Smartphones put hikers in danger. What a surprise
- Thread starter Peakbagr
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JoshandBaron
Well-known member
peakbagger
In Rembrance , July 2024
I advised a hiker planning a presi traverse that dropping down in Great Gulf via Sphinx to camp and up the Great Gulf Headwall was not a time saver. I dont know what media he was using but he had heard that it might be a bit steep
Ken MacGray
Active member
Also non-paywall: https://archive.is/lJ59V
Salty
Active member
I saw a similar article on how naughty Google is for telling people to go up that way on Ben Nevis. Maybe it's just me, but I saw the line between the parking and summit, and it's so obviously not meant to depict a trail - it's a perfect arc. Even so, how far could you get before you realized, "hey, this is getting nasty, and doesn't look like a trail at all! Oh well, my smartphone (being smarter than me obviously!) says it is so I'll just keep going!"
If you're truly that daft, well, Darwin had some thoughts about that...
Guess I should change my screen name to Saltmudgeon.
If you're truly that daft, well, Darwin had some thoughts about that...
Guess I should change my screen name to Saltmudgeon.
Wow, some people are misled by their phones. Definitely a news flash. As PT Barnum allegedly said, "There's a sucker born every minute," and in terms of route finding, he once put up signs saying "This way to the egress," which people followed looking for his latest attraction. They sooon found themselves outside. Duh.
On the other hand, crowdsourcing can lead to very accurate and timely trail/route information.
Tim
Tim
Tom Rankin
Well-known member
Not sure if you are talking about AllTrails, but around here, it has a bad rep.
Nessmuk
Active member
Speaking of Scotland.... I was there with my family a couple of years ago. We had a large rented van and my son, a US Air Force fighter pilot was driving. I had a Garmin auto GPS, recently updated with maps of Europe. We were looking for a route from one town to the next that happened to be directly east of a village at our current location. The map showed the main highway looping north, then around to the south to our intended destination. But the GPS immediately took us to a nearby farmhouse yard, then through a gate onto an undulaitng hilly curvy farm road with the fighter pilot driving at his 'normal' speed and his mother hanging on with white knuckles. No other traffic, but it was spring lambing season with sheep, lambs, and highland cattle all watching us from the side of the road. In a few miles we made it to the destination village, through another farmer's yard and driveway on the other side. In all it was the one of the most memorable parts of our entire visit.
Similarly in Germany, we were headed from one WWII memorial to another in a somewhat remote rural location. The GPS took us through a farm gate on a dirt path through a pasture directly to the monument we wanted to visit.
Similarly in Germany, we were headed from one WWII memorial to another in a somewhat remote rural location. The GPS took us through a farm gate on a dirt path through a pasture directly to the monument we wanted to visit.
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I meant in a more general sense. Like, routes people are actually recording/traveling via GPS (GAIA, Strava, Waze, ...) And note I said can. Not does or always...
Tim
ChrisB
Well-known member
What I am finding with Gaia is their Gaia Topo map is more accurate and complete than my 5-10 year-old paper maps and guidebooks!
I don’t know how they gather trail data but it’s obviously very up to date.
JoshandBaron
Well-known member
JustJoe
Active member
I have Gaia on my phone but rarely use. It's more for local hikes and biking. But even they have some misinformation. Someone on ab FB group said they were doing the Sugarloaf's loop and was looking for more info. I said it's an out an back. They referenced Gaia. I no the trail in purple is there because the Sugarloaf Trail crosses it. It's a snowmobile corridor. But the one in green doesn't exist. At least not anymore. Perhaps years ago it was a snowmobile trail but was abandoned. At any rate, it's simple things like this that can get people completely lost. And I've seen the phantom trails in many other place with Gaia.
I have noticed many phantom trails on the Caltopo maps.
Nessmuk
Active member
+++Absolutely.
Interesting how semantics work. If you use a cellphone and a GPS only in the woods you might land up staying there permanently. This subject without doing the calculations might be one of the most discussed subjects on this board. I really enjoy not using a Cellphone in the woods. The use of analog devices exercises a different part of my brain than digital devices. I find a certain purging cognitively that this provides. Like the old saying goes.”Time to get away from it all”.
CaptCaper
Active member
We only use cells for finding GeoCache's and pictures. Both my wife and I run a gps all day and preload points or tracks from PC topo maps and or previous recorded trails we did. Plus we carry multible maps and compasses. I will not hike without a gps running all day. And I won't hike with someone who doesn't have and or use them.
Neither will she hike without one running all day after seeing what it can do over the 24 yrs of using them on the trails and saved data for later use in PC work.
Cell phones for navigating is the least of worries for those using them. After getting lost they freeze to death or get a broken leg due to lack of gear and other factors. Ha.
Neither will she hike without one running all day after seeing what it can do over the 24 yrs of using them on the trails and saved data for later use in PC work.
Cell phones for navigating is the least of worries for those using them. After getting lost they freeze to death or get a broken leg due to lack of gear and other factors. Ha.
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ChrisB
Well-known member
That comment makes you sound like a Luddite: someone who is opposed or resistant to new technologies or technological change.
Maybe the operant word in your post is need.
Do I need to use GPS and cellphone? Well, yes, to satisfy my curiosity and maybe find a better way to do something.
I find playing with new technologies as they become available fun and educational!!
Rejecting them out of hand is throwing the baby out with the bathwater
Well I guess that makes me not only a Luddite but also a Curmudgeon. Don't need all that who ha!
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