Providing Information from Guthooks to those Who Havent Paid

[stephanD]

I would think with the number of times you’ve been doing the same areas over and over again, a map would un-necessary. Topos are great, but if your hiking long distances with multiple sections, a smart phone/gps has much more flexibility. It can also serve as a camera, stop watch/timer, notebook, voice recorder etc.

Its natural to resist change as we get older and set in our ways. Not clear why people get negative about technology and lash out against those who embrace it. Perhaps the fear of the unknown or humbling idea that we’re not up to the task.

You, and those who think like you, just don't get it. Reading a map is a skill, and an art. The map tells you a story, and being able to read and understand that story, is part of the enjoyment of being in nature. Got nothing to do with resistance to change or dislike of technology.

[Hosh]

You, and those who think like you, just don't get it. Reading a map is a skill, and an art. The map tells you a story, and being able to read and understand that story, is part of the enjoyment of being in nature. Got nothing to do with resistance to change or dislike of technology.

In the words of the immortal Doc Holliday, “I beg to differ”. If reading a map is an art, a skill, then reading a gps screen is?

Hell, the stars, the moon, the wind tell a story. Early navigators used them all for traveling and used advancing technologies as they were developed.

I really don’t need to argue with you, but then again you are making my point about old people set in their ways.

[lonehiker]

I can remember when a great debate on WB was if using a cell phone to call ahead to make a reservation for a room was somehow cheating those that didn't have a phone (or hadn't called ahead of time)...

[John B]

And I remember when there was a pay phone outside of Walasi-Yi. I called my then wife to let her know all was great. Didn't talk to her again until I got to Hot Springs, after that, not until Damascus -- weeks of blessed silence.

Wonder if the pay phone is still there?

[Traveler]

One electronic failure at a critical time is usually all one needs to rethink their map strategy. I sometimes carry a cell phone for communication purposes but always carry a paper map. It's not always about being against technology or being "too old". Its more about applying risk of failure and the accompanying level of consequence of failure, succinctly, higher risk of failure with electronics over paper, higher consequences from a failure without a map than with one. While the AT is not necessarily difficult to follow without a map, in areas like the White Mountains they are a handy tool and can be critical to survival in bad weather.

[colorado_rob]

One electronic failure at a critical time is usually all one needs to rethink their map strategy. I sometimes carry a cell phone for communication purposes but always carry a paper map. It's not always about being against technology or being "too old". Its more about applying risk of failure and the accompanying level of consequence of failure, succinctly, higher risk of failure with electronics over paper, higher consequences from a failure without a map than with one. While the AT is not necessarily difficult to follow without a map, in areas like the White Mountains they are a handy tool and can be critical to survival in bad weather.

Wise folks reliant on cell phones for navigation when hiking in critical areas carry a backup device. Not claiming I'm particularly wise, but I do carry a backup to my cell phone for navigation.... my wife's old apple 5 phone, 5 ounces or so, all maps and my tracks/waypoints all uploaded and ready to go, but turned off, only to be used if primary device fails. (One doesn't need service on an old cell phone to do this, just load everything when in wifi). With due respect, the standard argument about cell phone failure just doesn't hold if you carry a backup. NOTHING wrong with paper maps, I love them, and still carry some form of one on most hikes (like you said, the White Mtns, for example).

But again, cell phones (the GPS part of them) are a great supplement to maps, and for the big trails with Guthook coverage, maps pretty much unnecessary, except for fun.

[colorado_rob]

If you were south of Mud Gap down by a creek that probably means you were hiking up the Sycamore Creek trail next to . . . uh . . . Sycamore Creek. There are three prominent switchbacks on this trail (a 7 mile climb from Tellico River/Fish Hatchery to Whiggs Meadow with a gain of 3,000 feet).

I'm thinking you probably missed the third switchback and went up parallel to the creek on a faint trail which ends in a small campsite right above the loud creek. I call it Hobo Camp and it's one of my fave CSs.

Attachment 45744
Here's what the side trail away from the BMT looks like---with Sycamore Creek down to the right.

Attachment 45745
There used to be a BMT trailsign on this post at the mentioned switchback---gone now. People don't see the switchback to the left and continue straight up into that campsite next to Sycamore Creek.

That could easily be the place, looks kind of familiar.... Again, fuzzy memory, but there was a lot of fresh dead fall around, that may have contributed to my error, there might have been a downed tree very near the fork.

Beautiful area, and perfect time of year to hike the BMT. I saw hardly any folks, just around the private land areas. On the actual trail, I don't think I saw more than half a dozen people (I only did about 150 miles, from the south end looping clockwise west to the north end somewhere, can't quite remember w/o looking at my log, not important).

[gpburdelljr]

And I remember when there was a pay phone outside of Walasi-Yi. I called my then wife to let her know all was great. Didn't talk to her again until I got to Hot Springs, after that, not until Damascus -- weeks of blessed silence.

Wonder if the pay phone is still there?

The last time I saw it there was a booth, but no phone. Someone put a decal on it that said “Cell Phone Booth”

[Wyoming]

In the words of the immortal Doc Holliday, “I beg to differ”. If reading a map is an art, a skill, then reading a gps screen is?

Hell, the stars, the moon, the wind tell a story. Early navigators used them all for traveling and used advancing technologies as they were developed.

I really don’t need to argue with you, but then again you are making my point about old people set in their ways.

I see your confusion here. Stephan is not an old guy...he is a young whippersnapper all into that New Age mystical stuff. Real explorers had no need of maps - they made them as they went.

[Pony]

When did hiking become so complicated?

I don't get to the AT as much as I'd like, but was lucky enough to spend the last week on the trail. I didn't have phone service anywhere, not even in town, and I was perfectly fine with that. To be honest, I didn't even know about the app. I took a guide book and a map. I had several conversations with passing hikers about water sources, campsites, etc. When I got back to town I stopped to have a beer and the bartender was nice enough to call her friend that ran a hostel to ask if they had room for me. And the hostel didn't have wifi. Since I had no service I wasn't able to use google maps to find my way out of there and had to rely on memory to drive back to the freeway.

To each their own, but this lack of available technology enhanced my hike.