Serious question, I planned my last trip with a paper map and my phone and the difference was huge.

I did a 4 day loop in the White Mountains last month. First two days I was just using the map, checking it at camp and trail junctions. The last two days I had the same route loaded on my phone with the Gaia app. The phone showed me exactly where I was on the trail in real time, which saved me from a couple wrong turns in thick fog. Has anyone else made the switch and found it changed how they hike?

3 comments

3 Comments

shah.olivia28d ago

Ever try to fold a wet map in the rain? I still bring one, but my phone is the main tool now for that exact reason, it just cuts out the guesswork when you really need it.

gray55728d ago

My buddy learned that lesson the hard way last year, @shah.olivia, with a map that just turned to mush.

kai_west7d ago

My friend Mark had a map get soaked in a sudden downpour last fall. He was trying to refold it on a windy trail, and the whole thing just tore along the crease. He spent twenty minutes trying to piece the wet scraps together to find the trailhead. That was the exact moment he said he'd just rely on his phone from then on.