Navigation
If you plan to do any activities in the outdoors, you will have navigate to ensure you don’t get lost on trail.
How difficult this is, depends on where you live and what kind of trails you enjoy. Some places have very well maintained trail networks with clear signage which makes navigation a breeze. But other places, may have no signs or defined trails making it much more difficult to navigate.
Getting lost when out hiking is one of the most popular reasons for search & rescue calls. So regardless of where you are going or how good the trail is, you should always have some means of navigation.
These days, there are a variety of methods to successfully navigate on trail. I’m going to look at some of the most popular options and give you my tips and tricks on how I navigate in the backcountry.
Phone Apps
One of the most popular ways to navigate is using your phone. There are some great apps out there to help you navigate, but which one is the best?
I’m going to look at a number of different apps and give them a rating out of 5. I suspect one of these will be controversial, but hopefully this will help you make an informed decision on which apps are best for you when you are out on trial.
I’ve had experience using all of the apps I’m going to talk about. I’ve also done thousands of KMs in the backcountry in all seasons. Whilst I’ve certainly taken the scenic route on occasion, I generally never get lost on trail. This is down to good trip planning, good awareness when out on trail and using reliable apps to help navigate successfully.
Google Maps
Lets start with one of the most popular apps for navigation… Google Maps. If like me, you use this app on a regular basis, it could well be the first app you go to for trail navigation. However; as much as Google Maps is awesome, it has some severe drawbacks when it comes to backcountry use.
Google Maps is great when you are in cell service and are driving or navigating a road network. If I’m in the car & looking for directions, then this is my go to app. Google Maps can also give you a good estimate on how long it takes to get to a trailhead, but the trailhead is where you should stop using this app.
So why shouldn’t you use Google Maps on trail?
Well to put it simply, it’s just not very good. Google maps has very few hiking trails on the map. So unless you are going to a very popular trail, the chances are the trail won’t even show up on Google maps.
The map is also not great at showing you terrain. It’s very difficult to picture the type of terrain you are going into without contour lines or some form of 3D map. Even the satellite view isn’t great as it’s only 2D. There’s also no elevation profiles, which is one of the most important values when working out how long a hike will take.
Google Maps is great for getting you to the trailhead, but it’s lack of trails, detail and limited offline use, make this a poor choice for navigating on trail. I wouldn’t recommend using it on trail.
Rating: 0 out of 5
All Trails
All Trails is probably the most popular hiking app out there. This app is used by thousands of hikers every day – so that means it must be great right? Well that depends who you ask. I personally don’t think it’s a great choice for navigation and I’ll explain why a little further down.
All Trails does have some benefits. It has lots of trails listed, so it can be good to get an idea of the trails in the area. You can also read recent reviews from people who have hiked the trail to get an update on conditions. I actually like using it for that purpose and I definitely think it has a place in the hiking toolbox. But I don’t think it’s a great navigational app.
If you have every used All Trails, you will have read reviews from fellow hikers giving their experience on trail. One of the biggest drawbacks of All Trails is knowing how to interpret this information. Almost every trail you go on will have someone saying it was an easy hike, and someone else saying it was the hardest thing they have ever done. So who do you believe?
Well that’s where you need to consider your own ability and place yourself on that scale. If you are a new hiker, you might be more like the person who found it hard, but equally if you are an experienced hiker, you might find it similar to the person who found it easy. The more reviews you read, the easier you will find it to place yourself on this scale.
So why don’t I think it’s a great app for navigation?
This mainly comes down to the same reason you can’t trust the trip reports. All Trails is the Wikipedia of the hiking world. If you have ever been to University, you will know that Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information. The same can be said for All Trails.
The routes listed on All Trails are uploaded by users. You are assuming the person who added the trail got the correct GPX track when they uploaded it to All Trails. The app is also not very reliable when out on trail and using it offline. There are numerous occasions where it fails to work correctly and the map itself is very limited and won’t be too helpful at finding a route back if you go off trail.
For those reasons, I don’t recommend All Trails as a navigational tool. You need an app that is reliable & has accurate information. All Trails fails at both of those criteria. If you only hike on very popular trails within cell service, then you can probably get away with just using All Trails. For everyone else, there are much better alternatives out there.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Gaia GPS
Gaia GPS is a great app for hiking in the backcountry. There are some specific features that Gaia does really well that make it really well suited to outdoor enthusiasts.
The first is the detail of the maps. Gaia has numerous different layers. You can view TOPO Maps, satellite view and the standard Gaia TOPO, all within the same app. When you combined these together, you get a really good picture of the type of terrain you are going into.
Gaia also has an abundance of trails shown on the map. If the route has been mapped, it’s almost certainly going to be on Gaia. Unlike All Trails, you won’t get a route description or any information about the trail, but there are many other ways to get that information. From a navigation point of view, what you really need is an accurate trail to follow on the map, which Gaia has.
The app allows you to easily plan routes using waypoints and work out the distance and elevation for the route. This is vital for trip planning. If you download the map offline, this also works great on trail. Have you ever been on a hike and wondered how far you have left? Well with Gaia, you don’t have to wonder. You can find out in a few seconds on the app.
The ease of use with Gaia, combined with it’s fantastic reliability even when offline, makes this a great choice for navigating in the backcountry. The offline maps download in seconds and take up minimal data. The extensive trail network on Gaia is unmatched by most other apps. Even extremely remote trails, such as the Great Divide Trail are fully mapped on Gaia.
No app is perfect though and even Gaia has some drawbacks. The main one is you have to do your homework before you head out on trail. Gaia will show you all routes, they may not all be hiking routes. For example, some routes maybe scrambles or even mountaineering objectives. If you see a trail on the map that looks like a fun objective, you need to do some research to get some information about the trail.
Don’t just head out and follow the map or you might find yourself in some bigger terrain than you expected. It’s also not great for winter adventures, when you might need to plan a route around avalanche terrain or away from the usual summer trail.
Rating: 4 out of 5
FATMAP
FATMAP is another great app for navigating in the backcountry. This is one of the most popular apps for winter adventures, such as ski touring and mountaineering. The 3D map on FATMAP is awesome and you can practically transport yourself to an area from the comfort of your own home.
The best thing about FATMAP is the ability to look at so many different things all from the same App. Not only do you have the fantastic 3D map, you can also switch to OS maps, look at different layers and see routes posted by other users. It also has the same waypoint route planning as GAIA GPS, which means you can plan routes on the app & download them to view offline.
When it comes to viewing routes posted by other users, unlike AllTrails, FATMAP has some guidelines for how to describe a route. This helps give a more accurate description of how difficult and exposed the trail is & leads to consistency within the app. You can also find FATMAP Select Routes. These routes have been approved by FATMAP and are generally more detailed & written by experienced users.
One of the things that makes FATMAP unique and so popular for winter users, is the wide range of layers available. You can use layers to see snow depths, view gradients, aspects and avalanche terrain. This is extremely valuable information if you are heading out in winter, but it’s also very useful for summer adventures too.
So what’s the downside of using FATMAP?
Well there aren’t many, but it does have a few drawbacks. The main one is the amount of data required to load the maps & download them offline. If you have an older phone or are limited on space, then it’s not going to load as fast as some other apps. It also takes up a large amount of space to store the maps offline, which can be an issue if you are doing a multi-day adventure and have slow download speeds.
I’ve posted a FATMAP route below so you can see the map & the detailed route info. If you want to try using FATMAP and test out all the great layers, click here to get a free 2 week trial. I do recommend you give FATMAP a try, you will be amazed how much easier it makes navigating on trail.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Smart Watches
Another popular way to navigate is using a smart watch. Garmin, Suunto and Coros all offer watches with navigation features. There are some great benefits to using a watch. It’s much quicker to view on trail and can alert you if you go off route.
Watches generally just have a bread crumb trail to follow, so they certainly don’t offer the same detail as phone apps, but they are great to guide you along most trails. Some watches have OS maps built in which is a great feature but not essential.
As much as I use a watch regularly on trail, I wouldn’t use it as my sole source of navigation. I generally use it in conjunction with some of the apps listed above, especially if i’m on more challenging routes.
One of the other great benefits to using a watch actually comes to trip planning. I can’t speak for Garmin or Coros as I haven’t used their apps. But on the Sunnto App, you can view heat maps, which shows where other people have recorded activities. This is an awesome feature when you are planning a route. The heat map shows you the route people are actually taking, which does sometimes differ from what is mapped. I nearly always double check my planned route against this heatmap to see if there are any deviations. Less travelled routes won’t have a heat map available, so this only works on trails that see a decent amount of traffic.
What watch should I use?
I’m probably not the best person to ask when it comes to watches, as I have only used Suunto watches. I personally use the Suunto 9 Peak, which is an awesome sports watch. It’s small enough that I can wear it all the time and never even notice I have it on, yet it’s packed full of features. Garmin and Coros also make great watches, so do your own research & go with what is most suited to your needs.
Watches are an expensive investment, so it’s well worth considering what you will use it for. You may not need all the features of a top of the line watch. Some mid range watches still have navigation capabilities along with other great features. Regardless of what watch you choose to use, it will transform how you navigate in the backcountry.
Map & Compass
If you ever read up on backcountry essentials, everyone will tell you to carry a map & compass. That’s for a very good reason…technology can fail. Your phone can die, the app might not work and even gps can sometimes be inaccurate. So having a map is never a bad idea. It’s always there as a last resort to get you out of trouble if your primary means of navigation isn’t working.
A map is only useful though if you know how to use it. Sure we all think we can all read a map, but the real test to navigating with a map is to learn how to use a compass. Ask yourself this… if you didn’t have GPS, could you pinpoint on a map your exact location? I dare say for most people the answer to that is probably no. This is where compass skills are vital, as you use the compass to work that out.
Even though it’s always recommended to carry a map & compass, it really depends on the situation. I would say you should always have a means to navigate & it should be redundant. If your phone fails you should have a secondary means of navigation. I personally hardly ever carry a map or a physical compass. This might come as a surprise as it’s seen as an essential item, but I’ll explain in the next section how I navigate & why I very rarely use a physical map.
Even though I don’t carry one myself, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. It totally depends on the situation which I’ll explain further down. Considering you can print out the map you need and it takes up practically no space or weight, there really isn’t a good excuse for not carrying one on certain adventures.
How do I navigate?
As I said above, you should always have redundancy in your navigation. All the apps have pro’s and con’s. What that really means is there isn’t one that’s great for absolutely every situation, although FATMAP & Gaia GPS come pretty close.
In reality you need to use a range of tools to successfully navigate in the backcountry, and that starts before you even head out on trail.
Trip Planning
Before I even step foot on trail I’ll do some homework. This normally involves reading blogs, checking maps & planning routes on Gaia & FATMAP. During this time I’m getting myself familiar with the route & the surrounding area. By the time I get on trail, I already have a pretty good idea which way the route goes. This is also where I’ll download the maps offline, test that they work & sync the route to my watch. I normally also work out how long I think it will take and set a turnaround time.
Navigating on Trail
The first thing I do on trail is set the navigation going on my watch. This is my primary means for navigation. Assuming I planned the route right, I should be able to pick up the trail straight from the parking lot. If there’s a defined trail then I’ll follow it and the watch becomes a background guide.
This is where familiarising yourself with the route beforehand is really useful. Sometimes the trail might start to go off in the wrong direction, especially in winter when snow covers the route. I normally notice this pretty quick as I familiarised myself with the route beforehand, but even if I miss it the watch will alert me once I go off the mapped route.
I’ll then either follow the watch, or if I think the trail still goes the right way, i’ll follow the trail for a little longer. This isn’t such a big deal in summer on well defined trails. But in winter on snow covered trails, many people get caught out by following an incorrect trail.
If I think I need to double check a route or get my bearings, that’s when I’ll switch to my secondary source of navigation which is my phone. I’ll already have the route downloaded on both Gaia & FATMAP. I’ll review those apps, get my bearings then head off in the correct direction.
Redundancy
Since I use my watch as my primary means of navigation, my phone becomes the back up. In reality I use both, but if my phone died, I could get out just fine using the watch. Equally if my watch died, I’d then still have my phone. So what happens if both devices fail to work? Well then I’d have a problem.
The odd’s of both of them failing are extremely low, although it is possible. Thankfully I also carry an Inreach. I generally don’t use this as a navigational tool, but it does have a breadcrumb trail and I could message someone my location & get them to help guide me out.
Using this method gives me plenty of redundancy. On longer multi-day routes I’ll also carry a power bank so I don’t have to worry about my battery dying. This is how I nearly always navigate in the mountains & I’ve never had an issue.
One problem I have encountered is with apps not working. This can happen for a variety of reasons and it’s pretty rare, but this is why you don’t rely on a single app. FATMAP is the app I generally rely on most, but I always have Gaia GPS downloaded as a backup just incase. It’s a very rare occasion when an app fails to load, but since I have redundancy, it’s not a big deal if it does happen. People get into trouble when they rely entirely on their phone to navigate, and then rely on a single app. If the phone or app doesn’t work, there is no redundancy & it could potentially lead to a call to search & rescue.
Since I have plenty of redundancy, I choose not to carry a physical map. The only time I may choose to carry a physical map is on longer multi-day routes, where there’s more chance of something going wrong. Obviously not everyone has a GPS watch or an Inreach. If you are relying entirely on your phone to navigate, then it’s a good idea to carry a paper map & compass as the redundancy.
