Hot take: a paper map beat my $400 GPS on the Eagle Rock loop last month

Nathan Coleman · 2026-10-08T00:05:06.259549+00:00

I did the Eagle Rock loop in the Ouachitas two weekends ago and brought both my fancy GPS watch and a folded paper map I printed at the library for 15 cents. About 6 miles in, the watch lost signal in a draw and kept trying to reroute me onto what I'm pretty sure was a dry creek bed. The paper map just sat there being right. I've been messing with GPS routes for years and I keep telling myself the tech is worth it, but every trip I end up pulling the map out of my hip pocket more than I look at my wrist. What got me was how fast I could see the whole picture, like where the loop closed and where the water was, without zooming or swiping or waiting for a satellite. My buddy had the same watch and we both ended up navigating off my crinkled page by day two. Anyone else still carrying paper as the main thing and using the phone just for backup?

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Hot take: a paper map beat my $400 GPS on the Eagle Rock loop last month | Backpacking Routes - The Community Guide