17
The day I trusted a 1990s map over GPS near the Smokies
Last spring I ran the Sugarlands to Clingmans Dome stretch and my phone died around mile 6. I pulled out a folded paper map I grabbed from a ranger station, the kind with trails marked by hand. It showed a creek crossing that the GPS reroute had totally skipped, and following it cut 3 miles off my day. I learned that old maps still carry detail digital ones just drop. Anyone else keep paper backups from a decade ago or am I the only one?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
the_holly17d ago
That creek crossing probably saved you from an unintended detour through someone's backyard and a conversation with a very confused cow. My husband still carries a 1987 trail map for the Smokies in his pack, and it has this little hand drawn note from some ranger that says "bear likes this ridge in May." GPS has never once warned me about a bear's social calendar. Last time I trusted my phone over paper in the GSMNP, I ended up on a service road that looked like it belonged in a horror movie. Now I keep the old maps for the stories, not just the routes. Your 3 mile shortcut is proof that paper knows things satellites never will. What's the oldest map you've got kicking around?
4