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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
by 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 agoThe Nokia XR20 is a phone designed for the outdoors. It's great
- GoldenRacer 4y agoI'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 agoYeah, 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 agoFWIW, the creek bed there is almost certainly dry outside of flash flood events. It's a very arid region.
- GoldenRacer 4y agoGotcha. 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.
- marymkearney 4y agoThis is pretty much my exact nav sequence. Alltrails > Google Maps > CalTopo > printed guide > generate offline map to phone and/or print. Chance favors the prepared mind and all that. Also, one of my major life goals is to not die of something preventable, due to my own stupidity. :)