Book excerpt: For about $150 anyone can access the United States' multi-billion dollar GPS program. Using GPS Outdoors: A Practical Guide for Hikers, Bikers, Paddlers, and Climbers shows readers how to plug in and enhance most any outdoor experience. Whether a hiker on a weekend trip through the Great Smokies, a backpacker cruising the Continental Divide Trail, a mountain biker kicking up dust in Moab, a paddler running the Lewis and Clark bicentennial route, or a climber pre-scouting the routes up Mount Shasta, a simple handheld GPS unit is fun, useful, and can even be a lifesaver. Described in conjunction with today's most popular GPS software, easy to understand information enables readers to: - Plan a trip - Navigate along a route - Gather data from the outing - Analyze trip data after the trip Information is power, and a GPS unit is today's preferred tool to harness the power of navigational technology for a more enjoyable, more informative, and possibly safer outdoor experience.