Using the UTM coordinate system

I don't know... this might be common knowledge for all you hardcore, backcountry types who have moss growing up north side of your legs.    But I have finally discovered the UTM coordinate system and how great it is for finding one's position on a map.

Bascally, UTM takes the map and flattens it out locally into a metric grid.  I have a simple Garmin eTrex GPS and have been tempted to get a more expensive gps with mapping.  However, I find that I can put the eTrex into UTM mode.  Then I can use Topo! to print out a map of the area I am hiking in with 100 meter UTM grid lines.  Between the gps read out and the map grid, I can see exactly where I am on the map, even inside a 100 meter square, say within a couple hundred feet.  It seems easier than extrapolating degrees and minutes. 

On snow, with no trails, it is cool to find my position on the map and see that I am only 200 meters away from the lake or other landmark I am looking for, over the hill and through trees where I can't see it.   

Yup, the old eTrex will do just fine for now.

My approach as well is to simply use a map printed out from TOPO! with a UTM grid, and then bring a small and light GPS receiver for coordinates as needed. In practice I rarely need to take out the GPS, and basically leave it off unless there's any uncertainty concerning our position or if I want to record a waypoint for future reference. If needed it takes just a moment to turn on the GPS, get the UTM coordinates, and readily interpolate our position on the UTM grid map.

I presently use a Gecko 301 that provides only coordinates and no mapping. Its so small and light that its never any issue to bring it along, and the batteries last a long time because I rarely need to turn it on. Its nice insurance to fall back to if we lose visibility or want confirmation of our location. I also prefer seeing my location referenced on a reasonably sized physical map than on a small LCD screen. Rather than upgrading in the future to anything bigger that includes mapping, I'll probably someday go with something even smaller and lighter, perhaps combined with a watch as long as the battery life were reasonable.

I'm sure, however, that there are many power GPS users out there that benefit from a more full featured unit...

Cheers,
Marco