Delorme Earthmate PN-30 GPS Review

I most always carry a GPS receiver when I hike. Aside from being invaluable for storing points of interest or great photography spots, they work much better than a pedometer in tracking how many miles you've walked.

Attracted by its interface with the DeLorme Topo USA mapping software and its ability to display not only DeLorme topo maps but also to overlay aerial imagery and USGS topo quads in its display, I purchased the Delorme Earthmate PN-20 GPS receiver shortly after it was released in 2007. In all, I've been very pleased with the PN-20, but it's not without it's quirks:

• Its flexibility in loading topo maps into the unit is unparalleled, but the process of "cutting" maps in the Topo USA software and uploading them to the PN-20 is cumbersome;


• From a cold start, it seemed to take a long time to really figure out where it was. Often I would turn on the unit at the trailhead, wait until it had determined it's position, waypoint the trailhead location, and start hiking. Yet when I returned to the trailhead (that I had waypointed when I left), the location it displayed upon my return was often many tens of feet away from the original waypoint (even though I was standing in the same spot);


• The overall responsiveness in paging from one screen to the next, rendering maps and screen refreshes is sluggish.

DeLorme announced the PN-40 GPS, the next-generation of the PN family of GPS receivers, in early 2009. Its documentation and reviews indicated that it addressed all of the complaints that I had about the PN-20, but I hesitated buying one, not wanting to lighten my wallet by another $400 (although DeLorme has offered it for sale a number of times since its release). Then the PN-30 was announced in July: Same performance as the PN-40, without the electronic compass and barometric altimeter, for $100 less. Be still, my beating heart. When REI put it on sale for $200 during their Labor Day sale, I beat a direct path to the store on the first morning of the sale and purchased one. The electronic compass and barometric altimeter just weren't worth the extra $100 for my purposes.

The DeLorme PN-30

The PN-30 looks virtually identical to the PN-20 and PN-40, except it is available in green (the color I chose, see photo) and in camouflage. But it features a number of improvements over the PN-20:

• 500MB of internal memory (versus 75MB for the PN-20);


• A dual-core processor for better responsiveness and faster screen redraws;


• A 32-channel GPS chipset (versus a 12-channel chipset in the PN-20);
  
  
• Topo USA version 8 (the current version of the PN-20 ships with version 8, but mine came with version 6, and I hadn't upgraded;
  
  
• DVDs with precut maps of the entire US, broken up into regions. This eliminates the need to cut and process maps from Topo USA, just choose the region you want from the maps DVD and upload it to the PN-30.

First Impressions

On first startup, even indoors, the PN-30 acquired satellites and had a position within a couple of minutes - impressive for a cold start from factory defaults. A quick trip to the computer to upload the precut map for North-central Colorado, and I was in business.

A hike up Hewlett Gulch the next morning confirmed that the PN-30 is everything I had hoped it would be. Turning on the PN-30 at the trailhead, it acquired satellites and had a position in under a minute. A quick waypointing of the trailhead location, and we were off. I was immediately impressed by the PN-30's responsiveness compared to the PN-20. Zooming in and out on the map, the screen redraws were almost instantaneous, as was switching from one screen to the next. Returning on the same trail, the "breadcrumb trail" path drawn on the GPS screen for the "return" leg of the hike was perfectly superimposed on the path from the "out" leg. Upon returning to the car and standing on the same spot that I waypointed when I left, there was virtually no difference between the "before" and "after" positions. So the minor positioning errors I used to see with the PN-20 appear to be fully resolved with the PN-30.

I haven't had an opportunity to download and install supplemental USGS quads or aerial imagery from the DeLorme map library, nor have I played with the Geocaches page, and the ability to download geocache information from www.geocaching.com - I hope to play with those features and provide a follow-up report soon.

Conclusions

DeLorme has done a great job in addressing the shortcomings that I had found with the PN-20. With the precut maps included with the PN-30 (included in the price), Topo USA Version 8 software for more ambitious mapping projects, and the improved responsiveness and accuracy of the PN-30, I can't think of much more that I would want in a GPS. I haven't compared the PN-30 to competing GPS models from the other manufacturers, and I would encourage you to do so if you are making a purchase decision for a GPS. But for me, the upgrade to the PN-30 from the PN-20 has proven to be an excellent decision. I think the PN-30, with its accompanying maps and software, is a GPS that I can live with for many years to come.

Common Mistakes To Avoid While Hiking

I came across this article on Squidoo that details 10+ common mistakes made while hiking. It is an excellent summary of the common errors, oversights and decisions that can ultimately get hikers and backpackers into trouble.

Hikers: Common Mistakes To Avoid on Squidoo.

How To Rig A Tarp

Carrying a lightweight tarp or an emergency blanket with grommets and some nylon cord for rigging is a great idea in case you need to set up an emergency shelter (I've used a tarp instead of a tent on several overnight outings). Here's a how-to video offering an excellent detailed description on rigging a tarp:





And Part II - Winter and wind setup:

Taking the Pulse of our Planet: Volunteers Needed to Track Seasonal Signs of Climate Change

Volunteers across the nation are being recruited to get outdoors and help track the effects of climate on seasonal changes in plant and animal behavior.

The USA-National Phenology Network (USA-NPN), a consortium of government, academic and citizen-scientists, is launching a new national program built on volunteer observations of flowering, fruiting and other seasonal events. Scientists and resource managers will use these observations to track effects of climate change on the Earth's life-support systems.

"This program is designed for people interested in participating in climate change science, not just reading about it," said USA-NPN Executive Director and U.S. Geological Survey scientist Jake Weltzin. "We encourage everyone to visit the website (www.usanpn.org) and then go outside and observe the marvelous cycles of plant and animal life."

Phenology is the study of the seasonal cycles of plant and animals, such as plants sprouting, flowering and fruiting, and animals reproducing, migrating and hibernating. Changes in these patterns, caused by climate change or other factors, can significantly affect human economies and health. In some areas, such changes have already imperiled species, such as in the disappearance of some wildflowers from near Walden Pond, home of the famed 19th-century naturalist Henry David Thoreau.

The USA-NPN monitoring program harnesses the power of people and the Internet to vastly increase the data available to scientists and the public alike, Weltzin said. The program provides easy-to-use methods to track the life cycles of nearly 200 species of plants, and will begin monitoring animals next year. Mark D. Schwartz, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and chair of the USA-NPN board of directors, said monitoring changes in seasonal events across large areas helps researchers forecast the effects of global climate change on plants, animals, and ecosystems.

Among other uses, data collected by USA-NPN will help resource managers predict wildfires and pollen production, detect and control invasive species, monitor droughts, and assess the vulnerability of various plant and animal species to climate change.

The USA-NPN, based at The University of Arizona in Tucson, is built upon partnerships among citizen scientists, government agencies, nongovernment organizations, academic researchers, educators and the public. The rapidly
expanding network includes collaborations among the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, The University of Arizona, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and The Wildlife Society. Project BudBurst, a major partner of the USA-NPN, is launching its second season of plant phenology monitoring at www.budburst.org.

Cost For a Ride Down Pikes Peak Could Now Be $500

Kudos to the Colorado Springs City Council, who last week passed a fee for lazy or ill-informed hikers who make it all the way to the top of Pikes Peak, and then call 911 for a ride down. Most folks usually either hike the 13 miles back down, buy a ticket for a ride down the cog railway, or hitch a ride back down from a friendly tourist.

However:
Highway officials say they have seen an increase in the number of hikers who arrive at the top of the 14,115-foot peak and, because they are tired or it is dark, call 911 and ask for a ride down. Highway officials will now charge $500 a person for such rides, which they say reflects the cost of bringing in employees who have gone home already to make the long drive up the mountain in the dark.

The $500 fine is the charge for being rescued from the summit of Pikes Peak in the off-hours when the 19-mile-long Pikes Peak Highway is closed and an employee has to drive up the sometimes treacherous road. Hikers who call for a ride before workers have gone home will pay $100 each, and hikers who ask for transportation from one location to another, such as from the summit to Glen Cove, during regular hours will be charged $20 each.

Via Stewart's Climbing Blog

Keen K-9s: A look at the life of a search dog

LORY STATE PARK, COLORADO — Thunder, a sleek 5-year-old German shepherd, whines from her kennel in the back of Estelle Purvis’ vehicle. But it’s not food or attention the dog is begging for.

Thunder jumps down from the back of the vehicle impatiently waiting for Purvis to put the search and rescue dog vest complete with bells on her back so she can do what she’s been trained to do since six weeks old — find the lost hiker, or in this case the mock lost hiker.

To read the full article, go to the Fort Collins Coloradoan web site. 

Great Sand Dunes National Park Trail Description Added

I've added the trail description (so to speak, there aren't really any trails in the sand dunes - you can wander and explore wherever you like), map links, driving directions, GPS coordinates and photos of Great Sand Dunes National Park to the Colorado Hiking Trails main site.

Great Sand Dunes National Park is one of our favorite places to visit, as it offers something for everybody in the family: Striking scenery, lots of contrast and textures for the landscape photographer, wildlife for the nature photographer or animal watcher, history, geology, and plenty of sand and water for the kids to play in. 

We often take the "scenic route" on our frequent trips to New Mexico to visit the Dunes. Driving south on I-25 from Pueblo, exit at Walsenburg onto US 160 west toward Fort Garland, then north on state highway 150 to Great Sand Dunes National Park. If you are continuing on to Santa Fe, either return to Fort Garland and take Colorado state highway 159 to Taos, or continue on to Alamosa, then south on US Highway 285 to Espanola and on to Santa Fe.