I finally switched from paper maps to a phone app after a rainy mess in Oregon

Used to rely on these old folded maps (you know, the ones that never fold back right) for all my trips. Carried a waterproof case but it still got soaked on the Three Sisters loop last fall, turned the whole thing to mush. Now I just use Gaia GPS on my phone with offline downloads, feels like cheating honestly. But I miss the ritual of spreading a map on a picnic table at the trailhead. Anyone else find their eyes get tired staring at a tiny screen for route planning?

3 comments

3 Comments

scott.drew1mo ago

Had a buddy lose his entire trip route when his phone died outside Bend.

scott.miles17d ago

Yeah I had a friend who decided to wing it on a hike down in the Gila National Forest. Dude's phone battery was at 15% when he started and he figured that was plenty. About two hours in, phone dies, no water, no paper map, nothing. He ended up walking in circles for four hours until he stumbled onto a dirt road. Some rancher picked him up and drove him like 30 miles back to his car. He still swears he would have been fine if his phone hadn't died.

william_torres1mo ago

Pretty dramatic story there (not saying it didn't happen, but come on). Phones die all the time, that's why you carry a power bank or a backup map if you're really worried. One guy's bad trip doesn't mean the whole system is broken, right? I've had paper maps fall apart in the rain too and that was way more annoying than a dead battery. People act like losing a route is some kind of survival situation when most trails are marked well enough to just turn around and follow the path back. Honestly, if your whole trip hinges on one device without any backup plan, that's on you, not the GPS app.