Spent 3 days testing paper maps vs GPS on the John Muir Trail section near Mammoth

I finally put this to the test last month on a 4 day stretch south of Mammoth. I had my phone with AllTrails downloaded plus a backup battery, and I also carried the Tom Harrison paper map for that section. The GPS was great for quick checks but it died twice on me, once when the battery got cold overnight and once when I hit a dead zone in a canyon. The paper map never failed and I could see the whole day's route at a glance without squinting at a tiny screen. By day three I was barely pulling out my phone and just using the map folded in my hip belt pocket. I also noticed I paid more attention to the actual terrain instead of staring at a blue dot. Has anyone else gone back to paper after relying on digital for a while?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_felix5d ago

The real test is what happens when your phone shatters on a rock.

joseph484d ago

Ngl, I've seen phones survive worse than rocks. It's all luck really.

margaretc424d ago

@the_felix brings up a solid point about durability, but did your phone die from the cold or was it the canyon dead zone that spooked you more? Paper in a zip-loc handles both problems without a second thought.