It seems like all the innovation in consumer GPS units lately has been in those used in passenger vehicles. These units have color screens, have the ability to map addresses, and many can even talk to you! But what about recreational GPS units like those offered by Garmin and others?

My Garmin eTrex Vista (which is still nearly top of the line) has very basic mapping functionality and is easily confused by loss of satelite signals. I’ve been using GPS units for recreational purposes for about 6 years now and I’ve been building a mental list of the features I would like to see on a next generation recreational GPS unit:

• Rechargeable batteries: I know many of the units have these today (in fact my Garmin Forerunner has this) but it is really annoying how fast these suckers drain AA batteries. Ideally the unit would allow you to use AA batteries in a pinch since you won’t always be in a location where recharging is an option. Speaking of batteries, a second generation unit should also have a tight battery compartment to keep the GPS from losing power when jostled as the batteries shift
• A built in digital camera: Ok, so now this is sounding less like a GPS and more like a consumer electronics device (but what’s wrong with that, really?). I would love to be able to snap a photo and have the location of the photo digitally attached for later reference and for building digital maps. I’m guessing this feature will first appear in a digital camera rather than in a GPS device but I would personally prefer a robust GPS with camera rather than a camera with a basic GPS built in.
• Better error correction: For some reason my Garmin Vista leaves blank spaces in my track log when it loses satelite signal and this is annoying when I import the data. Clearly I didn’t magically jump from one location to another so why not at least attempt to connect my current position to the last known position with a straight line?
• Better graphical contrast: I don’t really need a color screen on my GPS when I’m out backpacking or bombing down a gnarley mountain bike trail but many times my track map looks like a jumbled, confused mess of thin black lines. This is especially bad when I’ve imported a saved GPS track that I want to follow. In this case where I’ve been blends in exactly with where I’m going and there’s no way to distinguish the two, especially if I veer off course. Perhaps saved tracks could use a hashed line while the current track could be solid?
• Faster computer connection: this is another problem that I hope has been solved with the latest GPS units but I’m still skeptical about transfer speeds. Most units still use a serial connection and it is painfully slow for transferring data to a computer (10K track points takes more than 10 minutes to download). Track and waypoint data is just text and it should be blazing fast to download/upload but for some reason it isn’t. How about a USB2 connection to make transfers quick and painless?
• Improved software: I’m still waiting for someone to create an iTunes-like software interface for GPS units that lets you easily transfer track and waypoint data from your computer to your GPS and vice versa. The program should allow you to view maps and elevation profiles plus allow you to easily edit the data as well. The program should also allow you to easily build clickable maps with markers for your photo locations and offer multiple background layers for your data (maps, satellite, topo, etc.).

That’s my partial list and I’m interested to hear what others think is missing from today’s recreational GPS units. The data collected by GPS units really is quite simple (time plus x, y, and z coordinates) but there really is no limit to the number of ways once can display and use GPS data. I know better devices are coming and I can’t wait to see what they can do!

We managed to pack in a ton of outdoor stuff on our trip to Andrews and the Great Smoky Mountains. We stayed at the Fernwood Cottage which was absolutely perfect and we would highly recommend it. Here’s a run down of what we did and links to more info:

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Checked out the Road to Nowhere, Clingman’s Dome, and drove from end to end Cherokee to Gatlinburg.
2. Mountain biking at Tsali: We biked the Left Loop and it was wet and muddy. Took the Overlook loop for the first time, well worth the extra mile or so.
3. Shopping and waterfall watching in Highlands, NC.
4. Trail running at Old River Road: 40-minute trail run down Old River Road parallelling the Nantahala River.
5. Backpacking Wayah Bald to Cold Spring Gap: Short 6 mile trek Tuesday afternoon and back out Wednesday morning.
6. Mountain biking at Hanging Dog: After an afternoon nap and recovery from backpacking in the morning, we hit Hanging Dog outside Murphy. Good amount of climbing but a fun trail.
7. John C. Campbell Folk School: Took a look at this interesting folk school just outside Murphy.

Despite the jam packed schedule the trip really was relaxing and we even had time to go rafting (though luckily we decided against this, the river was VERY low). Awesome trip!

Leah and I took our first backpacking trip together and it was a great trip. I was a bit concerned in planning this route since we would be starting at the high point of the hike and walking downhill for most of the first day but we actually ended up coming back up much faster than we went down (3:30 to Cold Springs on the way out, 2:40 back up to Wayah Bald on day 2).

The Cold Springs shelter is very small and there we met “Mr. Breeze” who had just hiked up Wesser (location of the Nantahala Outdoor Center) in the opposite direction. We scouted around for a more private campsite since we knew there was no rain in the forecast and found the perfect spot on top of a ridge above the shelter. This campsite was seriously probably one of the best I’ve EVER seen with views, nice soft grass, a large fire pit, and total seclusion. I’m sure after this first backpacking experience Leah will be spoiled and expect perfection from every backpacking trip!

Ever since reading about the Road to Nowhere in Jim Parham’s mountain biking guidebook Off the Beaten Track: Smokies I wanted to bike the road for myself to see what it was all about. We drove out from Bryson City and planned on parking at the gate and riding our bikes the 6 miles or so in to the tunnel located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We were surprised when we arrived at the gate to find it open, so we decided to drive in instead of biking. We found parking area at the end of the pavement and hiked less than a quarter mile to the tunnel. The tunnel itself was pretty amazing, I would estimate it was more than a quarter mile long and it seemed high enough to accomodate a tall semi tractor trailer. The tunnnel was a bit smelly and we were sure we were stepping in horse manure (though we couldn’t see where we were stepping) since we saw a trail of manure leading up to the tunnel. Stupid horses…

Our next stop in the park was Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the park and (nearly) the highest point on the east coast of the United States. The weather was nice most of the way up but as we drove above 6,000 feet the fog moved in and we spent the rest of the afternoon in the clouds.

The parking area at Clingman’s Dome is still several hundred feet below the actual summit and the paved path to the top was surprisingly steep. At the top we climbed the tower for a great view of the clouds (it was difficult to even see the ground from the 30 foot tower!).

We descended into Gatlinburg and were completely amazed at the scene there. Like an Appalachian Las Vegas, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge have thrill rides, wax museums, theme restaurants, and throngs of people walking the sidewalks staring at the billboards and shops. I’ve never seen so many pancake restaurants, go-cart tracks, and mini-golf courses in one place in my life. What a huge contrast from the North Carolina side.