme earthmate to my bargain hunting list too. (Thanks Superman)

Everyone is giving good advice, and this is turning out to be a good thread.
I wouldn't have considered a GPS , cell phone, or even a flashlight in the brush before my accident, but now I find myself rethinking these things.
And now, although I fear those devices may have the capability to spy on me, I'm starting to think they will help me to blend in if I ever have a runin with a ranger.

As has been written above, I could always have a point where i turn left instead of right, and a ranger or other leo would have fun traveling routes that go to the fishing hole, a state park, or even their own ranger station

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

Ugh.. my only problem with the etrex legend is the problem with poor reception in valleys and with dense tree cover. Something to think about. Granted this is an older etrex I got a few years ago mainly for geocaching. I do use it for gold panning trips too. It was a kick in the balls to see lost satelite reception. Most likely you will have to go into areas where there are no established trails and theres enough cover to cause problems. Anyways this problem was especially bad for me because where I like to go is usually off established trails or the trail is so steep there is no trail to begin with.

Its kinda old school but study a map of the area prior... bring a compass. Or at least a backup gps if you have problems. Nowadays I've seen some super simplified GPS's I would use as a backup..

Another possiblity is to use the SPOT Gps system. My friend likes to use it when hes hunting or on the ocean, we can trace the cordinates later in town via the computer, we literally see the route hes taken by the day, and it doubles as a comms... Anyways, even if you are caught, its not like the ranger can just look at your spot GPS. Its just a transmitting unit only.

Anyways I have a garmin GPS in my car that can be used as a handheld unit, It does have a latitude and longitude function that I can simply mark for later. However I would be very careful of using this, a trooper pulled me over for speeding, and the GPS records speed and he started poking at my portable unit looking for a max recorded speed, long story short I have a feeling that they could take your GPS and look for illegal activity. So at least be discrete about the GPS.

 

[Jhhnn]

Interesting. I've never used a gps, nor grown guerrilla style in 40 years. They clearly have some of the same rat-yourself-out potential as cell phones.

OTOH, memory cards can be used as a layer of protection, too. Mark what you want on one card, stash it in a weatherproof container, like under a rock, off the trail, mark that location on the card you use in general. You have to be able to remember how to find your stash once you're at the marked location on the general use card. If your gps/ general use card falls into the wrong hands, it won't tell them much. You can create multiple stash cards & marked locations, too, for redundancy.

For the ultra paranoid, mark the location of a stash card that marks the location of a stash card that marks the location of the grow.

Just sayin', exploring the possibilities.

 

[GonBush]

I use it for a while when I am using a new spot, but I find after a while I can find my way to the spot without the gps. Then I delete the waypoint.

I mean you might lose it out there and then someone finds it and goes and checks out your waypoints.
Or leo might get hold of it.

I think without a gps you take more notice of the surrounding land and features, I mean you don't want to be hiking along looking at a gps screen, you want to be aware of everything around you.
You don't want to replace basic bushcraft with technology.

I find they are good for when you stash something in the forest, such as your mountain bike or car, drop off point for tools/amendments etc.
Beats tramping around for 20 minutes saying, I'm sure I left it around here somewhere.

 

[GrowerGoneWild]

I find they are good for when you stash something in the forest, such as your mountain bike or car, drop off point for tools/amendments etc.
Beats tramping around for 20 minutes saying, I'm sure I left it around here somewhere.

Somewhat.. GPS resolution isnt exact. Very close but not like x marks the spot.

I agree with you on the bushcraft remark... be aware where stuff is.. even listening can help you find your way or to something. The sound of the river, the sound of a highway.. etc...

I like using the stuff around me to mark trails. sticks, rocks.. or whatever to mark the trail head.

 

[GonBush]

Somewhat.. GPS resolution isnt exact. Very close but not like x marks the spot.
quote]

I usually get 3-5 metres with mine, that's close enough for me.

 

[Team Microbe]

I've wanted one for a while now, I'm paranoid about getting lost in the bush because my sense of direction is bad. What I do is find land marks as I go into the bush... take pictures of them even with my camera to look back at if need-be. I find the landmark, see which direction I want to head... and remember that when I'm back tracking back home. I can only do this so many times without getting mixed up though, so maybe carry some markers with you to mark trees in thick parts or sections that may be confusing on the way home.

Another idea, is to get that GPS and mark a bunch of locations in the general area of your grow and even outside of that. Have 1 of those 30 locations your grow. Only you will know which one it is, so if a LEO finds it it'll just look like a bunch of locations mapped out for "four wheeling trails". Catch my drift?