Pro tip: Finding a secret lake because my GPS died

I was trying to follow a new route in the Sierra Nevada last fall. My phone battery went dead, so I had to use a compass and topo map. I ended up at a small lake that wasn't on any digital trail app. Do you guys trust tech or old-school navigation more?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna1251mo ago

Totally get that. My offline maps app glitched on a forest service road last spring, zero signal. Had a paper map in the glove box as a last-minute throw in, and it saved me from a real freak out. Tech is great until it isn't, you know? That's why my pack always has a basic compass now. What did you end up doing for the hike back?

sandra2031mo ago

Did you see that article about tech fails @jessicajohnson mentioned too?

jessicajohnson1mo ago

Yeah @anna125 that's exactly why I never fully trust my phone. Had my battery die on a trail once and spent an hour just following a creek downstream until I hit a familiar fence line. Paper map was back at the car like a dummy. Now I stick a folded topo in my pocket, the kind that doesn't care about battery life.