How to improve the accuracy of your GPS on a day hike

GPS devices can have measurement errors of  up to 25 feet.
Photo courtesy of larsipulami / Photoree.

Seek clear skies,
use AVG function

A number of day hikers have taken to using a GPS device when hitting the trail. While that’s always risky – batteries can go dead or the electronics could be dropped and cease to function – so long as you have a topo map and a compass for backup, using GPS to navigate is perfectly fine.

As with guestimating where you are on a map, not all measurements on GPS are entirely accurate; indeed, a GPS device can be up to 25 feet off. This is problematic should you become lost.

Fortunately, you can take a few steps when day hiking to ensure you get the best reading possible.

Clear view of sky
Stand in an open area so that the GPS device can receive measurements from at least four satellites. The more satellites the device connects with, the more accurate the reading will be. Rock overhangs and trees can diminish those signals and result in a poor measurement.

Use the averaging function
If your GPS device has this option, you’ll find it beneficial. During the hike, stop for several minutes and have the GPS device take a half-dozen or more measurements. The device then will average them to determine your location.

Smaller beats larger
The larger the number on your device’s EPE (Estimated Position Error) readout, the less accurate the measurement. If you take two different measurements and can choose between a smaller and larger number, go with the former.

Don’t rely on return measurements
Thanks to the ways GPS devices remember waypoints, the measurement error for returning to a marked waypoint will be greater than the error when you determine your absolute location. If you find yourself in a situation where you must choose between two conflicting measurements, go with the absolute over the return to a marked waypoint.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Packing checklist for day hiking with kids

Illustration courtesy of By GitHub (github.com/
github/octicons) via Wikimedia Commons

As the following items are placed in your fanny pack or backpack, cross them off (some items may be connected to your belt or backpack, carried around your neck on a lanyard, or worn). You may wish to add items to the list:
g Camera w/ extra batteries
g Candle
g Canteens filled w/ water
g Carabiners
g Compass
g Diapers (if applicable)
g First-aid kit
g Flashlight w/ extra batteries
g GPS (if applicable)
g Insect repellent
g Lip balm
g Maps
g Matches
g Mobile phone
g Multi-purpose tool
g Picnic lunch ingredients (if picnic is planned)
g Prescription medications (if applicable)
g Rain gear (poncho or jacket w/ trousers)
g Re-sealable plastic bags
g Rope
g Safety whistle
g Snacks
g Space blanket
g Sunscreen
g Tarpaulin (if backpack is used)
g Toilet paper
g Toilet trowel
g Wet wipes
g Wristwatch

If an unweaned infant or toddler is with you:
g Bottle w/ nipple
g Milk or formula
g Pacifier

If children are carrying daypacks, place in them:
g Jacket (for rain or wind)
g Maps (duplicates of yours)
g Safety whistle
g Snack

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Why you need a map when day hiking with children

A paper map, especially a topographical map, is vital when day hiking.

Without navigational tools such as a paper map or GPS, you can easily become disoriented, miss a turn and get lost. Many trails – even short loops – have branching and adjoining trails.

A map that gives you a sense of what is around you can help you better pinpoint your location. Sometimes you have to unexpectedly go off the main trail – it could be a trail closure, animal encounter, sudden change in the weather for the worse, or an injury that requires shortening the trip. A map also can help you better appreciate where you are by pointing out the names of geographic features you pass or see on the horizon.

Paper maps may sound passé in this age of GPS, but you’ll find the variety and breadth of view they offer to be useful. During the planning process, a paper map (even if viewing it online), will be far superior to a GPS device. On the hike, you’ll also want a backup to GPS. Or like many casual hikers, you may not own GPS at all, which makes paper maps indispensable.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Paper maps indispensable for hikes w/ kids

Paper maps may sound passé in this age of GPS, but you’ll find the variety and breadth of view they offer to be useful. During the planning process, a paper map (even if viewing it online), will be far superior to a GPS device. On the hike, you’ll also want a backup to GPS. Or like many casual hikers, you may not own GPS at all, which makes paper maps indispensable.

Standard road maps (which includes printed guides and handmade trail maps) show highways and locations of cities and parks. Maps included in guidebooks, printed guides handed out at parks, and that are hand drawn tend to be designed like road maps, and often carry the same positives and negatives.

Topographical maps give contour lines and other important details for crossing a landscape. You’ll find them invaluable on a hike into the wilds. The contour lines’ shape and their spacing on a topo map show the form and steepness of a hill or mountains, unlike the standard road map and most brochures and handmade trail maps. You’ll also know if you’re in a woods, which is marked in green, or in a clearing, which is marked in white. If you get lost, figuring out where you are and how to get to where you need to be will be much easier with such information.

Satellite photos offer a view from above that is rendered exactly as it would look from an airplane. Thanks to Google and other online services, you can get fairly detailed pictures of the landscape. Such pictures are an excellent resource when researching a hiking trail. Unfortunately, those pictures don’t label what a feature is or what it’s called, as would a topo map. Unless there’s a stream, determining if a feature is a canyon bottom or a ridgeline also can be difficult. Like topo maps, satellite photos (most of which were taken by old Russian spy satellites), can be out of date a few years. Google satellite photos aren’t in real time.

Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.

Bring GPS with you on day hike with kids

When day hiking with children, you may want to bring a hand-held GPS device with you.

By using satellites, the global positioning system can find your spot on the Earth to within 10 feet. With a GPS device, you can preprogram the trailhead location and mark key turns and landmarks as well as the hike’s end point. This mobile map is a powerful technological tool that almost certainly ensures you won’t get lost – so long as you’ve correctly programmed the information. GPS also can calculate travel time and act as a compass, a barometer and altimeter, making such devices virtually obsolete on a hike.

In remote areas, however, reception is spotty at best for GPS, rendering your mobile map worthless. A GPS device also runs on batteries, and there’s always a chance they will go dead. Or you may drop your device, breaking it in the process. Their screens are small, and sometimes you need a large paper map to get a good sense of the natural landmarks around you.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Pre-hike checklist to ensure successful walk with kids

You’ll get more out of the day hike with children if you plan ahead. It’s not enough to just pull over to the side of the road and hit a trail that you’ve never been on and have no idea where it goes. In fact, doing so invites disaster.

Before leaving on any hike, plan out your trip:
g Print a road map showing how to reach the parking lot near the trailhead. Outline the route with a transparent yellow highlighter and write out the directions.
g Print a satellite photo of the parking area and the trail-head. Mark the trailhead on the photo.
g Print a topo map of the trail. Outline the trail with the yellow highlighter. Note interesting features you want to see along the trail and the destination.
g If carrying GPS, program this information into your device.
g Make a timeline for your trip, listing: when you will leave home; when you will arrive at the trailhead; your turn-back time; when you will return for home in your vehicle; when you will arrive at home.
g Estimate how much water and food you will need to bring based on the amount of time you plan to spend on the trail and in your vehicle. You’ll need at least 2 pints of water per person for every hour on the trail.
g Fill out two copies of a hiker’s safety form. Leave one in your vehicle.
g Share all of this information with a responsible person remaining in civilization, leaving a hiker’s safety form with them. If they do not hear from you within an hour of when you plan to leave the trail in your vehicle, they should contact authorities to report you as possibly lost.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Follow planning list when hiking with kids

Before leaving on any hike with children, plan out your trip. Here’s a useful planning checklist:
g Print a road map showing how to reach the parking lot near the trailhead. Outline the route with a transparent yellow highlighter and write out the directions.
g Print a satellite photo of the parking area and the trailhead. Mark the trailhead on the photo.
g Print a topo map of the trail. Outline the trail with the yellow highlighter. Note interesting features you want to see along the trail and the destination.
g If carrying GPS, program this information into your device.
g Make a timeline for your trip, listing: when you will leave home; when you will arrive at the trailhead; your turn-back time; when you will return for home in your vehicle; when you will arrive at home.
g Estimate how much water and food you will need to bring based on the amount of time you plan to spend on the trail and in your vehicle. You’ll need at least 2 pints of water per person for every hour on the trail.
g Fill out two copies of a hiker’s safety form. Leave one in your vehicle.
g Share all of this information with a responsible person remaining in civilization, leaving a hiker’s safety form with them. If they do not hear from you within an hour of when you plan to leave the trail in your vehicle, they should contact authorities to report you as possibly lost.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

Always carry a compass, even on day hike

Like a paper map, a compass is indispensable even if you use GPS. Should your GPS no longer function, the compass then can be used to tell you which direction you’re heading.

A protractor compass is best for hiking. Beneath the compass needle is a transparent base with lines to help your orient yourself. The compass often serves as a magnifying glass to help you make out map details. Most protractor compasses also come with a lanyard for easy carrying.

The compass and a map can be used in a number of ways, but the most basic skill (and you’ll find the most useful on a day hike) is orienting the map properly. This will help you better understand which features are around you and give you a better idea of where the trail is heading. To do this, simply place your map on a flat surface. Next, place the compass on the map. Shift the map around until its line pointing “north” matches the north on your needle. The map is now oriented to the terrain.

A compass does have a one major issue: declination. Compass needles point at magnetic north, but maps use grid north. The difference in degrees between the two (usually listed on topo maps) is known as declination. You will have to rotate your compass dial to find grid north. If you don’t, the discrepancy will cause you to walk several miles in the wrong direction. This usually is not significant on a day hike trail with kids, but if the declination is large, you could become confused when taking a compass reading and comparing it to a map’s grid north.

Another problem with compasses is field interference. Metal on your equipment can cause the needle to point the wrong direction. Always use a compass away from metal.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

GPS: When to use, when not to use on hike

By using satellites, the global positioning system can find your spot on the Earth to within 10 feet. With a GPS device, you can preprogram the trailhead location and mark key turns and landmarks as well as the hike’s end point. This mobile map is a powerful technological tool that almost certainly ensures you won’t get lost – so long as you’ve correctly programmed the information. GPS also can calculate travel time and act as a compass, a barometer and altimeter, making such devices virtually obsolete on a hike.

In remote areas, however, reception is spotty at best for GPS, rendering your mobile map worthless. A GPS device also runs on batteries, and there’s always a chance they will go dead. Or you may drop your device, breaking it in the process. Their screens are small, and sometimes you need a large paper map to get a good sense of the natural landmarks around you.

So which should you use, paper map or GPS? Simply put, GPS isn’t enough. I recommend carrying both paper maps and GPS. Being a technogeek, I like to mainly use GPS, but there have been a number of times I was glad to have my paper topo map with me. Regardless, I do all of my planning on paper maps and then program it into my GPS device.

When buying a GPS device, the tradeoff almost always is between being lightweight and the number of functions it can perform. If you want to program in map routes and have a compass/altimeter/barometer, you’ll need a heavier (or at least more expensive) model.

Familiarize yourself with the GPS device and practice using it, perhaps at a local playground, before heading into the wilds. The unit won’t do you much good on the trail if you don’t know how to use it. Finally, make sure you get a waterproof case for it.

Of course, to keep hiking inexpensive, you can dispense with GPS altogether. Paper maps and compass cost virtually nothing and do the same thing.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

Avoid day hiking through fog when with kids

Image courtesy of dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Banks of fog can quickly roll in on mountains and coast-lines, making travel difficult and disorienting. Fog will obscure landmarks that help you navigate and the very sights that motivated you to hike the route. It is wet, generally cold, and even can be windy, quickly lowering enthusiasm and potentially resulting in hypothermia. This is where having GPS is particularly beneficial in navigation. Make sure the group stays close together and return to the vehicle as quickly as possible.

Read more about day hiking with children in the guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

Carry a wristwatch on a day hike with kids

A watch not only tells time but can serve as a makeshift compass.

A wristwatch may seem redundant in the age of mobile phones, but if your phone goes dead or is lost, a watch lets you know what time it is.

This can be valuable in helping you gauge how far you’ve traveled. For example, if you know your brood covers about half a mile every half hour, and only 15 minutes have passed, then you’ve probably traveled a quarter mile. If you’re lost, you’ll need to know how soon you should think about going into emergency mode and staying the night in the wilds.

Wear a watch with hands, not a digital one. While digital watches come with all kinds of gizmos, like a barometer, altimeter and compass, most of them require a battery, and batteries have a way of going dead just when you need them most.

In case your GPS dies or you lose your compass, a wristwatch with hands also can be used to tell direction. Simply point the watch’s hour hand toward the sun. Now imagine a line between the hour hand and the 12 on your watch; that line is true south. If you’re currently on daylight savings time (in the United States, this is from the second Sunday of March to the day before the first Sunday of November, except Hawaii and the non-Navajo sections of Arizona), you’ll need to pretend the hour hand is one hour earlier than it appears on your watch (so if the hour hand is on 11, pretend it’s on 10). If cloudy, simply line up the hour hand with the brightest part of the sky.

Finally, make sure your watch is waterproof or water resistant. You don’t want it to stop working during the rain or in case you accidentally take it into the water.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.