2024-02-03, 07:27 PM
In addition to a pretty small Garmin etrex, I also have an app, USATopo, on my Android phone. I wear the Garmin on a lanyard around my neck so I can't lose it. It will record on a pair of AA Alkaline rechargeables for a couple of days. Easy to download / upload tracks and waypoints. When I see a faint track on the satellite images on my computer, I make some waypoints and load them into the Garmin, because old trails can be very hard to see unless you are sighting right down them.
But the app on my phone is good in that it uses tried and true USGS and USFS maps, which is what I use for planning purposes anyway, so they make the terrain look familiar. When I got it I paid $5 or something to get the ability to store the maps locally and run without signal. Except the GE images won't cache due to license issues. Since I do all my planning off the USGS maps (I use caltopo on line) I whip out the phone when I'm challenged by the navigation.
The app also lets me load and save waypoints and tracks, though it did not when I first got it.
All my old tracks are in my Dropbox. So if I am out some place with a signal, I can grab and old track and display it on the map app, which is pretty cool and has been helpful more than once.
I also carry a paper map as a backup
I don't use it often, but all it takes is one moment of clumsiness and the phone gets dropped, screen breaks, and it is useless
But the app on my phone is good in that it uses tried and true USGS and USFS maps, which is what I use for planning purposes anyway, so they make the terrain look familiar. When I got it I paid $5 or something to get the ability to store the maps locally and run without signal. Except the GE images won't cache due to license issues. Since I do all my planning off the USGS maps (I use caltopo on line) I whip out the phone when I'm challenged by the navigation.
The app also lets me load and save waypoints and tracks, though it did not when I first got it.
All my old tracks are in my Dropbox. So if I am out some place with a signal, I can grab and old track and display it on the map app, which is pretty cool and has been helpful more than once.
I also carry a paper map as a backup
I don't use it often, but all it takes is one moment of clumsiness and the phone gets dropped, screen breaks, and it is useless