4 ms·

I am sick of seeing people go out hiking with smart phone apps. Stories like this help encourage others to take care If you are going to use a smartphone app,

I am sick of seeing people go out hiking with smart phone apps. Stories like this help encourage others to take care If you are going to use a smartphone app, maybe get one good enough to put you within 50 miles of the right trail

londons_explore 4y ago
Each have their downsides, and both have some level of skill/knowledge to use effectively. But I'm pretty sure that for a typical person from the street, a smartphone and spare battery will be more effective than a compass, map, and emergency flare.
- bbradley406 4y ago
  The smartphone is definitely better than equipment that an average person has no idea how to use, yes. On the other hand, you need pre-downloaded maps that show trails and landmarks, as well as a general sense of the terrain and some basic preparedness. The fact that they didn't even realize they were on the wrong trail shows an absolute failure to plan ahead and navigate correctly. That is really the larger problem - a 17 mile hike is not a light stroll through the woods. If I were doing such a trail (and I'm hardly a seasoned outdoors enthusiast) I would have pre and post hike arranged check-ins with emergency contacts, backup batteries, suitable clothes, 2 light meals worth of food and water, and a rough mental map of the area. None of these things are hard to do or require spending tons of money at sporting goods stores, they are just common sense.
GoldenRacer 4y ago
There's nothing wrong with smart phone apps for hiking if used correctly. I used to be skeptical of them but had a conversation with a professional guide about them and he sold me. Download the maps so you can use them offline. Have a backup battery so you can charge your phone if it dies. Keep your phone in a waterproof case or ziplock bag. Either be in a group with multiple phones (what's the chance that in a 3 person group everyone loses or breaks their phone?) or carry a paper map backup. This guy broke at least 2 of those rules. The points the guide made that convinced me were: 1. You're already carrying the phone, it's silly not to utilize it. 2. Phone gps is so much easier to use than a map that you're much likelier to check it on a regular basis and therefore notice something is wrong earlier than if you are relying solely on a paper map. 3. Paper maps are great in some cases but they really suck on low visibility or dense trees. There are techniques for navigating in those situations but they aren't very precise. Now, you do still have to have some level of competence and preparation. The trail this guy did was on altrails. I would've studied the trail there. I would've studied the route on caltopo. I would've consulted a paper map or guide book. I would've looked at the area on Google maps. I would've made sure everything seemed consistent between those different sources (if he had done that, he wouldn't have ended up on the wrong trail). But ultimately, I would've used caltopo to generate a PDF map of the area, loaded that map into avenza maps, and used that as my primary means of navigation.
- secondcoming 4y ago
  The Nokia XR20 is a phone designed for the outdoors. It's great
- GoldenRacer 4y ago
  I'd also like to mention that this guy's situation isn't really related to his phone. He was on trail (albeit the wrong trail) and sounds like he was panicking due to dehydration (he tried drinking his piss) meanwhile he's right beside a creek. If you're doing 18 mile hikes, bring a water filter or some other water treatment method. If you happen to find yourself in a situation without water treatment, drinking directly from a stream is usually a far better option than drinking your piss or risking dehydration. Yes, there's the risk of microbial diseases but those will generally take a while to kick in and you can hopefully get back to your car by then and go to the doctor if that happens.
  - marymkearney 4y ago
    Yeah, plus-one to this also. Tons of filtering products that are light and easy to carry. I think you can even get a filtering straw.
  - neilknowsbest 4y ago
    FWIW, the creek bed there is almost certainly dry outside of flash flood events. It's a very arid region.
    - GoldenRacer 4y ago
      Gotcha. Yeah, I haven't spent much time in Arizona and just took a cursory look at the map. Satellite images definitely show a dry creek bed. In the case of hiking in that arid of regions, being prepared with enough water is incredibly important. I've just heard of cases where people died of dehydration with water sources nearby and think it's important that people are aware of the fact that they can drink untreated water in most cases (I say most because toxic algae can kill you pretty fast so know your local situation there). I wouldn't suggest doing it regularly but it can be a reasonable risk to take in an emergency situation.
freehorse 4y ago
It works quite well actually as long as one spends the necessary effort beforehand to prepare with downloading offline maps, checking the paths around to have an overall idea of the place etc. There is nothing that complicated nowadays actually. If one depends on phone signal and internet, that is definitely a problem.

londons_explore 4y ago

Each have their downsides, and both have some level of skill/knowledge to use effectively. But I'm pretty sure that for a typical person from the street, a smartphone and spare battery will be more effective than a compass, map, and emergency flare.

bbradley406 4y ago
The smartphone is definitely better than equipment that an average person has no idea how to use, yes. On the other hand, you need pre-downloaded maps that show trails and landmarks, as well as a general sense of the terrain and some basic preparedness. The fact that they didn't even realize they were on the wrong trail shows an absolute failure to plan ahead and navigate correctly. That is really the larger problem - a 17 mile hike is not a light stroll through the woods. If I were doing such a trail (and I'm hardly a seasoned outdoors enthusiast) I would have pre and post hike arranged check-ins with emergency contacts, backup batteries, suitable clothes, 2 light meals worth of food and water, and a rough mental map of the area. None of these things are hard to do or require spending tons of money at sporting goods stores, they are just common sense.

GoldenRacer 4y ago

There's nothing wrong with smart phone apps for hiking if used correctly. I used to be skeptical of them but had a conversation with a professional guide about them and he sold me. Download the maps so you can use them offline. Have a backup battery so you can charge your phone if it dies. Keep your phone in a waterproof case or ziplock bag. Either be in a group with multiple phones (what's the chance that in a 3 person group everyone loses or breaks their phone?) or carry a paper map backup. This guy broke at least 2 of those rules. The points the guide made that convinced me were: 1. You're already carrying the phone, it's silly not to utilize it. 2. Phone gps is so much easier to use than a map that you're much likelier to check it on a regular basis and therefore notice something is wrong earlier than if you are relying solely on a paper map. 3. Paper maps are great in some cases but they really suck on low visibility or dense trees. There are techniques for navigating in those situations but they aren't very precise. Now, you do still have to have some level of competence and preparation. The trail this guy did was on altrails. I would've studied the trail there. I would've studied the route on caltopo. I would've consulted a paper map or guide book. I would've looked at the area on Google maps. I would've made sure everything seemed consistent between those different sources (if he had done that, he wouldn't have ended up on the wrong trail). But ultimately, I would've used caltopo to generate a PDF map of the area, loaded that map into avenza maps, and used that as my primary means of navigation.

secondcoming 4y ago
The Nokia XR20 is a phone designed for the outdoors. It's great
GoldenRacer 4y ago
I'd also like to mention that this guy's situation isn't really related to his phone. He was on trail (albeit the wrong trail) and sounds like he was panicking due to dehydration (he tried drinking his piss) meanwhile he's right beside a creek. If you're doing 18 mile hikes, bring a water filter or some other water treatment method. If you happen to find yourself in a situation without water treatment, drinking directly from a stream is usually a far better option than drinking your piss or risking dehydration. Yes, there's the risk of microbial diseases but those will generally take a while to kick in and you can hopefully get back to your car by then and go to the doctor if that happens.
- marymkearney 4y ago
  Yeah, plus-one to this also. Tons of filtering products that are light and easy to carry. I think you can even get a filtering straw.
- neilknowsbest 4y ago
  FWIW, the creek bed there is almost certainly dry outside of flash flood events. It's a very arid region.
  - GoldenRacer 4y ago
    Gotcha. Yeah, I haven't spent much time in Arizona and just took a cursory look at the map. Satellite images definitely show a dry creek bed. In the case of hiking in that arid of regions, being prepared with enough water is incredibly important. I've just heard of cases where people died of dehydration with water sources nearby and think it's important that people are aware of the fact that they can drink untreated water in most cases (I say most because toxic algae can kill you pretty fast so know your local situation there). I wouldn't suggest doing it regularly but it can be a reasonable risk to take in an emergency situation.

freehorse 4y ago

It works quite well actually as long as one spends the necessary effort beforehand to prepare with downloading offline maps, checking the paths around to have an overall idea of the place etc. There is nothing that complicated nowadays actually. If one depends on phone signal and internet, that is definitely a problem.