Bertman’s Techie Hiking Blog

Magellan, maker of the Triton and Explorist series GPS receivers, introduced a Canada model of the Explorist 610 earlier this year. It is expected to ship this month. The new model includes 1:24000 topographical maps of Canada, preloaded. A similar model with US maps has been available for some time. The Explorist 610 sits close to the top of the line of Magellan’s current selection of products

The Explorist series debuted in the summer of 2010 with the Explorist GC, a model dedicated for geocaching with geocaching.com. The Explorist line consists of 5 base models, and the one new variation. The 710 is the top model, the 310 is the entry-level for uses more advanced than simple geocaching. The Explorist name was used for Magellan’s vintage GPS models, before the introduction of the Triton series.

Earlier this month, the makers of Spot, the satellite messaging system, introduced a version for use with select Smartphones. The device is similar to the Spot Satellite Communicator which works with the DeLorme PN-60w, but uses BlueTooth technology to connect with Android SmartPhones or the Apple iPhone. An app resides on the smartphone, which allows the user to send text messages and alerts, via satellite, to a pre-defined recipient or group of recipients. The Spot Communicator can also send distress signals from anywhere in the world by activating an SOS feature, without the need for the Smartphone app.

It also will send location information to a number of social networking sites, as well as Spot’s own website. Users can have their location and progress tracked on Google maps, with data updated every five minutes. This is the same functionality available with other versions of Spot, and is done without any cell phone coverage. The Spot contains its own GPS, so it doesn’t need the Smartphone to provide GPS data.

This is an innovative product for people who use a Smartphone as a GPS, with apps like Google My Tracks. Since most people already own Smartphones, this is a useful accessory. A subscription to Spot services is required, and costs approximately 99 dollars a year for the basic service, with enhancements such as rescue insurance and text message bundles.

If you live in Northern California, and are looking for a friendly bunch of people to hike with, you can join meetup.com, and sign up with Hikers and Company. They are a well-established group of friendly hikers, and are worth looking into. They visit a wide range of places every weekend, with many outdoor activities like hiking, biking and kayaking. Bertman hikes with Hikers and Company.

Last month, Garmin announced the new GPSMap 62 series of recreation GPS receivers. Several models encompass a range of features. The least expensive model will include a high-sensitivity receiver, color display and worldwide basemaps, for a suggested retail of $349.99 US. The “s” model comes with those features plus an electronic compass, SD-RAM slot and wireless data sharing. The “st” model includes all the features of the “s” model, but with preloaded US topographical map data. The biggest feature of the new systems seems to be the  quad-helix antenna, which will give much better location fixes than previous models. The interface is closely patterned after the Oregon series. Availability is said to be third quarter, which means any time now.

Meanwhile, DeLorme is featuring images of its upcoming PN-60 GPS on its website. This is coming at the same time as DeLorme announces the discontinuation of the PN-40SE and the PN-30, just introduced last winter. The PN-20 will also be gone, making the standard PN-40 the entry-level model for DeLorme. The PN-60 will be available in two configurations at first, one of which will include the SPOT satellite messaging system. Both feature improved battery life over previous DeLorme models, and much larger amounts of memory. A new version of TOPO USA, 9.0, is also included. Availability appears to be immediate.

This month, Garmin has introduced the second attempt at integrating a full-feature GPS with a SmartPhone. It is simply called Garminfone, and it runs a version of the Android OS. Their first attempt, called Nuvifone, was an AT&T exclusive, running a proprietary OS, and available at a pretty high price compared to other phones on the market. The Garminphone is available for around $199.00, after rebates.

The specs are impressive. It includes a 320×480 resolution touch display, and is 3 Megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, 4 Gigabytes of internal storage memory, and a micro SD slot supporting up to 32 GB of additional memory. About half of the internal memory will be used for Garmin’s map data, which will allow the user to navigate in places where there is no network coverage. The Android OS will insure that there will be plenty of available apps to extend its usefulness.

As a T-Mobile exclusive, the marketshare will be limited, since T-Mobile is not the biggest player in the cell market. Many people will find the feature set to be big enough to switch, and there is always the existing base of subscribers. We are waiting to see how well it does. Hopefully, it will do well enough to see versions available for more carriers.

On the evening on Thursday, May 27, a Delta IV rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was carrying the first of a complete set of next-generation GPS satellites. A complete set of 30 satellites will be launched, with 24 active satellites, and 6 backups. The upgrade to the GPS system will allow for more accurate determination of location, to within three feet, as opposed to the roughly ten feet we get with today’s GPS.

We may need to go out and buy new receivers, but not right away. The upgrade is expected to take about ten years to complete. Visit the United Launch Alliance website for more details on the launch. There is a link to video for those not lucky to live close enough to see an actual launch.

A new update to Magellan’s VantagePoint software was released this week. The most outstanding feature in the new release is native support for Geocaching.com Pocket Queries. Pocket Queries are macro-like searches of the Geocaching.com database. Criteria can be specified by the user, such as cache size, location, age, date last found, relative difficulty to access, and a host of other factors. Geocaching.com produces a list of all of the relevant caches within a specified distance, and sends them in a ZIP format to your e-mail address.

Some programs can access these Pocket Query results and download them into a compatible GPS. Delorme has been marketing a widget called Cache Register for nearly a year now, which offers the ability to load Pocket Query results into a GPS, and also to retrieve data from a GPS and send it back to Geocaching.com. The Delorme PN-series GPS receivers allow the user to add field notes to a cache entry in the GPS. The notes are saved in the device until it is connected to the computer, and the results are shipped out via the Internet.

VantagePoint is Magellan’s GPS data management program for the Triton series GPS receivers. It already manages maps, tracks, and waypoints, as well as media files which can be created by a Magellan 2000 with its internal camera. VantagePoint has also been capable of managing Pocket Query data in the form of waypoints. You would download the ZIP file, open it on your computer, and use VantagePoint to import the data. The new version allows the user to separate the standard waypoint from the Geocache, and handle both accordingly. It also directly interfaces with a user account on Geocaching.com, eliminating a lot of the handling and massaging of data that has been needed up to now.

In order to use Geocaching.com to produce Pocket Queries, you need to have a premium membership at the site. A standard membership is free, but will not support Pocket Queries. The premium-level membership will cost about 30 dollars per year, as of April, 2010.

Magellan has just released the new eXplorist GC GPS, specifically targeted to geocachers. It is compact and lightweight, with a 2.2″ backlit color screen. It has a suggested retail price of $199.99. It appears to do most of the things that users expect from a standard outdoor GPS, but with a simpler user interface. It can be connected to Geocaching.com to download queries and update field notes. A Premium account with Geocaching.com is required for many of its features to work, but the cost of the subscription is only 30 dollars per year, with the first month included with the unit. Included software must be loaded on a PC in order to interface with Geocaching.com.

For more information, check the Magellan web page at  http://www.magellangps.com/exploristGC/ .

During the last half of January, 2010, the USGS reported some significant seismic activity in the Western part of Yellowstone National Park. Almost 2000 distinct events have been recorded, ranging in strength from magnitude of .3 to about 3.8. There have been reports of shaking being felt inside the park. The activity continues as of February 3rd. Scientists who are observing these phenomena believe that the current seismic activities are related to existing faults, rather than the underground movement of magma.

The scale of seismic activity, also known as the Richter Scale, is a logarithmic, rather than a linear, progression. A thermometer would be a good example of a linear scale. The same amount of heat is need to raise the temeperature from 40 to 41 degrees as would raise the temperature from 96 to 97 degrees. In the Richter scale, each whole decimal number represents a tenfold increase in intensity. The magnitude 3.8 tremor, the strongest detected so far, would be roughly one one-hundredth the strength of the recent Haiti earthquakes.

The Yellowstone Caldera is a huge volcanic structure, about 45 miles across, and is geothermally active. In fact, the geysers and hot springs in Yellowstone are some of the biggest attractions at the park.
For daily updates, visit the USGS Volcano Watch Page.

News from the National Park Service is that more people visited America’s National Parks in 2009 than in 2008. Yosemite and Yellowstone are two of the biggest draws in the National Park System, and they both had dramatic increases in tourism last year. Park attendance has been trending downwards for a few years, but the trend seems to have reversed itself. Most California parks, like Yosemite and Sequoia/King’s Canyon have seen record increases, while some have seen decreases, including Death Valley.

It is very likely that the economic downturn has reduced the amount of money that people are willing to spend on recreation, but they still have the need for places to go in their leisure time. Instead of vacationing in foreign countries or exotic locales, people would logically choose destinations closer to home. This is what the highly-educated analysts have said when asked for comment. I think it is rather obvious. They are also choosing parks much closer to home or major population areas, since parks that have shown decreases in visits are farther away from urban areas.

I have visited several National Park properties in 2009. I hiked in Yosemite 3 times for a total of 6 days, Yellowstone once for a week, and I managed to get to Pinnacles, Lassen, Death Valley and Muir Woods. The reason I went to these places was not so much that they were a less-expensive alternative to Hawaii or the French Riviera, but that they are beautiful in their own right, and they offer some really nice hiking opportunities. One thing I have noticed while hiking these parks is the incredible number of people who speak languages other than English.

In 2010, I plan to visit Pinnacles again, and Yosemite at least twice, plus Grand Canyon this summer. The National Park system is a wonderful example of resource management, having some really well-maintained hiking trails, and natural scenery which is preserved in spite of the huge numbers of people who visit. Some of the parks offer accomodations which can range from campsites and cabins up to luxury hotels. They also have restaurants and cafeterias, visitors’ centers, and various recreational activities, depending on the park and the time of year.

If you plan to visit a National Park facility for more than a single day, you will want to make reservations well in advance. Some parks may have waiting times in excess of a year, even for just a cabin or campsite. This is especially true for high-demand periods like Memorial Day, Labor Day and Independence Day holidays. Visit the National Parks website at nps.gov, search for a specific park, and go from there.