[at-l] "any watch will do..." ???

[spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

Shelly -

For the last 8 years I've used a Suunto Vector.  Pricey little devil - and 
worth every penny of it (for me).  It has more functions than you could 
learn in a year - altimeter, compass, barometer, altitude logging, etc.

On the AT it's only real utility would be as a watch.  On the PCT it was a 
nice toy.  On the CDT, it's an extremely useful navigation tool - which is 
what I bought it for in the first place.  I'll use it again next year for 
the same purpose.

>I have to agree that a watch with so much functionality may not necessarily 
>be needed.  However, I do plan on hiking several other
>trails that aren't as well marked as the AT over this next year, and I do 
>think that these features may come in handy.  Plus, it's
>something to play with!  :-)

And that last sentence is the one and only rational reason I've ever seen 
for carrying a GPS or anything more complex than the simplest watch and a 
simple altimeter on the trail.   Although I did use the altitude logging 
function on both the CDT and the PCT.


Now - for practicallity - for those who think a watch isn't necessary.  It's 
not.  But you lose something if you don't have one.  I spent a long time 
learning my "pace" - how far/fast do I travel in different conditions and 
over different types of terrain.  I learned to use the watch and observation 
of where I was walking as a measure of distance travelled.  After the AT, I 
used that knowledge to write guidebooks for several of the Pennsylvania 
trails (NOT the AT).  The first one I did, I was off by 3% (1 mile over a 35 
mile trail).  The second one, I was off by 1.5% (1 mile over a 60 mile 
trail).  I know how much I was off because we went back later with a wheel 
and measured the trails more accurately.  But 1.5 to 3% ain't bad when 
you're using only a watch as a measuring tool.

I said - you lose something if you don't carry and use a watch - what you 
lose is self-knowledge.  Some people don't want that level of 
self-knowledge.  S'OK - they get to hike their hike, I get to hike mine.

Walk softly,
Jim