logan271•1d agoProlific Poster

Old paper maps vs GPS on the JMT this summer

I did the John Muir Trail back in June and brought both a paper map from 2009 and my phone with the CalTopo app. The GPS was great until my battery died near Muir Pass on day 4, and that old map got me through the next 18 miles without a hitch. It made me realize I lean way too hard on tech when the paper version just works and never needs a charge. Anyone else still carry a physical map as backup or am I the only dinosaur left?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane1701d ago

Actually that Bishop story reminds me, the map in my pack is from 2011 and it's missing the reroute around the washed out section near Reds Meadow. The GPS caught that one, but my phone died two hours later and the old map sent me down a path that was totally overgrown. So I still carry both, but I've learned to check online for trail updates before I head out, because paper maps can have stale info just like batteries can die.

craig.olivia1d ago

...and honestly that's exactly why I still keep a beat up old topo map of the Sierra in my truck, even though I haven't used it in years. The GPS on my phone is fine for most trips, but I remember one time I was out near Bishop and the screen just froze up, no signal, no nothing. I sat there for twenty minutes trying to restart it before I remembered the map was sitting right there on the passenger seat. Sure, it's got coffee stains and a tear along the fold, but it got me back to the trailhead without me having to do the whole "wait for someone to walk by" thing. So yeah, you're not the only one, but I also think there's something nice about a map that doesn't judge you for having a low battery.

charlieh741d ago

Well now, that story about Bishop got me thinking. Did that GPS freeze up happen when you really needed it, like at a fork in the trail or coming down off a ridge in the dark, or was it more of a minor annoyance? I ask because I've got my own old map of the Desolation Wilderness, and I swear it's saved me more than once when the phone gave up the ghost. But I also wonder if you ever actually pull that map out on purpose, or if it's just there for peace of mind, like a spare tire you hope you never need.