This is the first post in a new series, designed to help introduce beginners to handheld GPS receivers.
Waypoints are perhaps the single most important handheld GPS term, since they are key to navigation. So here’s our definition: A waypoint is a location which can be stored in your GPS receiver in the form of coordinates, allowing you to navigate to it. Each waypoint has a unique name or number assigned to it.
Select a waypoint and your handheld GPS can point you towards it and tell you the distance to the waypoint. Just remember that, with handheld units, the distance is generally given “as the crow flies” — a straight-line distance to the waypoint that doesn’t include all the twists and turns and switchbacks of the trail.
You may already be familiar with some specialized waypoints, such as geocache coordinates, or the points of interest (POIs) pre-loaded in auto GPS navigators.
Entering waypoints
There are multiple ways to enter waypoints into your receiver:
- Mark it manually – Get into the habit of marking the trailhead before starting off into the wild, allowing you to navigate back to it if necessary. This technique is also useful for marking field locations you wish to keep a record of, such as where you camped each night on a backpacking trip, deer stands, an awesome viewpoint, etc.
- Manually entering coordinates – Not recommended; it is simply too easy to introduce error.
- Mark waypoints using desktop mapping software – This is great for planning extended hikes with multiple waypoints. Consider marking trail junctions, stream crossings, peaks, benchmarks, and alternative trailheads, as well as your destination. Mapping software designed for GPS receivers will allow you to transfer the waypoints to your unit, via the cable supplied with most receivers. A few personal favorites are USAPhotoMaps (free), National Geographic TOPO
(great for printed maps), and TopoFusion (free version available).
Waypoint management
If you’re an avid outdoors person, you’ll soon find that your waypoint collection is growing exponentially. To help manage them, here are a couple of things to try:
- Use a prefix – Consider adding a two or three letter prefix to each waypoint for a given park or area. For example, the screenshot above uses RF to designate the Rocky Fork tract, a recent public land acquisition near the TN/NC border.
- Don’t store them all in your GPS – This is another reason to use mapping software, as it gives you a desktop management tool, allowing you to have a backup of all your waypoints and manage them without having to deal with the small screen on your receiver.
Homework: Mark a waypoint in the field and then navigate back to it using the compass screen on your unit. Also, familiarize yourself with the options listed for individual waypoints on your GPS receiver.
Waypoints 201
- Reposition here – If you use mapping software for trip planning, don’t expect your waypoints to be spot on. Many GPS receivers allow you to update a waypoint’s position in the field. On Garmin units, look for the menu item “reposition here.”
- Waypoint averaging – Some units allow you to set them down on site and use a waypoint averaging mode, where multiple readings are taken and the waypoint coordinates are set using the average.
Other posts in this series:
About Rich Owings
Is there a way to sync waypoints? I have a Garmin handheld and a Nuvi. A lot of times I’ll add a waypoint on one that I’d love to have on the other. I can obviously manually download and re-upload to both units, but I wonder if there’s a better way?
John D-
If you held onto your Garmin Trip and Waypoint Manager Software that should’ve come with your handheld unit, then you can store your waypoints on your computer using that software and load them onto both your Nuvi and handheld units. Otherwise, the only other real option would be to enter it manually. Currently, Garmin offers wireless data transfer of waypoints only on their newer units, like the Oregon and Dakota series, but give them a couple years and I’m sure we’ll be able to do data transfers on the vast array of units.
That’s the best way, AFAIK. One of these days we’ll have universal connectivity. Or maybe a nuvi with the wireless communication built into their newer handhelds.
I go mushroom hunting with my brothers every spring in Michigan. I am not familiar with the area. We will park the vehicle at a point and my brother tells me “were gonna head out toward the west, keep the sun on this shoulder. when your coming back keep it on the other. Check your compass often.” We have radios with us but in the up and down terrain the reception is not that great all of the time. Needless to say I have gotten lost several times, one time for almost 2 hours.
With a handheld GPS can i mark the position of the vehicle so that I can assure myself of getting back to it every time? If so, what model would you recommend for an amateur woodsman?
Morgan-
If you’re solely going to use it for mushroom hunting, I’d save yourself $70 and go with the Garmin Etrex H. The Venture HC is a great little unit, but if you’re not going to be downloading any maps for it, it’s kind of more than you need. I sell GPS’ at an outdoors store, and that Extrex H is my number 1 seller for hunters or hikers that just want to know how to get back to their vehicles after trekking out. Just a suggestion, but either way you go you’ll be getting a good unit!
Yes, you can mark the vehicle and the GPS can direct you back to it. A lot depends on how much you want to spend. The lowest level unit I recommend is the Garmin eTrex Venture HC. From there you can go up and get touchscreen units, ones that will accommodate aerial photos, etc.
Watch for the next post in this series, due Tuesday. It will talk about following your “track.”
Hey rich,
Thanks for the quick reply. Exactly what I needed to know. Looking forward to getting out there in May!
Trying to down load waypoints from Garmin 60csx to that I can transfer them to my new 60s. EasyGPS keeps stating there is no GPS connected then states there are no way points in the GPS. How do I get EasyGPS to accept the waypoints?
Thanks for all your HELP
Dan