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Vale Mark Bevelander

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  PHOTO: Ken Dickson 2019 On Sunday morning 31st December 2023, our much loved hiking mate, Mark Bevelander, passed away after a short battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed by us all. Mark joined the group at the start of 2017, only a few months after we began. He last hiked with us on 27th July 2023 and appeared to be in good health. (See the blog) Thanks Mark for so many memories beautifully captured in his photos. I am now looking out for a new partner to be enthused as I am when we spot an orchid on our hikes. Lyn Hooper So sad.   A very special person.  Thoughts and prayers to all his family and friends   Karen Cotter  ....sad news.. ....he will be warmly remembered....    Joan Brick Very sad to get this news. I was in Mark's photography class as well as the hikers. He was a great guy.  Tim Bosher Oh how sad. That is awful news. My condolences to his family.  He was a very good person. I always admired his consistent and positive nature. Always. Dick Patterson Sorry to
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Device Distance Recording Accuracy

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May 2020   After a hike there is always some discussion about why there are so many variations in the distance recorded by phones and devices.   I will try to explain the main reason why this occurs as simply as possible. I have included some screenshots of the track recorded by my Garmin on a recent hike which clearly show why the device continues to add distance even whilst stationary.   GPS devices (which include phones) gather data from a group of 27 satellites that orbit Earth twice a day, following exact trajectories such that, at any given time at any given location on earth, at least four are visible.   Those satellites send out radio wave signals picked up by your device. Based on the time difference between when the wave was sent and received, a GPS unit figures out how far away each satellite is and uses that info to pinpoint your location—a process known as trilateration.   With the US Global Positioning System (GPS) there is a margin of error. Depending on many factors th
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Why I edit the map

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By Andrew Parker, Leader, U3A Ballarat Hiking Group  ‘OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. The geodata underlying the map is considered the primary output of the project. The creation and growth of OSM has been motivated by restrictions on use or availability of map data across much of the world, and the advent of inexpensive portable satellite navigation devices.’   Think of it as the Wikipedia of the mapping world, only far more accurate!   After every hike I edit the OpenStreetMap data with any  inaccuracies or add places of interest  I find along the way.    Updated March 2024 At the start of this year my co leader, Gordon was  researching  hikes in the area between  Smythesdale , Scarsdale and Ross Creek. When I looked at this area on OpenStreetMap it was almost completely devoid of detail. As pictured here   And after editing:   A Link to this on OpenStreetMap is at the end of the blog! Gordon also had a future hike planned north of
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