Originally Posted by
DenverBrian
Backcountry Navigator XE is an app you can load on your phone to ensure you have something to navigate with if hiking. Here We Go is an app that allows you to download states or the entire US to your phone so you have offline maps available if you lose cell or wifi service.
I use GaiaGPS--downloaded, it doesn't matter that I have no service.
Originally Posted by
Athena53
It took me a few more futile walks to realize what the silly apps were telling me. When the successive messages say, "Turn right on Main street in 0.7 miles", "Turn right on Main Street in 0.8 miles", "Turn right on Main Street in 0.9 miles..." , what they really mean is "Make a U-turn- you're going in the wrong direction!". (I do not always think clearly when frustrated.) I also cannot process directions such as "Proceed East on Main Street". My late husband was excellent at navigating by the sun but I really have to ponder it.
It thought you were driving and couldn't make a U-turn so it was trying to take you around the block.
Originally Posted by
bitterproffit
I still have my Rand McNally road atlas in the back seat pocket in my car. It might be time to get a new one, though. I plan a lot with Google Maps, but the road atlases are fun for road trips. You can see your route at a much more detailed macro level.
Yes, this is the real merit of paper maps--you can see so much more than you can with an electronic map. Useful for planning, but I find the map on the phone far better in the field.
I save all my National Park brochures. The maps in them are much better than anything on my phone. Especially when there is no phone service.
The National Park maps are nothing compared to a good topo. They are nice for listing trails.
Originally Posted by
pgary
For back country use I much prefer the 15' topo maps. They give a much larger view of where I am and where I am going compared to the electronic maps, they give a huge amount of info in addition to directions to places and topo lines, and(especially) I can draw lines on them.
What do you mean by 15'?