Your smart phone is a great way to have a GPS with you on a backcountry excursion with no additional investment. Good phone GPS apps are: CalTopo and Gaia. Make sure to download maps of the area before you go and learn how the app works.
GPS TIP 2
GPS handhelds and smart phone apps will give you your current location (in case you are injured and need to tell us your location), and can create a track of where you have walked (enabling you to follow that track back to your car or the road).
GPS TIP 3
Learning the basics of how a GPS handheld or a smart phone GPS backcountry app works can help save lives. It could save your life if you are out alone, others lives you are with, or could help you save the life of someone lost or injured you encounter.
GPS TIP 4
Make sure before heading out on the trail or off, that you set a marked point for your vehicle or pick-up point on your GPS handheld or smart phone backcountry mapping app. This is an anchor point you can always navigate back to!
GPS TIP 5
Make sure before heading out on the trail or off, that you turn your tracking feature to "ON" on your GPS handheld or smart phone backcountry mapping app. This creates a track of every step you walk and you can use it to find your way back.
GPS TIP 6
It is not difficult to learn the basics of using a GPS handheld unit or smart phone backcountry mapping app. There are only a few features you need to learn in order to have the basics needed that can save a life.
If you like the information provided above, consider taking a course from our TSAR experts to learn more.
Knowledge is power and that power can save lives while in the back-country...empower yourself!
