Remember when you could just follow the cairns? Got turned around looking for the old trailhead off the PCT near Sisters because the map app was wrong.

Spent a full hour bushwhacking before I found the actual path, which was just a simple fork in the trail. Anyone else have a GPS lead them totally astray out there?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_william14d ago

It's wild how a little blue dot can make you ignore the actual ground under your feet. I've started leaving my phone in my pack for the first mile just to force myself to look at the trail signs and rock stacks. That reliance on tech makes you forget basic route finding skills. You end up in a thicket while the real path is ten feet away, clear as day.

olivia39814d ago

But my GPS has saved me from getting lost way more.

amy97413d ago

My buddy had a total meltdown on the Wonderland Trail because his phone told him to cross a river that was way too high. He ended up soaked and a mile off course, and the real bridge was right where the old trail sign said it would be. That's exactly what @the_william is talking about with ignoring what's right in front of you. The gadget just overrides your common sense sometimes. He still brings his phone for emergencies, but he checks the paper map first now.