Day four went well. I spent about an hour hiking in a different location. Here are the photos:
I did see a few antelope and two buck mule deer but was not able to snap photos. Past that I saw many small birds and one squirrel. A goodly part of this particular mountain is private property. I was hiking a public access point. However, when I went off the beaten path I started to run into warning signs and fences. Not wanting to be shot at I had to adjust the hike accordingly.
Near the end of the hike I ran into a swath of woods that had decent spacing and were ideal for hiking. However, going any deeper would have put me beyond the hour mark so I turned back. On the way back I noticed a tree that was partially toppled by what I presume was the wind. Note how it is being supported by another tree.
It would be a very bad day if that fell on you so I gave it wide berth!
I also came across a small field that was strewn with large crystal-like rocks. Quartz maybe? I’m not sure.
For sure this was another Zen hike at 8,074 feet!
MotionX GPS
I tested the MotionX app for iPhone and give it good marks. It has many features but I focused on only two: 1) Waypoints compass view and 2) Record tracks.
It’s a given that you need to set your first waypoint at your vehicle. After that you can record your tracks and then navigate back via the device. However, it seems to drain the battery quickly so I stopped the tracking feature.
Instead I relied on the waypoint compass view. This too drains power if you keep it active during the entire hike. Instead I set the waypoint before leaving my car and then activated the compass feature when I was ready to navigate back to my car.
The app will locate satellites for GPS if cell towers are out of range but this too is another power drain. I would not rely on MotionX if I was going to be out in the field for days or in remote locations. Here I would advise a handheld GPS. However, if you regulate the power use the MotionX is great for days hikes.
-BCP
