Still get weird looks when I tell people I switched from a paper map to Google Maps for hiking in 2021

I used to trace trails on my dad's old topo map from 1998 for almost a decade before a ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park pointed out three trails had changed completely, so now I just use my phone but battery anxiety is way worse than soggy paper ever was, anyone else find the tech trade-off annoying?

3 comments

3 Comments

sandra_anderson213d ago

Paper maps don't have GPS signal loss either. You ever been halfway up a canyon with no service and your phone is just sitting there useless like a brick in your pocket? That soggy map from 1998 is still working while your high tech device is basically a coaster. I had to follow a creek back to a trailhead once because my phone gave out two miles from the car. The ranger pointed out a rock slide on a map I had and I could still read the old trail through it. Battery packs are just another thing to lose or have die on you too.

the_morgan13d ago

The battery anxiety is real. I've had my phone die on a ridge before and had to backtrack using the sun and guesswork. That soggy paper map never let me down, just got a little damp and kept going.

kai_park13d ago

You trust the sun and a soggy map over a full battery? I mean, that's fair. My phone dies on the trail and I'm basically lost in a parking lot. But paper maps don't run out of juice, they just get a little wrinkly. Guess that's a win for old school. Still, I'd rather bring a backup battery and keep my phone dry.