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Shoutout to the old paper maps, because I just hit 500 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail and realized I never even opened my phone's GPS app. | Backpacking Routes - SMM Buzz

skyler921•7mo ago

Shoutout to the old paper maps, because I just hit 500 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail and realized I never even opened my phone's GPS app.

I found my old trail journal from 2010 and the mileage was all logged by hand with a pencil, which made hitting that number this year feel way more real than any digital ticker ever could, so has anyone else ditched the tech for a stretch and found it changed the trip?

4 comments

4 Comments

samjohnson7mo ago

Man, you're so right about paying attention differently. Last time I used just a paper map, I stopped looking at the screen and started really seeing the land. I'd match the curve of a ridge on the page to the one in front of me, or use a weird shaped tree as my own personal mile marker. It turns the whole hike into a puzzle you're solving with your eyes, not just following a blue dot. You remember the trip by the actual things you saw, not just the line on a screen.

carter.troy7mo ago

That bit about the puzzle you're solving with your eyes is exactly it. You build a real memory of the place, not just a list of turns. I always carry a paper map and know how to use it, because batteries die and phones break. It's not about being against tech, I use GPS too for that real-time spot like fox.derek said. But if you only know how to follow the blue dot, you're screwed the second it's gone. The map makes you learn the terrain so you can think for yourself. It's the difference between being told where to go and actually knowing where you are.

xenab677mo ago

Honestly I used to be the person who would laugh at carrying a paper map, like why add the weight when your phone does it all, right? But I got turned around on a hike last fall with a dead battery and had to use the old school map my friend brought, and it totally flipped my view. There's something about physically tracking your progress on paper that makes you pay attention to the land in a different way, you know? Now I leave my phone on airplane mode in the pack unless it's a real emergency.

fox.derek7mo ago

Forget folding a giant paper map in the wind. My phone's GPS shows my exact blue dot on a trail in real time, which saved me when a washed-out path wasn't on any printed map. Paper can't give you live weather alerts or find the nearest bailout point if a storm rolls in. Relying on old tech just adds unnecessary risk when a power bank weighs less than an ounce.