When "way points" go away

As I wrote in a previous blog post, my "anniversary" DeLorme GPS met an untimely and inconvenient death.  With its passing went the passing of all my treasured way points - those points of interest where a partridge was flushed, where I found a deer scrape, where Adirondack trail heads or rendezvous points were, and so on.

A new GPS means new way points.  The first way point for my new Garmin etrex 20 was my home.  I'm not sure why I even have that flagged since I have not yet been unable to find my own house.  In fact, my only real concern is finding my truck at the end of a day.  I'm usually good about hitting the relevant logging road, it's the question of which way to turn down the road that is the problem.  A wrong answer can mean miles of extra walking...usually in the dark.

With the new Garmin BaseCamp software I purchased with the GPS I am hopeful that I can now have all my way points backed up on my computer.

I went for a 3.4 mile hike up Flynn Hill today to see if I could find a deer scrape that I noticed when hunting earlier in the year.  (Flynn Hill is in the foreground of this picture taken from Jim's dooryard.)  I found the scrape, but it appeared that an angry buck had broken off the overhanging branches.  I also noticed two hunting stands nearby.  It may or may not be a good area to hunt, but it seems to be overcrowded.  The hike provided a perfect opportunity to put my new Garmin etrex 20 GPS through its paces.  So far, so good.  I've been impressed with the features, the ease of accessing the features, and the battery life.

I'd rate my hike a success, and if Jim every needs to know where his house is, it has been flagged.

I'm starting on my next article for the Mountain Gazette, since it appears that my first installment has not been rejected.  Now that deer season is over, I thought it would be interesting to write about how to go about scouting new hunting areas for next year.  If you have any thoughts on the topic I'd love to hear from you.  You can comment to this blog post or e-mail me at kristopher@sportingafield.net.