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Unpopular opinion: GPS devices fail way more than paper maps do
Last month I was hiking the Laurel Highlands Trail in Pennsylvania, about 12 miles in, when my Garmin just went black. Dead battery even though I charged it the night before. I was in a section with no cell service and heavy tree cover, totally reliant on that thing. I had a paper map in my pack as a backup but honestly I hadn't looked at it once the whole trip. Spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out where I was on the map and matching it to trail markers. Since then I've started carrying a small compass and actually practicing with the map before trips. Has anyone else had a GPS die on them mid-route and had to switch to paper?
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jesse_burns85mo ago
Same thing happened to me on the AT last year. Never leave home without paper backup now.
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fisher.taylor5mo ago
Hard lesson to learn, but yeah paper maps never die.
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