Accessories: Learning to Live Without GPS

June-July 1995

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Tim Dyer

After reading about some members' conversion to GPS I just had to say something. This life of ours is getting far too involved with technology we just don't need.

Yes, if I were some fool moose hunter in the nondescript bush of northern Ontario, and was trying to get back to camp so as not to miss my beer, then I would probably be damn glad to have one of them GPS doo-hickeys along. A big part of that would be because I was too stupid to bring a map and compass along in the first place.

Or, say I was a pilot attempting to locate and rescue some idiot hunter (could be me I guess), trying to decide if the lake below me were here, or there, or was it over that way. Well sure I would like a GPS unit sitting right there on my lap.

Or, say I was one of them MNR types, traipsing through the bush marking which trees should be raped and pillaged by Fred Turbo's logging outfit and having to map the whole shooting match before 4:30 p.m. I can tell you that if I had a nifty little GPS rig with me, I would simply key in those way points faster than Jack the Bear and be out of that bush in jig time. The rest of my shift could then be spent in a warm, cosy Horton's on the way home.

Or, suppose I was a rookie rocket launcher and it was my first war. My boss says I have to blow these people up fifty miles away. No sweat. I would punch in some numbers on my handy dandy GPS, pull the trigger and caboom! Bob's yer uncle. Or he was your uncle until I came along.

Yes, this GPS stuff does have its good points. But gees, if you need a $700 piece of technology to let you know that Joe Blow Island not only exists, but is due to appear in ten minutes off your bow quarter (that is unless you decide to pick your nose), then I figure there is no hope.

Paddling out on the open Bay is one of our last frontiers. It's a place where time stands still and islands remain steadfast where they've been for an eternity. When we go to the Bay and her islands, we must go with a humble and grateful spirit. Happy in knowing that wherever our little boats lead us, it will be fine. WE can't let a little beeping machine interrupt and tell us stuff when the great mystery surrounds and beckons. If we do, then we may as well go paddling in some fantasy park, where they could have pretend waves and islands-kinda what they do with climbing walls.

No, I'm going to stick with my nose and my eyes and my ears. And when things get tough I'll pull out an old compass with a huge air bubble, and a map that doesn't tell me everything, so when I finally find the way (and you always do eventually!) I'll pretend it was me that saved the day. Not some dumb computer. Georgian Bay deserves better than to become entangled in this new age overload of information. Happy Trails

Tim Dyer runs White Squall RR#1 Nobel, Ontario P0G 1G0

This article on the subject of GPS is reprinted courtesy of the Great Lakes Sea Kayaking Association, from their quarterly newsletter, QAYAQ, edited by Sandy Richardson. GLSKA's address is PO Box 22082, 45 Overlea Blvd., Toronto, Ontario M4H 1N9 Ph: 416-429-3944