Navigation

Getting into a kayak, turning on the GPS and saying to myself “ok, little magic box, which way do I go?” just doesn’t sound very adventurous. I plan on navigating this trip the old fashion way, ok semi-old fashioned, chart and compass. One of the few things so far I generally know how to do, something I don’t have to learn from scratch. Yippee. I did pick up a great book called Kayak Navigation (see sidebar) and it’s really good.

I will be bringing a handheld GPS for two reasons, first it does a really good job of tracking where I’ve been, speed, route, etc and while I plan on keeping a manual log, having this electronically stored will help in case it becomes a hassle. More importantly, it’s a safety issue, if you don’t bring it you will need it, there is rule about that somewhere. I have been caught in dense fog on a lake before on a snowmobile, it isn’t fun and one of the scariest situations I have been in. I don’t plan on going out into fog but who knows what can happen when you are out there. In this situation, GPS will defintely be coming out.