Hiking And Backpacking For Fitness And Fun With A Garmin GPSMap 60CSx GPS
It wasn’t until sometime in the 1980s that the fitness bug bit the American people and sent everyone racing to their local gym for a workout. Everyone wanted a slim, toned body and was looking for a way to get it. That’s when Americans discovered that walking was actually a great exercise. Prior to that time, everyone walked, but it was only a way to get them from one place to another. Now it took on a whole new meaning as people started walking, hiking, and backpacking for exercise as well as for fun.
All of a sudden, hiking wasn’t just for athletes any longer. More and more people started doing it with a passion, ranging into far-reaching and unfamiliar territory with only a compass, the sun, and the stars to guide them. While all of this was going on, GPS systems were beginning to be popular in the metropolitan areas of the country as drivers needed the personal assistance they could offer. It wasn’t much of a reach for someone to realize that it wasn’t just drivers who needed maps and directions, and the technology was quickly adapted for pedestrian use. One of these GPS models is the Garmin GPSMap 60CSx Handheld GPS that’s proving invaluable for serious hikers, backpackers, and geocachers.
It’s for good reason that the Garmin GPSMap 60CSx has been called the best handheld GPS system you can buy. No other handheld will give you all of the functionality and consistency you get with the 60CSx. Use it to map your routes no matter where you go, and it will be easy to backtrack and find the trail back to your starting point. This is a particularly great feature for those who find themselves easily turned around when out in the wilds. After your hike, upload the information you recorded onto your PC so that you can view it on GoogleEarth and evaluate your progress. The unit operates on alkaline batteries which give it a long battery life without recharging. In good weather, and without using the backlight, you can expect a set of batteries to last about 20 hours.
Technology changes so rapidly that it seems like you hardly get a new product in the door before it’s obsolete. Garmin understands that the Garmin GPSMap 60CSx and its accessories are expensive, and they don’t want you to have to replace it any time soon. With this in mind, Garmin has come up with a way to provide you with updated firmware and software that make improvements in your system as time goes along. One reviewer stated that she had received three major updates in the first three months she had the unit and thought that this was a great way for a company to do business.
The high-sensitivity GPS receiver in the Garmin GPSMap 60CSx will accurately track your position even when there’s a heavy tree canopy, when you’re traipsing through canyons, or when you’re traversing city streets. Since the unit only comes with a simple basemap, you’ll probably want to purchase additional road or topological maps. There are also a number of accessories you might want to purchase, such as a power cord adapter, a carrying case, or bicycle-mounting hardware, that are going to cost you extra making this a relatively expensive set to buy. Even so, people who have already relied on this device to get them where they’re going say they wouldn’t part with it for any amount of money.
|