I finally ditched paper maps for my Sierra trips and honestly I miss getting lost a little

Andrew Rodriguez · 2026-10-16T15:00:04.32849+00:00

For like 10 years I planned every trip around a folded Tom Harrison map and a compass, marking water sources with a pencil. Now I just load a GPX file on my phone and follow the blue dot the whole way, which is faster but weirdly boring. Last June on the Rae Lakes loop I realized I hadn't looked up from my screen once to actually see the mountains. I still carry the paper map as backup, but I barely touch it anymore. Does anyone else feel like the phone made the route planning too easy, or am I just being a grump about it?

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I finally ditched paper maps for my Sierra trips and honestly I miss getting lost a little | Backpacking Routes - SMM Buzz