GPS Locations in Elk country
Elk
Just wondering how you keep track of all your GPS locations? Do you carry a map with all the GPS locations marked on it for a cross reference?
For instance, I have several locations marked on my GPS - multiple bedding locations, feeding areas, benches, watering areas, trails, wallows, etc., etc., over 50 in all.
Example: I have 5 or 6 wallow locations north of camp, and a few east, and some also to the south (this applies to the other marked locations (watering areas, bedding areas, etc.,) as well).
On my GPS it only allows for 6 spaces to name any certain location.
Do you have a map that you can look at and say that's the wallow I want to get to pre-daylight and on my GPS it's marked as "walo6N" ---- punch that in an off you go?
Just looking for a better, possibly more efficient method.
Just have a bunch of “truck” locations saved. Everything else is just tracks from wandering...
I use Gaia on my phone and have boat loads of waypoints - if there's a limit, I haven't reached it. I've lost a lot of waypoints over the past several years though with lost devices and discontinued services.
This is where I'll remind everyone to back up your data.
Now
i use my gps and also the huntstand app as a back up on my cell phone.
I have them on my gps. My main spots I can find blind folded in the dark.
GAIA with a tiny Garmin eTrex with DIY Hunting chip as backup.
Does anyone have a screenshot example of their favorite marks?
Lol I use onx, but haven't been marking a lot lately.
I clicked on this thread thinking Cnelk decided to finally give out his honey holes. What a disappointment.
Having done this for a while I ALWAYS go through the waypoints after the hunt and write the good ones down on a printed map. I'm most interested in water sources (for me and the animals) and maybe wallows. That's about it. Bedding, feeding, and rutting areas always change, mostly due to hunting pressure so there's no reason to keep track of where they used to be.
I name each and every waypoint. Right at the time I hit 'mark/enter'. That way I dont confuse them
Some of my better spots are named:
Pissinelk
Penetration
Gspot
Big Rub
OoLaLa
Nugget
3 times
Sweet spot
Rub City
And then every time we kill an elk, its named by initials & year, - i.e BK2017, AJ2015, CK2015....
I write down all waypoints and keep them in my safe
I have a bunch of locations marked on my "old" Garmin. The most important marks are my truck, my camp, and if I put an elk down....
I usually prefix the name with the unit number so I can easily identify them later and they are then grouped together on the way point list. I always have my parking spot or camping spot marked and then comparing the coordinates of the way point to the parking/camping spot I know what the way point represents.
carry a note pad and write them down. had a gamin 12 internal battery go bad and lost all saved info. had the note pad to re enter the important ones.
If you use Garmin devices be sure to back everything up on their Base Camp app. GAIA waypoints are backed up In the cloud.
I just hack Jaq's Gaia account............
Luckily, the majority of my 30+ Year’s of elk hunting was pre-GPS. Figured out how to find my way around in the hills without needing the crutch. Only got a GPS with maps and property boundaries a couple of years ago. Really frustrating to see guys navigating into some of the places that I figured out years ago by tromping the woods a lot.
I use Base Camp to back up and organize waypoints. I set up folders for each state. Sub folders for each unit I hunt. I rename any new waypoints after the hunt when I get home. It is too much of a PIA to enter names on my Garmin Legend.
Additionally I will import/export in waypoints and tracks in Google Earth.
I do similar to Z Barebow, manage waypoints in Base Camp and set up folders for each state and sub folders for each unit.
I also import waypoints to Google Earth.
I also copy all of my GPS .gpx files to an external thumb drive and/or to a CD so I have an independent backup.
Also, because I'm a surveyor who is used to working with coordinate lists, I will print out a list of the waypoints with coordinates on paper and store them in a hardcopy file so if everything electrical goes down, I have a hardcopy paper coordinate list. Waypoints can then be entered manually one at a time into a GPS receiver.
I also print the map page from Base Camp showing the location of my waypoints in a specific area, that way I have a graphic representation of where they are. Also, if I have my Garmin 64st plugged in when I print the map, Base Camp will show the topo layer that is in my GPS when I print out the map.
I save a lot of waypoints and I often download waypoints from my GPS from one state and then clear them out of the receiver to make room to upload waypoints from another state. So there's a lot of data transfer back and forth between my PC and GPS.
Thanks everyone, appreciate the input.
