Question about switching from paper maps to GPS on the Appalachian Trail

I used to rely completely on paper maps for every trip, but after getting caught in a fog on Mount Katahdin last fall and barely finding the trail again, I finally bought a Garmin unit. Has anyone else made this switch and found it worth the extra weight or battery hassle?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_mary27d ago

Keep your paper maps as a backup, batteries die at the worst times.

felix_williams7126d ago

Yeah but paper maps are just as bad if you take a wrong turn and have to stop and refold them on the side of the road. At least with a phone you can zoom in and see the street names without pulling over. I keep both in my glovebox but honestly the paper ones only get used when my service goes out completely. The real trick is downloading the offline maps before you leave home so even if your data dies you still got directions.

sarah_mason15d ago

Read somewhere that national parks still sell over 200,000 paper maps a year, and felix_williams71 makes a solid point about offline downloads.