It's hard to imagine how the early pioneer settlers to this country found their way from point "A" to point "B", without becoming hopelessly lost.  I can't imagine starting out on  a cross-country hiking trip through the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California with nothing more than a compass to use for navigation.

 Today, those who venture into the wilderness have a wide range of navigational aids to assist them.  Not only is the compass available in a variety of sizes, but they also have detailed Topographic maps, and the most wonderful tool of all, a hand-held Global Positioning Satellite Receiver (GPS).

 The GPS system does not rely on ground-based transmitters to help the traveler locate his position.  Instead, it receives signals from about two dozen satellites that are in a stationary orbit above the earth.  Most of the smaller GPS units will fit in your shirt pocket, and use the signals coming from these satellites, to determine longitude, latitude and altitude.

 However, knowing  your longitude, latitude and altitude is of little use unless you can plot those coordinates on a map to determine where you are. Most of the more powerful GPS units, such as the Garmin GPS III Plus, will provide far more information than just longitude, latitude and altitude.  Some include a very good mapping  program, and  you can upload more detailed maps from your computer.  Of course you must purchase the program first!

 My intent here, is not to explain  how the GPS works, or to teach you how to use  it, but rather, how to put the GPS to work for you while wreck chasing.  Wreck chasing can be a very dangerous sport, primarily because most wrecks are located far off the beaten path and sometimes in the most rugged and inhospitable terrain imaginable.  If you aren't prepared when you go into this terrain,  the results could be disastrous.  Not only will you not find the wreck you're  searching for, but you may in fact not be able to find your way out to safety.

 I will assume here that the reader has a basic working knowledge of land navigation, including the use of the compass.    I will also assume that the reader has some basic knowledge of the GPS unit and it's terminology, such as waypoints,  track and bearing.  If not, then a quick trip to the local library, or a quick search on the Internet will turn up plenty of books and articles on the subject.

 Understanding how to read and use a compass is vital.  You would be surprised how many people don't know how many degrees there are in a full circle, and the numeric degree reading for north, south, east and west.  If you told them to go north for two miles on a certain road and then go east for a  short distance, they couldn't do it.  This information is something that most people  have absolutely no use for in their day to day activities.  Directions that are important to them are; left, right, forward and back.

    To give traveling direction to a person with limited navigational skills, you would say;  "Go two blocks past the 7-Eleven, then turn towards the school, turn right at the  first corner past the school and go down about 4 blocks.  Just past the house with the boat in the yard, is your mother's house.  Go visit her sometime!"

  You can test a persons' knowledge of the compass by asking him to point in the general  direction corresponding to 270 degrees.   If he points in a westerly direction, then he knows how to read a compass.  If he asks you whether you mean true or magnetic, then you better quit while you're ahead, because that person probably knows more about navigation than you do.  There is a difference between true and magnetic, but we won't be discussing that here.

 On a recent expedition to the Tahoe National Forest in California to search for a C-47 that crashed on March 19, 1946, I had the misfortune of becoming lost.  Fortunately I didn't realize I was lost until I had found my way back to the other two members of our group.  It wasn't until we had returned to our vehicles after the day's search that I had the chance to think about what had just happen.  It was at that time that I realized just how easy it was to become disoriented when in unfamiliar territory.  Had I not been  prepared  that day, the outcome may have been quite different.

 Before we had even arrived in the search area, I had studied a topo map of the region and had picked a target point where we thought the wreck would most likely be located.  I used the topo map software in my Personal Computer (PC) to  determine the coordinates at that point.  This then became our target waypoint, and I programmed the coordinates into my GPS receiver before I even left home.

 On most GPS units, you must manually load the waypoint, but if you have the funds you can purchase a computer program that will interface with many GPS units such as the Garmin GPS III Plus.  In that case, after you have marked the waypoint, or created a route in your computer program, you simply connect the GPS to the PC by means of an interface cable and download the data.  And when you return from an expedition, you can upload  routes, tracks or waypoints directly into your PC.

 You can save the data as a file on your computer's hard drive and free up the limited memory in the GPS unit itself.  Then if one of your wreck chasing friends wants to visit the same site, all you have to do is send him the file over the Internet.  If he has the proper equipment, he can view it on his computer or download it to his GPS unit and then just follow the track to the waypoint you created.  In reality you are leading him to the site without leaving home or breaking a sweat.

   The GPS III Plus also has mapping capability, so I looked to see what prominent roads, or land marks were in the area that would show up on the GPS.  In this case, the onboard map showed I-80, Hwy. 89, some smaller roads and several large bodies of water were within ten miles of my target waypoint.  I noted that any easterly course would take me to Hwy. 89, and any southerly course would take me to I-80.

 After reviewing  this information, I felt somewhat familiar with the area when we arrived at the ranger station just north of Truckee, California early that morning.  I never go on these outings alone, so this time I was accompanied by Mike Barker and my usual wreck chasing partner, Jim Rowan.

 My initial target waypoint was the site of an old bridge crossing on Prosser Creek.  Reference was made to this crossing in the original military crash report and all distances were measured from that bridge.  The bridge was long gone by this time, but I hoped we could find some signs of the old road, or maybe some pilings in the creek bed.

 After  acquiring the satellites and initializing, the GPS displayed our present position.   I then changed  to the "GOTO" feature and chose the "Bridge" waypoint as the target.   The unit immediately told me that the bridge was bearing 334 degrees (Magnetic), and 4.1 miles farther up the road.  So off we went,  heading north on Hwy. 89.  Sure enough, at the 4 miles mark the needle on the GPS swung to the left ninety degrees just as we crossed  the new bridge over Prosser Creek.  At this point, the unit indicated the target waypoint was only three hundred feet west of us. We found a place to park the vehicles, put on our packs and started west on Prosser Creek, in search of the elusive bridge.

 It might be appropriate here to mention some of the other equipment we had with us that day.  In addition to the usual Energy Bars, water and First Aid items, we each carried a two-way Family Channel radio, a compass,  a whistle and a note book and pen.   Because the GPS units have a "Tracking" feature in them, which actually draws a line on the internal map to show where you have been, I always leave my GPS turned on the whole time I'm in the field.

 The batteries in my unit will last approximately 36 hours in the Power Saver Mode, but I've found the regular mode battery life to be around 25 hours of continuous use. That is plenty of time for a day's outing.  But just in case  I carry four "AA" batteries as well.  The "Battery on" timer and "Power Indicator" gives you plenty of warning in case the batteries get too low.  Because of the internal design of the GPS units, you can change batteries in the field, and not lose any stored information.  Not even the track you are currently on.

 Time and again the two way radios have proven their worth when Jim and I would get separated while on a search.   When line abreast search patterns are begun, with the parties just out of sight of one another, the radios are an absolute must for safety, and to let the others know when wreckage is located.

 The GPS counted down the feet, as we proceeded west on Prosser Creek.  We studied the creek bed and banks as we went for any signs of the old bridge.  Soon we came to a large  rusty pipe sticking out from the south side of the creek bank.  We found the old bridge, so I "Marked" it with a waypoint.