Backcountry GPS Skills
April 10, 2010
AN ADDITIONAL CLASS HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR MAY 8TH. REGISTER NOW IF YOU WANT TO JOIN US FOR A SECOND OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS FUN AND EDUCATIONAL CLASS!
Learn effective backcountry navigation and data collection skills using a hand-held GPS. Participants will also learn how to plot their GPS data onto three-dimensional maps using Google Earth. This course will be very useful to any outdoor enthusiast, as well as search-and-rescue volunteers and recreational resource managers.
Skills You Will Learn
* Reading UTM coordinates using a GPS
* Reading Lat/Long coordinates using a GPS
* Navigate to a specific point using a GPS unit, a compass and a map
* Record a traveled path (track) using a GPS unit
* Record a waypoint with a GPS unit and enter attribute information for future reference
* Download, convert and view GPS data in Google Earth after an expedition
* Share your Google Earth maps with others
* Delete information from a GPS unit after it is no longer relevant
Course Structure
Skills Demonstration: The instructor will briefly demonstrate handheld GPS operations, making sure to address the variations in terminology and menus on the different GPS units present.
Field Exercise: The instructor will present an exploration scenario that requires participants to use each of the GPS skills mentioned above. The instructor will position clues and targets within the search territory to confirm that participants have used the GPS effectively. Traditional map-and-compass orienteering methods will also augment the GPS techniques.
Debriefing: The participants will re-assemble to share knowledge gained and get answers to questions that arose during the scenario.
Mapmaking: The participants will be given a demonstration on how to download their GPS data, convert it into Google Earth format, and create a simple Google Earth map. These maps can be shared with others electronically.
Materials Provided
The instructor will provide each participant with a quick reference sheet for GPS operations covered in the skills list. The sheet will address the specifics of each participant’s GPS unit to the fullest extent possible. Participants will also receive a guide to more advanced GPS instructional resources and GPS community mapmaking resources.
Paper maps will be provided during field exercises.
Hand-held GPS devices are available for those who need one.
Trip Leaders:
Anders Hopperstead (lead instructor):
Anders is a freelance mapmaker and GPS data collection specialist who has hiked and mapped hundreds of miles of trail across North America in the past decade. Raised in Maine, Anders and his wife Shawna moved to British Columbia in December 2009 for Shawna’s Master’s Degree program at UBC in Vancouver.
Kelly Pearce:
Kelly is a Hope resident and Program Director for the Hope Mountain Centre.
Cost:
$50 per person. There is an additional fee of $5.00 if you wish to rent a GPS device from Hope Mountain Centre for the day.
You can pay by credit card via this Web site (click the “Register Now” button on the front page) or by mailing us a cheque. Either way, please register with us online. Contact us at 604-869-1274 or by email at info@hopemountain.org if you need more information.
Schedule:
8:45 AM – Meet at the UFV Hope Campus (see map)
9:00 AM – Class session begins
10:00 AM – Drive to field exercise near Hope
10:30 AM – Begin outdoor field exercise
12:00 PM – Lunch break in the great outdoors
12:30 PM – Resume outdoor field exercise
2:00 PM – Field debrief
2:30 PM – Return to UFV campus in Hope
3:00 PM – Map making on Google Earth
4:00 PM – Program ends
Meeting Place:
Hope campus, University of the Fraser Valley (UFV)
1250 7th Avenue, Hope, BC V0X 1L4
What to Bring:
* Lunch and high-energy snack food
* Water (at least 1 litre per person)
* Hiking boots (no runners please)
* Warm clothes and rain gear
* Sunglasses, camera, binoculars
* Azimuth compass
* Hand-held GPS device (Hope Mountain Centre also has units to rent)
Reserve a spot now by calling us at 604-869-1274 or by email at info@hopemountain.org
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Sep 06, 2010