As I’ve used my GPS receiver more and more for auto navigation, I’ve discovered a resulting irony; I have actually become less geographically aware! Navigating strange cities is a breeze, but my focus is on the little piece of map real estate captured on the screen of my GPS. With "track up" enabled, I don’t even pay attention to which way is north anymore. I come back from trips having learned little about the overall layout of the city, a new experience for me.
Interestingly enough, the opposite seems to be true when it comes to backcountry use. Preparing for a trip — placing waypoints on the map, laying out routes, and printing a map — I actually become intimately familiar with the virtual terrain and find that the requisite prep helps immensely once I am in the field. Even the way I view the GPS screen is different in the backcountry. With topo maps, I tend to use a "north up" perspective; a constantly changing orientation is just too confusing.
I find these differing effects fascinating, and I have to wonder if others are experiencing something similar.
About Rich Owings
I would completely agreee. I’ve thought about cutting down on using the car GPS as I don’t think about my surroundings as much. Back country is different as I obsess over where I am and what’s around.