When North is Really South! - GPS City Gallery

The GPS SuperStore.™ Since 1994.

USA & International

1-866-GPS-CITY • Live Chat

Cart (0)

Testimonials

Product Videos

GPS City Gallery

Share your GPS story, geocaching adventure or pictures of your GPS or RAM Mount in action!
Submissions welcome from anywhere in the world. Free T-Shirt for approved submissions with pictures.

WHEN NORTH IS REALLY SOUTH!
Published March 14, 2007 by MARK
Years ago I was in Yellowstone National Park. I own a business making back country ski sleds and other winter gear, it was February. I had a brand new Magellan gps, their first. Very slow and not real accurate. The defense department still had their off sets. I used the trips to test new gear and to come up with ideas for better gear. In Yellowstone many of the streams are warm water year round. When traveling cross country in the winter it's best to avoid as many stream crossings as possible. If you don't you end up having to cross a canyon 10 to 15 feet deep made from the snow pack piled up above stream level. The warm water melting out what in any other place would be a safe crossing. If it's a narrow small stream maybe you can throw your gear over the stream to the other side. You still have to dig down one side, and dig steps back up the other, wading the stream in the middle. That means taking off your ski boots, socks, rolling up your thermals and pants, crossing the water and having to dry off. You've had a good day if the air temp is above 0 degrees. Wider crossings just get more difficult. So, the point of all that was to let you know why I pour over my maps to find the best route to get where I want to go with the least stream crossings. This particular year I was traveling along the East edge of the Pitchstone Plateau. I had my compass and had taken a bearing. I wanted to head dew South for about 4 Klicks. ( I prefer UTM coordinates) It was just past noon after traveling most of the distance and I stopped to grab a snack. I pulled out my compass and literally felt nauseas, dizzy and ready to fall over. For the first time in 40 years of back country experience I felt completely disoriented and lost. The compass needle said I'd been heading North! I didn't know where I was! This was a long time before cell phones became popular and when you went into the park you went through a review with a ranger, usually two, and signed a release that no one was going to come and look for you if something bad happened. Your corps would be bear food as they came out of their dens in the Spring. Well maybe that's a little mellow dramatic but you understand. Feeling almost helpless I pulled my new Magellan GPS out of my pack and turned it on. The first units took about 15 minutes to acquire a few satellites. When it did, it told me I was right where I was suppose to be! What the heck! I checked my map several times. The compass needle was still telling me I was lost. I stood up and started walking South, using the GPS. After about 100 meters the compass needle slowly swung back, 180 degrees. Volcanic activity under Yellowstone, (lets hope it stays under), apparently creates these magnetic anomalies all through the park. After making my way to the South entrance ranger station, I had quite a discussion with a couple of the rangers about my experience. They were impressed with the GPS, remember this was a long time ago, they didn't have them yet. I have never gone into the backcountry without a GPS since. This occurred just a while after wolves had been reentered back into the park. On my way out I had run across a den of new wolf pups. I made note of the location on the GPS and also gave that to the rangers. They had no idea wolves were spreading so fast through the park. The wolf biologist would be very interested and I could give him the exact location minus the defense departments fudge factor. Pretty cool. In my business I work with the USMC Winter warfare program, I supply gear. I have recommended that they train their mapping instructors on a compass course in Yellowstone. Too many of them are so good with a compass and map they fake it with their GPS units, and we're buying them really good Trimble's. The recommendation was taken seriously. www.wildernessengineering.com
Category: BACKCOUNTRY Views: 2870
Place: yellowstone
Tags: story

Gallery Main Page

Image Gallery

Table of Contents

RAM Mounts In Action

Motorcycle Mounts In Action

Share Your Story!
It's simple & easy to submit your story. Enter your story and upload photos all on one simple form! No sign in required.

Free Gift With Submission

Include photos with your story and we'll send you a free gift if your submission is approved. International addresses subject to a $10 mailing fee.
Submit your story.

Gallery Search

Enter keyword:

Most Recent:

• Ram Mount for Flashlight and iPhone

• Ram Mounts & My Harley

• RAM Mounts on Kayak

• Pea Soup BC Fog

• Sweet Find

• RAP-B-166-2-GA48 eTrex 20 mount

• Walking the Dog

• GPS City Ram Mounts on Spyders

• Great Mount For My Drift HD170

• RAM Mount Lowrance Elite 4 DSI

• GoPro HD 'Scenic' Ride

• RAM GPSMAP mount on KLR650

• RAM GPS mount on 2012 Polaris RZR

• iPod Touch on V-Star Classic

• Built in Garmin 620

• Dakota 20 Mounted on a 2012 Can-Am ATV

• 2002 Honda VFR800 Camera Mount

• Arkon and RAM mounts

• RAP-274-1-AP9U Apple iPhone 4 Bike Mount

• Geocaching Moira Lake

• Mars on Earth Geocache

• GPSMAP62S on Honda XR650L 2011

• Tempted by Tempter

• RAM Mount HTC EVO 4G on Suzuki motorcycle

• RAM Mount RAM-B-272U and Universal X-Grip

Categories:

• Agriculture (7)	• Kayak (7)
• ATV (39)	• Marine (22)
• Automotive (85)	• Medical (1)
• Aviation (10)	• Military (3)
• Backcountry (42)	• Motorcycle (169)
• Bicycle (31)	• OffRoading (3)
• EMS (5)	• RAM Mounts (36)
• Events (13)	• RV Motor Home (4)
• Fishing (20)	• Scooter (3)
• Fitness (10)	• SeaDoo (3)
• Geocaching (67)	• SkiDoo (18)
• Geotagging (2)	• Travel (49)
• Handhelds (3)	• Truck (14)
• Hunting (5)	• Wheelchair (2)
• iPod (5)

To suggest a new category, please email your request to: gallery@gpscity.com.

Places (377):

1000 Islands, 2012 Honda Crv, Abaco Cays, Abbotsford, Across Canada, Adams, Adirondack, Alaska, Alberta, Albuquerque, Algonquin Park, All Over The Usa, Almeria, Alto Pit, Andover, Annapolis Valley, Anywhere We Travel, Appleton, Apsley, Arizona, Arkansas, Ashland, Atlanta, Auburn, Australia, Austrian Alps, Backwoods New Brunswick, Baja Coast, Barrie, Barton, Bc Forest, Bc-lower Mainland, Beaverton, Belgium, Belleville, Benelux, Biloxi, Bishops Castle, Bon Echo, Boston, Bounty, Bozeman, Bradford, Brampton, Brandon, Brazil, British Columbia, Brockville, Burnaby, Bvi, Calgary, California, Cambridge, Campbell River, Canada, Canada To Mexico, Cancun, Cannes, Cape Breton, Cape Cod, Central Nevada, Central Ny, Central Wi, Chatham, Chattanooga, Chilliwack, Cincinnati, Clarenville, Clarksburg, Colorado, Connecticut, Coquitlam, Cottage, Courtenay, Cranbrook, Cuba, Daleville, Dallas, Danville, Dartmouth, Death Valley, Deepwoods Maine, Desert, Desierto De Tabernas, Dickson Pond, Doaktown, Douglas Channel, Dubreuilville, Duck Mountain, Eastend, Eastern Ontario, Eastern Tn & Ky, Edmonton, Elk Grove, Elk Grove Village, Elmira, Equator, EspaÑa, Evergreen, Fall Creek, Fjordar, Flagler Beach, Flagstaff, Flin Flon, Flint Creek, Florida, Foothill Ranch, France, Fredericton, Gainesville, Galveston, Garage, Gardeni De Monstri, Gatineau, Gatineau Park, Georgian Bay, Geraldton, Germantown, Golden, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Pond, Grand Bank, Grande Cache, Grande Prairie, Greeley, Green Bay, Greenville, Grey/bruce, Guadalajara, Guelph, Hanoi, Harrison County, Harrison Hot Springs, Harrison Lake, Haute Mauricie, Hawaii, Heart Butte Dam, Hinton, Honda Odyssey, Houston, Huntsville State Park, Idaho, India, Indiana, Indianapolis, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Istanbul, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Juneau, Kailua Kona, Kamouraska, Karnataka, Kattawagami River, Kawartha Lakes, Kelowna, Kenya, Kitchener, La Mountains, Lac Taureau, Ladysmith, Lafayette, Lake Fanshawe, Lake Havasu City, Lake Huron, Lake Mary, Lake Michigan, Lake Murray, Lake Tahoe, Lake Wanapitae, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Worth, Langhorne, Langley, Laos, Las Vegas, Lavant Hunt Club, Leduc, Lillooet, Linden, Lisbon, Liverpool, London, Long Island, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Madoc, Maine, Manitoba, Manitoba Skies, Maryland, Massachusettes, Matagorda Island, Matapedia, Mattawa, Mayan Riveria, Mcgregor Bay, Michigan, Middle Of Nowhere Bc, Midwest, Milwaukee, Minden, Minnesota, Monaco, Moncton, Mont Chauve, Mont Orford, Mont-laurier, Montana, Montreal, Moultrie, Mt Evans, Muskoka, My Driveway :-), My F150, My Garage, Nagarholle, Natural Bridge, Nebraska, Netherlands, Nevada Sierras, New Brunswick, New England, New Liskeard, New Orleans, New York, Newberry Crater, Newfoundland, Niagara Falls, No. California, North America, North Bay, North Carolina, North Sydney, North Vancouver, Northern B.c., Northern California, Northern Ontario, Northern Quebec, Northwest Tennessee, Northwest Territory, Northwest Usa, Nova Scotia, Nunavik, Nunavut, Oakville, Oatman, Ohio, Okinawa, Oklahoma, Ontario, Orange Park, Oregon, Orford, Orleans, Ottawa, Otter Rapids Ontario, Owen Sound, Pacific Coast Hwy, Palm Beach, Parc De Gaspésie, Paris, Pennsylvania, Petawawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pikes Peak, Pine Grove, Pinery Provincial Park, Placida, Poland, Pollett's Cove, Pond Inlet, Port Coquitlam, Port L'hebert, Port Rowan, Porters Lake, Prescott, Price, Prince Edward County, Princeton, Pt Edward, Puget Sound, Quebec, Quebec City, Qùappelle Valley, Rachel, Raleigh, Red Deer, Red Desert, Rickers Lake, Rio De Janeiro, Rodeo, Sacramento, Saguenay Lac-st-jean, Saint Michel Des Saints, Salem, Salmon Arm, San Diego, San Jose, Sandy, Saskatchewan, Saudi Arabia, Savannah, Se Louisiana, Seattle, Seattle Suburb, Sequoia, Sharbot Lake, Shenendoah National Park, Simcoe County, Slave Lake, South Dakota, Southern Nevada, Southern Ontario, Southern Washington, Spain, St. Albert, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, Staunton, Stoddard Wells, Sturgis, Sudbury, Swan River, Sweden, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Takoma Park, Tallahassee, Tampier Lake, Tapalpa, Temagami, Tennessee, Terrebonne, Thailand, Thames River, Thousand Islands, Tijuana, Toledo, Tornado Alley, Toronto, Toronto To Halifax, Upstate Ny, Usa Coast To Coast, Utah, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Vanderhoof, Vejle Denmark, Venezuela, Vermont, Vernon, Victoria, Victoria Lake, Victoriaville, Ville Marie, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Washington, Washington State, Welland, West Virginia, Whistler, Whitby, White Mountain, Wichita, Wilmot Township, Windsor, Winnipeg, Wyoming, Yarmouth, Yellowstone, Yukon

Tags (148):

3790t, accord, aeroshadow, al-khali, alps, amazing race, ambulance, arms, atv, atv mount, backcountry, best friend, bike, bike mount, bird watching, bmw, broken leg, buell, camera, camera mount, canam, canoe, car mount, cb radio, century 50, chevy, chrysler, clutch mount, crown victoria, cup holder, dad, dash mount, desert, dirt bike, dodge, dr. strangelove, drogue, dunes, dvd, elk, etrex, ezy mount, f150, family, farming, ferry, fire tanker, fishing, fishing rod holder, flex leg, fly fishing, fog, ford, forklift, g35, garmin, gmc, go and get em, golden corrallers, google earth, gopro mount, gsak, handhelds, harley, headrest mount, helicopter mount, honda, hotel, hurricane, hyundai, icaro's cup, ice fishing, ice walk, ipad, ipad mount, ipaq, iphone, ipod, ipod mount, kawasaki, kayak, kayak mount, kenworth, laptop gps, laptop mount, magnetic, marine mount, mazda, mom, monkey, motorcycle mount, mountain bike, mustang, nissan, nonskid, notebook mount, nuvi, nuvi 765t, owl, panel mount, photo tagging, picnic, pontiac, quest, rail mount, rally, ram m, ram mo, ram mount, ram mounts, rescue, reunion, right hand drive, rino, running, rv mount, sailboat race, salmon, scavenger hunt, scooter mount, screen magnifier, seadoo mount, search, ship wreck, signal loss, sirius, skidoo mount, son, story, suction cup, superblackbird, surface mount, suzuki, tioga, touratech, toyota, trail guide, travel, trike mount, trip, triumph, tz1, ubolt, usfs, wheelchair, wife, xm, yamaha

Follow:

Learn:

Videos, Q&A, Reviews

Gallery

Buzz: