I swore I'd never use GPS for backpacking routes but a paper map fail on the Pacific Crest Trail changed my mind

3 comments

3 Comments

I appreciate you sharing this, but that phrase "paper map fail" is exactly why I still bring paper maps on every trip. GPS units break, batteries die, and screens crack. I keep my old paper maps as backup and use GPS as a secondary tool, not the other way around. The best system I have found is to study the paper map before leaving and only use GPS for quick checks or bad weather. Maybe I am old school but a map that never runs out of power still has a place in my pack.

michael80319h ago

Man that "just lie there and show you where you are" line hit me hard lol. I had a GPS die on me in the middle of nowhere Utah last summer and that old paper map I had stuffed in my glove box literally saved my trip. There's something about tracing roads with your finger on a real map that makes you actually remember the route too. I always mark up mine with little notes about good campsites or where I saw wildlife along the way. Feels like less of a soulless screen and more like a real adventure when you're working with paper.

cora_west519h ago

Totally agree with that... there's something about spreading a paper map across the hood of your car that a phone screen just can't beat. I like to trace out my route with a highlighter before I go, makes the whole trip feel more real somehow. And yeah, GPS is great for finding a gas station in the rain but I've had mine die right when I needed it most. Paper maps don't care about battery life or signal bars, they just lie there and show you where you are.