GPS Newbie - Need some assistance!

I just bought a new Garmin eTrex Venture HC and I am looking to use it for hiking/backpacking and to geocache with my kids for the first time! I am trying to figure out just how I am supposed to use it, though.

I have mapsource, and with free topo and trail maps I found on the internet, I have created a "track" that follows the trail I will be hiking and uploaded some waypoints of that trail along with the "track" to the gps unit. I have also used this site to load some caches along the way.

Now... the stupid question part. How do I use what I loaded on the gps? Do I just go to the trail and it tells me how I get from start to finish? Does it tell me data between the waypoints I marked? I feel like a moron asking this but I am not sure what to do next and I couldn't find anything very informative on the net or in the manual.

Thanks!

HikerMan,

Garmin is a great GPS, good choice. Once you have your waypoint entered, it is really easy to follow the GPS to it. From your main menu select the "Find" icon. It will lead you to a new screen. From the new screen select "Waypoints." It will show you a list of entered waypoints. Select the waypoint you want. Now you should see information about the waypoint displayed. At the bottom of the screen select "goto." By default it will show your map, but you can switch to a second screen that will show direction to the waypoint, distance to the waypoint, ect...

I hope this helps, but if not I have a plan b. Watch this video, it gives good instructions for the process.

Wow... extremely helpful Epic. Thanks a million for this! I am heading out with some buddies to the OHT in Feb to do Section 6 and I am looking forward to tracking it with a GPS for the first time.

No problem. I hope you have a good time. Let us know how your trip goes.