Although I agree with the above speakers, I want to point to the fact that navigation with GPS takes less time than navigation with a map and a compass.
Disagree. Unless you know how to read a topo map, and you've taken the time to actually learn how to *use* the GPS, it's just another worthless toy. It's akin to the thought that "if I carry a SPOT, I can hit a button and help will arrive within in minutes."
Yes, the batteries of your GPS can die. And my first GPS itself has actually died on the summit of Mt. Marcy in a fog. On the other hand you can lose a map and a compass (I actually has managed to lose a map once but never lost a compass so far).
Not only can the batteries die, but in the deeper canyons of the eastern Sierra (Taboose Pass comes to mind, but I've gotten the warning beeps on the lower sections of both the north fork and main trail), the GPS may not get an accurate signal with the satellite. That, and malfunctions occur. I loved where my GPS thought I was this past weekend:
(PS: I was in the very north section of the White Mountains, at the NV border)
So I typically carry a GPS and a map and a compass and an altimeter and sometimes a description/photos of a trail.
Do you carry a camera? Taking a picture of all those pages can reduce the amount you are carrying.
I would instead recommend a trail map of the Whitney Zone by
Tom Harrison . They are available at REI and pretty much all outdoor stores.
-L
