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Question about planning a route with zero cell service
Honestly, I used to just download a GPX file and follow the line on my phone. Then a ranger in the North Cascades told me I was being an idiot for not carrying a paper map and compass as backup. He said 'Your phone is a tool, not a plan. What's your plan when it dies?' Tbh, it stung, but he was right. Now I always plot my route on a USGS topo map first, mark my campsites and water sources, and only then do I load the GPX. I practice taking bearings from landmarks too. It adds maybe an hour to my prep, but I feel way less nervous when I'm out there. Has anyone else made a similar switch after getting called out?
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matthewp522h ago
Three years ago on the PCT, my phone got soaked. Useless. Had a map but no clue how to read it. Spent two hours lost before I calmed down and found a creek line. Now I do the same thing. Plot everything on paper first. That hour of prep is the best gear I own. Never heading out without it.
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jessicab3329d ago
Wow, that ranger story hits home. What was the hardest part about learning to actually use the map and compass? I tried once and got so frustrated trying to match the map to what I was seeing.
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joseph_hart29d ago
That frustration is totally normal. Trying to line up the squiggly brown lines on the map with actual hills can feel impossible at first. I spent a whole afternoon in my backyard just figuring out which way was north and matching a single hill to its contour. It finally clicked when I stopped looking at every detail and just found one big feature, like a river or a ridge line, to get my bearings.
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