Go ahead: Take a ride through a new city, embark on a multiday bikepacking trip, or get closer to nature on a rural backroad adventure. With the , you can immerse yourself in new and surprising adventures without worrying about your next turn. The latest updates to Hammerhead’s powerful navigation tool have unlocked exciting possibilities with industry-leading features, connectivity, visualizations, and enhanced customizations. To learn all about the Karoo’s innovative functions, we talked to the riders who know the tool like few others: Grayson Pollock and Amanda Nauman. Pollock is an avid cyclist and software product manager at Hammerhead, and Nauman is a gravel athlete and one of the founders of Mammoth Tuff, a gravel event in Mammoth Lakes, California. Here’s what they have to say.

Going the Distance

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: What do you look for in a navigation tool?

Amanda Nauman: It’s important to have a device that can seamlessly guide me through remote, off-road terrain. As I’m exploring new areas around Mammoth or finding ways to improve Mammoth Tuff routes, safe navigation is my top priority. That’s why I use the Karoo. A clear, easy-to-read map display helps me quickly identify turns and route deviations. Additionally, I value the way the Karoo stays ahead of the curve, continuously updating its software and hardware to offer the latest features and improved performance. This ensures I have access to the most accurate and up-to-date maps and navigation capabilities, no matter where my route-scouting adventures take me.

What improvements has Hammerhead released to support long-distance rides and bikepacking expeditions?

Grayson Pollock: In Hammerhead’s latest software release, new enhancements to Battery Save Mode ensure long-distance and adventure riders get the most out of the Karoo. Plus, our superior maps and navigation features make the Karoo an easy choice for any paved or off-road adventure. Now, riders can take more control over their chosen device settings, lowering the dreaded battery anxiety that often accompanies a long ride.

To avoid charging my Karoo during a recent three-day bikepacking trip, I used Battery Save Mode and thoroughly enjoyed the peace of mind it provided. In addition to our vast planning and on-device routing capabilities, we’ve added more highly requested functionality improvements, including battery support for longer routes, improved live tracking through our new and updated companion apps, the ability to disable rerouting, breadcrumb and reverse-breadcrumb route options, complimentary map updates twice a year, and much more.

Unlocking Exploration

How does the Karoo enhance your rides?

Nauman: The Karoo significantly enhances my rides by providing essential information and navigation tools. Its clear map display allows me to easily follow planned routes, even in remote areas. Those routes are also easy to plan because of Hammerhead’s integration with third-party apps like MapMyRide, ensuring I have a seamless transition from planning to riding. The CLIMBER feature offers valuable insights into upcoming climbs, helping me pace myself or avoid a climb altogether when exploring new roads. Finally, the Karoo’s automatic rerouting capabilities are invaluable when unexpected obstacles arise, ensuring I can adapt my route and continue my ride without stress. By providing timely information and flexible navigation options, ultimately the Karoo empowers me to explore new territories with confidence and efficiency.

What sets the Karoo apart from other navigation tools?

Pollock: The mapping and navigation experience is the foundation of Hammerhead’s identity—we don’t plan on changing that. By talking with riders, we’ve found a common theme around what draws them to us: trust and confidence. Riders know that whether they are building a route on the Hammerhead dashboard, importing a route from a third party, rerouting when they get off track, or searching for nearby points of interest, the Karoo will work as intended.

Additionally, our profile-based and multiple and options allow riders to customize their experience to match their preferred riding style and bike choice. Cycling-specific map themes on the Karoo, combined with our intuitive Turn-by-Turn and CLIMBER drawers, communicate what’s ahead so riders can live in the moment.

Planning for șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű

Where are you most excited to use your Karoo in the coming year?

Nauman: Mammoth Tuff will be part of the UCI Gravel World Series in 2025, so we have our work cut out for us refining our tried-and-true event routes. There’s a trove of Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management roads around Mammoth Lakes that we plan to piece together in different ways, and I’m looking forward to exploring new corners of these remote areas. The Karoo is so reliable—I’m never worried about getting lost, and that’s the best feeling to have when you’re ready for a new adventure!

, a subsidiary of SRAM, is a cycling technology company with a mission to inspire and empower all people to unlock their athletic potential through cycling.

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In a world where everyone has a smartphone, a host of navigation apps to choose from, and a growing array of phone-based SOS/SAR options, do standalone Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS Devices) still have a place in backcountry navigation? We decided to take this debate into the woods to find out. While snowshoeing the Frankenstein Cliff to Arethusa Falls loop in Crawford Notch and bushwhacking through Echo Lake State Park in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, we tested two of Garmin’s newest releases, the GPSMAP 67i ($600) and the eTrex SE ($150).

The GPSMAP 67i features a huge improvement in battery life and navigation upgrades that include multiple-GNSS for more consistent satellite connection than GPS alone (think 100+ satellites vs. 24), and multi-band signal reception to enhance the accuracy of those connections. It’s also compatible with Garmin’s Outdoor Maps+ and is designed for serious outdoors person who want a robust device that packs a lot of features while keeping you on course, connected, and safe. Garmin claims it will run for up to 180 hours in GPS mode (no inReach, no other GNSS) and up to 840 hours in Expedition mode (no inReach, GPS only, fewer track points, low-power mode activated). After six days of navigation and messaging we had about 20 percent battery life remaining (the unit was turned off after each use). Considering that our tests included multiple-GNSS mode, the flashlight, inReach functions and other features, Garmin’s claim of 180 hours in GPS seems accurate. One note: testers wished they could actually seeÌę the remaining battery percentage, rather than a dwindling green bar.

“With all its navigation resources enabled, this unit is an absolute bloodhound,” said one user who navigated an off-trail route skirting the bases of the 700 to 800 foot tall granite slabs of Cathedral and White Horse Ledges, which often mess with tracking devices. Using only GPS at the start delivered some sporadic off-route tracking results, but with settings adjusted to multi-GNSS and multi-band for the return trip, he reported “this thing followed the route like it was on rails.”

The eTrex SE is Garmin’s update to the meat-and-potatoes eTrex 10, a popular unit among outdoorists that want a reliable, easy-to-use device without the bells and whistles. The SE’s battery life leapfrogs the previous version by a factor of 5X, and, using two AA batteries, it provides up to 168 hours in one-second GPS tracking mode and up to 1,800 hours in expedition mode. Our test unit still showed 50 percentÌę battery after five days of testing in a variety of modes (turning it off after each use). Garmin shared the multi-GNSS wealth with this device as well, but didn’t import the 67i’s multi-band technology. Even so, on a hike up Hedgehog Mountain in Albany, New Hampshire while several inches of snow clung to the pine canopy, testers reported reception was remarkably consistent and delivered accurate tracking data. Using the handheld unit solo to navigate works fine, but testers still preferred using the Explore app with its topo map content to plan and track progress. The added accuracy is exciting news for the geocaching community as well: users just pair their registered device with the Garmin Explore app to record their cache searches. For a unit that sits in the entry-level price range, this is a great buy.

As far as the overall argument for carrying a separate GNSS gadget, our review crew said the most obvious advantage was having backup—relying on one device can lead to problems. If that phone dies or breaks, your communication, navigation, and lifeline go with it. Battery life was also a big factor in this analysis, with these newly launched handhelds looking for a recharge only weekly, or even monthly. They’re also rugged implements manufactured to military specs, which means that when they’re dropped, used in a storm, or taken for an unexpected swim, they have a much higher chance of survival.

But it was in our testing area near Mt. Washington where the argument was pushed over the edge. With a ‘feels-like’ temperature of six degrees, we were able to keep our gloves on as we changed courses and settings, sent messages, and toggled every single button. Try that with a cell phone. Consensus: these standalone GNSS units still have a firm place in the backcountry navigation world.

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Master the art of navigation and you’ll never lose your way again. In our seven-part course on , you’ll get versed in everything you need to navigate on- and off-trail, from using GPS and digital maps to old-school wayfinding with a paper map and compass. Join the class now and learn at your own pace.Ìę

Sure, not all who wander are lost. But when you’ve been walking in circles for hours and your day hike is stretching into an overnight, that saying is a cruel joke. The solution? Don’t get lost in the first place. Learning how to use a map and compass is something all hikers and backpackers need to do.

Even experienced backpackers sometimes neglect their navigation skills, but when the trail peters out or is covered by snow, knowing how to blaze your own path is absolutely essential. And even in the age of and smartphones, the is to carry a map and compass and know how to use them. Below, we’ll cover both the basics and some finer points of compass navigation.

More: Get unlost with our course on .

Why Should I Learn to Use a Compass?

With the advent of GPS, navigating by compass has become something of a lost art. It’s easy to see why: under clear skies, modern GPS receivers can determine a user’s location accurately and quickly with little to no user skill necessary.

But here’s the thing: GPS units are electronic, and electronics fail at the most inopportune times. Sometimes they run out of battery; sometimes, after years of use, they fail. Furthermore, they can usually tell which way you’re facing only once you’re on the move.

Compasses, on the other hand, are nigh indestructible. They don’t take batteries, don’t have screens to break, and don’t need software updates. And when protected with either waterproof coatings or careful storage, maps rarely fail. —and knowing how to use them—is a small step that could save you a lot of trouble.

Tip: Once you’ve got the hang of navigating the old-school way, you can use apps like to check your work or get more specialized data like slope angle.

Get to Know Your Compass

A compass is the most reliable navigation method—but it’s no good unless you know your way around it. Different kinds of compasses have different parts, but here are some common components.

Baseplate: A clear back that lets you see the map underneath. The ruled edge helps with triangulation and taking your bearings.

Direction-of-travel arrow: This shows you where to point your compass when taking a bearing.

Index line: An extension of the direction-of-travel arrow that indicates where to read bearings.

Rotating bezel: A circular area marked with numbered degrees (clockwise) from 0 to 360.

Magnetized needle: Located inside the bezel, it always points to magnetic north, not true north. (They’re hundreds of miles apart.)

Orienting arrow: It helps line the bezel up with the directions on the map.

Declination scale: Hash marks on the inside of the bezel designed to help adjust declination. (Don’t know how to do that? Read on.)

Correcting for Declination

One of the tricky parts of navigating with a compass is that magnetic north isn’t the same as true north. The angle between the two—known as the declination—varies with your location. It also gradually changes over time as the earth’s tectonic plates shift. If you don’t adjust your compass to compensate, you’ll find yourself headed in the wrong direction.

The easiest way to find the angle of declination is to check your map: most have declination diagrams, along with the date it was last revised. Because declination changes over time, newer maps will have more accurate figures. There should be an angle and a direction—for example, 8 degrees east.

Working from an older map?Ìę There are several different services that can use the location you’ll be hiking in to calculate your declination.

Once you have your declination, subtract it from your compass bearing for west and add it for east. If you have trouble remembering that rule, try this mnemonic: Maps Tell Almost Everything (Magnetic to True: Add East).

Fun fact: compasses first appeared in China around 200 B.C. and were likely used for fortune-telling. Declination wasn’t discovered until roughly A.D. 720.

What Are the Different Types of Compasses?

While there are many different kinds of compasses on the market, the most common for backpackers is the baseplate compass, which consists of a liquid-filled compass face attached to a flat, clear piece of plastic. Besides being cheap and simple, a baseplate compass, with its see-through design, is easy to use with a map.

The is a solid baseplate compass for beginners and experienced orienteers alike.

Also popular are lensatic compasses, which flip open like a locket and use a sighting wire in the cover and a rear lens to take highly accurate bearings. While they have the advantage of being precise and durable, lensatic compasses have a slightly steeper learning curve.

Our digital editor, a diehard fan of lensatic compasses, recommends the , a classic, durable military-style compass that will last for years.

Because baseplate compasses are the most widely used, our instructions here will focus on them. If you have a lensatic compass, your steps may vary slightly. Metal interferes with compasses’ magnetic needles, so avoid spreading your map out on a car hood.

How to Find Your Location with a Compass

Figuring out your location with a map and compass is easy if you know how. First, you’ll need to be able to find at least two known landmarks. ( and are both good choices.) If you can find a third, even better. As always, remember to adjust for declination.

1. Using your compass, orient your map so that north is pointing to true north. (Pro tip: make sure the fixed grid lines on your compass line up with the north-south grid lines on your map.)

2. Take a bearing on your first landmark: Line up your direction-of-travel arrow with your landmark, then rotate the bezel until the needle lines up with the markingÌęfor north. (The number next to the index line is your bearing—more on that to come.)

3. On the map, place one corner of your compass’s straightedge on the landmark, then rotate the entire compass until the needle lines up with north on the bezel. Using a pencil, draw a line aclongÌęthe edge.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for your other landmarks. The point where all the lines intersect is your approximate location.

How to Find Your Bearings with a Compass

If you already know your location, you can use your compass to figure out how to get to any point on your map. After adjusting your compass for declination, start by orienting your map to true north, as in the instructions above.

1. Place the corner of your compass’s baseplate on your location, then rotate your entire compass until the straightedge forms a line between your location and your destination.

2. Rotate the bezel until the grid lines on the baseplate match the grid lines on the map.

3. Read the number next to the index line—this is your bearing.

4. Holding the compass level in front of you, turn your body until the north arrow on the bezel matches up with the compass’s needle. Your direction-of-travel arrow should now be pointing toward your destination.

Using Your Smartphone as a Compass

Your smartphone can do everything else, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it has a compass built into it. With the right app (try for Android, or for a more full-featured experience, Gaia GPS for and ), you can use your phone as a navigation device, no GPS required.

The apps use your phone’s magnetometer. After a simple calibration process, it can not only do whatever a compass can do, but can even lock onto a bearing well enough to tell you when you’ve gone astray.

Of course, phone-based compasses come with a few big caveats. The biggest: just like the GPS on your phone, all of these apps require a charged battery to work. That’s why we recommend that everyone learn how to use a normal, analog compass. You can count on it to continue working no matter what you put it through. Once you’ve fully developed those skills, you can use your phone’s GPS without fear of running out of juice.

Ready to discover your own dormant capabilities at șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Learn? Join șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű+ today.

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When the pandemic dissolved offices across the country, my husband and I, like many others, sold our house in greater Denver and headed for the mountains. We picked Salida, Colorado, a place we had visited many times, in every season, as an escape from suburban life. We’d head to the mountains as often as possible to camp, hike, mountain-bike, and ski. Full-time life in Salida seemed like a dream. I’ve lived in a lot of different places, but this was the first time I had chosen a home because I wanted to be there; not for a job, not for a person, just for the place.

We moved on Halloween, 2020. “Thriller” echoed down the street as we carried boxes into the house. As tends to happen in Colorado, fall conditions lingered. We got tons of warm November afternoons that begged for exploration. I felt at home right away, but I wanted to know every mountain and every trail. I wanted to be one of those people who looks out and names all the peaks and tells you all the back ways to get there.

I went to my new local bike shop and asked for a gravel-ride recommendation. One of the mechanics suggested I check out Droney Gulch, a 25-mile loop from Salida with great views of Mount Shavano. He pointed it out on a Ìęhanging on the wall. I picked up a copy. On one side, it has 62 trail recommendations, and on the other, the local fourteeners. The Droney Gulch loop was one of the best rides of my life. Empty gravel roads take you right up to the base of snowcapped mountains. I soon bought a second copy of the map and hung one in the kitchen and one in my office. I wanted to look at it all the time.

I got in touch with the couple who made the map, Mary and Grant Morrison. They met in a cartography class at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1980 and started making mountain-biking maps before the sport was really a thing. Then they kept making recreational topo maps for places throughout Colorado and Utah, researching and updating them meticulously so that each map reflected the area’s growing trail systems. Their trail recommendations are their own personal favorites, found over years of exploring each area.

After I spoke with Mary and Grant, I decided I’d attempt as many trails on the map as possible, on bikes and on foot. I created a spreadsheet. On January 1, 2021, I picked a trail that seemed doable in the snow: Sunrise at Narrow Gauge, a five-mile out-and-back just a short drive from our house. Wearing snowshoes and lots of layers, my husband and I walked through icy snow at sunrise. Phenomenal pinks and oranges lit up Mount Princeton, the Arkansas River Valley, and the Chalk Cliffs. The next weekend we brought our pup and hiked the Midland Trail in Buena Vista in snow boots. With each new trail, I couldn’t wait for the next.

January also brought my 40th birthday. I don’t think too much about birthdays, but I have a twin brother, and I always imagined doing something big with him for our 40th. He lives in New York City, and with the pandemic locking down travel, we didn’t get to have our epic birthday together. So I dug into the map. My husband and I camped in our van at the base of Ruby Mountain and hiked Turret Trail in 16-degree weather. I sent my brother a photo of the sunrise.

I loved having a project that required so much work to accomplish. Each week I looked at the weather and conditions and decided what I wanted to take on. It was like dipping into a box and pulling out a new toy.

Over the course of the year I got more confident. At the beginning of the project, I always brought my husband or a friend along, or at least my dog, but by midsummer I went out alone. I got a thrill out of being intimidated. I spent some nights at trailheads in our camper van so that I could get a predawn start on huge climbs. Just sleeping alone outside—even in a vehicle—felt like newfound freedom. I began to crave being fully immersed in the outdoors. When I’d head out at 4 A.M.Ìęon a massive hike, I’d concentrate on my breathing. I’d sing little songs when I felt there was a large animalÌęnearby. I made videos with my GoPro so that I had someone (myself) to talk to. I took particular satisfaction in watching my fitness improve. By midsummer I was handily passing other hikers gasping from the altitude. There were so many times when I was the first to arrive at the summit for the day. It was exhilarating.

I also got better at being in the wilderness. I learned to pack enough food, enough water, enough layers, a first aid kit, and traction devices, even when snow and ice seemed unlikely. I learned to always turn my Garmin InReach on, test it, and stay in touch with my husband about my progress and plans. I studied the map so much that I could see it in my mind and know exactly where I was when I was out on a trail. I knew where the river was, which peaks I was seeing, which direction I’d have to walk to hit town, and where other trails would intersect.

A year later, I’ve still got a few trails to check off, and life in the map has become less about completing my spreadsheet and more about knowing my backyard. I jotted down notes after each trek in aÌęjournal. I repeated the trails I loved several times. Over the course of the year, I was in the map nearly every day. I covered more than 8,500 miles and climbed nearly a million vertical feet. But the appreciation I gainedÌęfor the landscape by traveling through it is much more important than the numbers.

Recently, I was mountain biking and someone on theÌętrailÌęasked me which peaks weÌęcould see. I pointed out each one with confidence. I also could have told them a story about being on top of each one, but I pedaled on.

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Find the best waterways in the country with the new Wild and Scenic Rivers map. Used atop your favorite base map in , you can view all of the waterways in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system and enjoyÌęsome of the best fishing, boating, hiking, and scenery anywhere in the U.S.

Did you know that dams block about 600,000 miles of American rivers? Use this map to locate free-flowing sections to plan your next kayaking, pack-rafting, or fishing trip.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Layer

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers system, created by Congress in 1968, now protects 208 waterways—and this map shows all of them. Scientists who requested this map. And you, too, can use this layer to:

• See whether your favorite river is protected.
• Scout out some of the most breathtaking places to explore on your next trip, such as the Allagash River in Maine.
• Find free-flowing sections of river to float on or fish.
• Discover the sites of the country’s most prolific salmon runs, including California’s Klamath River.

Once you add this layer, you’ll see each river—or section of river—that’s been officially designated as Wild and Scenic. Tap on the river icon to learn more about that waterway, including its name, classification, and the state in which it is located. The layer also provides information on the river’s water quality for drinking, swimming, and fishing.

What Is a Wild and Scenic River?

Rivers remain critical resources not only for recreation but also for clean drinking water, biodiversity, and even flood protection. Just over 50 years ago, Congress recognized that the vitality of American rivers was at stake and created the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system to preserve those that are free-flowing and lauded for theirÌę.

Wild and Scenic Rivers have one or more special features. These may include:

• pristine water
• beauty and scenery
• river recreation
• flora and fauna fecundity
• importance to the country’s history and culture

Of the 2.9 million miles of rivers in the U.S., only 12,709 of those miles carry the Wild and Scenic designation—just 1 percent of the rivers wending their way throughout the country. Some of these, likeÌęIdaho’s Salmon and Selway Rivers, are remote and ideal for a multiday float trip, while others, like New York’s Upper Delaware, are developed with roads and bridges and close to major population centers, making them easily accessible for a day trip to escape the city and enjoy the soothing tranquility of the rushing water.

Often only sections of a river are designated as Wild and Scenic, as other parts of that river may have dams or other development. Such is the case with the White Salmon River in Washington State. Its Condit Dam was intentionally breached in 2011, allowing the river to flow unimpeded for the first time in nearly a century. Now 27.7 miles of the White Salmon are home to exhilarating Class III–IV rapids.

How to Get the Wild and Scenic Rivers Map

Access the Wild and Scenic Rivers map with a premium membership to Gaia GPS. To add this map, click the Layers icon, select Add Map Layer, tap Nautical/Aviation Overlays, scroll down, and then add the Wild and Scenic Rivers layer.

Layer the Wild and Scenic Rivers map on top of , or use it with your favorite base map. Boaters and fishers may also want to use the Wild and Scenic Rivers map in conjunction with the , which offers information on current streamflow in cubic feet per second and status rankings against historical daily means. For tips on adding the Wild and Scenic Rivers layer, or any other layer on Gaia GPS, visit this .

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This article was first published by Gaia GPS. To get more of its exclusive content and entire map catalog, sign up to become a .

Autumn’s rainbow hues and cooler temps beg to be enjoyed from camp. With ten million new campers in the U.S. last year, the catch is finding where to go. Our suggestion? Ditch the fees and crowds entirely and camp for free, and without a reservation, on public land.

Public lands provide a trove of dispersed camping options. Dispersed camping simply means camping outside of a designated campground. This includes everything from pulling your car up to a fire pit on the side of a forest service road to cowboy camping next to the trail on your backpacking trip. Dispersed campsites don’t include the typical amenities of a campground, such as running water, bathrooms, and a camp host. But they do generally afford more privacy and seclusion. Plus, you can find a dispersed campsite at the last minute, and it won’t cost you a penny.

Once you’re prepared from safety and comfort perspectives, dispersed camping can provide a relaxing getaway for even the biggest procrastinator. There’s just one hitch: you can’t camp anywhere you wish. That’s where a mapping and navigation tool like Gaia GPS comes in, which can help you easily find BLM, USFS, state, and locally-managed lands that allow dispersed camping. Here’s how.

How to See Public Land in Gaia GPS

Dispersed camping is permitted on many public lands outside of designated campgrounds. Discover these places by checking out from your computer, or by using the Gaia GPS app on your phone. From Gaia GPS’s exhaustive catalog of maps, these are our favorites for viewing public land:

Gaia Topo

Gaia GPS’s flagship map, Gaia Topo color codes public lands based on type. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land accounts for 248 million acres of public land. That’s over ten percent of American soil. Recognize BLM land by its yellow shading in Gaia Topo. Be on the lookout for BLM land especially when you’re traveling out west, where most of it is located.

Zoom in on BLM land to see the field office that manages that parcel of land. When you zoom into state and locally managed land, you’ll see if it’s state trust land, state forest, or another publicly accessible state-managed land area.

National Forest Land and other locally managed lands are shaded in hues of green. State parks are shaded in red. While more prevalent out West, these types of public land can be found around the country. Check out the for a full list of color-coded public lands in the map.

Public and Private Land Maps

Few things can spoil a weekend getaway like getting caught trespassing. Double-check you’re in the clear with the and maps. The Public Land map shows public land areas shaded in green. The Private Land map illustrates private land boundaries in yellow. Cross-reference these map layers to be safe.

USFS 2016

If you’re looking for campsites on National Forest land, get an even deeper view into the landscape with the map. USFS 2016 provides full, detailed topographic coverage of all 172 national forests and grasslands in the U.S. It’s the most up-to-date rasterized map available from the U.S. Forest Service, and includes labeled trails, roads, and vegetation shading to make scouting a campsite even easier. Take note of road names so you can tell your friends where to join you.

How to Find Dispersed Camping on Public Land

Dispersed campsites tend to be in undeveloped areas, yet right along county and forest service roads. These sites are usually accessible for car camping yet feel remote.

To find dispersed campsites, look for BLM, National Forest Land, and other federally managed land with access roads in less established areas. Chances are you will find a place to camp. Dispersed campsites are usually marked by a fire ring. Check the , call the field office, or inquire at the ranger’s station to make sure dispersed camping is allowed in the area.

Choose a pre-existing campsite if possible, and camp at least 200 feet away from water sources. If you find a campsite you love, save it on the map by .

Of course, leave no trace rules apply to dispersed camping. Pick up your garbage, and follow all rules and regulations. Only build a fire if it’s permitted in the area during that time. Check the local county or state website to see if a fire ban is in place.

To ensure you can navigate and find a campsite even if you drive out of cell service, download your map for offline use. Gaia Topo’s tiny file size makes this easy to do without taking up too much storage space on your phone. In fact, you can to be safe.

Once you’re ready to hit the road, you can navigate to your next campsite right in Gaia GPS. Just tap on the campsite in the map, and then tap the “route to” button. Turn-by-turn directions will take you there.

How to Get Gaia Topo

Access Gaia Topo and in the Gaia GPS app on both and . With Gaia Topo you can search for hikes in your area, record tracks in the field, and create a custom route on the map for free. Create a to save your routes and tracks so you can revisit them later.

You’ll need a to download maps that you can take offline with you in areas without cell service. A Premium Membership also gives you access to including the Public and Private Lands maps and USFS 2016.

Gaia GPS is a part of șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Inc., the same company that owns șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű.Ìę

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You’re on an adventure having the time of your life, until all of a sudden you’re lost. You can’t find the trail, and you don’t have cell service. Whether you’re skiing in a whiteout, hiking at night, or biking on new trails, we’ve all experienced that moment of panic. That’s a large reason why Gaia GPS was born.

The backcountry navigation app has a feature to save you from hours of frantically trying to retrace your steps in vein. In fact, you can find out where you are in seconds, even when you can’t get a cell signal. All you have to do is pull out your phone, open Gaia GPS, and locate yourself on the map. Here’s how to do it.

Plan Ahead—Download Maps for Offline Use

In order to locate yourself on the map, there is one catch. You must have your maps downloaded for offline use. Thankfully, is easy to do. You just need aÌę. Then you can download maps for the entire region that you’re traveling to, or even an .

Pro tip: Before you leave the trailhead, start so you leave a bread-crumb trail of your steps right on the map. That way you can always retrace your steps and find your way back.

Locate Yourself on the Map

Lost and have no clue where you are? You can find yourself on the map in seconds thanks to the . Simply open the Gaia GPS app, and tap the circular icon with the four compass points in the very center of the top toolbar in the app. The arrow icon (called the “Map Arrow”) now shows your exact position on the map. Zoom in or out and pan around the map to get a better sense of your bearings.

Pro tip: You can quickly see how far away you are from the trail or the trailhead. Simply tap your desired destination on the map, and a drawer will pop up on the bottom of the screen showing the distance to it.

Navigate Your Way Back

Once you’ve located where you are on the map, you can use Gaia GPS to find your way back to familiar ground. If you are recording your tracks, hold your phone out in front of you and turn your body until the map arrow points in the direction of your breadcrumb trail. Start walking along your recorded track and your arrow should move right along with you.

If you’re not recording your tracks, don’t despair. Examine the map to find the trail, trailhead, or a particular feature on the map you’d like to reach. Once you’ve pinpointed your destination, you can even onto the map for easy reference. Using the map arrow as a guide, work your way back.

Even when your phone is completely offline and in airplane mode, you can locate yourself on the map, create routes, create and edit waypoints to mark important spots like campsites and water sources, and record tracks and follow them back. You’ll never be lost again.

Gaia GPS is a part of șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Inc., the same company that owns șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű. to stay found on the trail, even without cell service.Ìę

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On a cloudless spring day in mid-May, I pulled into an overlook of no particular significance off the loop road that runs through Maine’s Acadia National Park. An informational placard provided tourists with a boilerplate account of a 1947 wildfire , but the site’s chief distinction was the pleasant, if unexceptional, view of Dorr and Cadillac, two of Acadia’s tallest mountains. As I maneuvered into a parking space, another motorist had his camera aimed at the peaks and was furiously snapping pictures. Beside me in the passenger seat was Matt Marchon, the 37-year-old author of a self-published two-volume work called . And fittingly, we had come to the overlook that day not to marvel at the view or learn about midcentury wildfires, but to hike an abandoned trail to a forgotten place.

We waited for a park ranger to vacate the turnout, then crossed the road and scrambled over a granite ledge, where we found an unmarked but well-trodden footpath that wound up the hillside. As we began to stroll out of sight, the tourist in the turnout gazed up at us, looking confused, a hint of suspicion in his eye, as though we knew something he didn’t—which, in truth, we did.

The trail, Marchon told me, led to a modest 640-foot prominence called Great Hill. When he was a kid, his parents used to pull over here frequently, and he always had a hunch that something interesting lay above that shelf of granite. “It turns out I was right,” he said proudly. As an adult, Marchon read a blog post about an old unmaintained trail leading to Great Hill and realized that it began above that very same rock shelf. But while the site is clearly labeled on most contemporary hiking maps of the region, no trails are shown leading to its summit. Look at , however, and Great Hill appears to be a major attraction, with no fewer than three separate trails leading up its slopes.

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Maps don’t always tell the truth. Maybe you already knew this. Maybe, like me, you’ve ended up in the sort of road-to-nowhere predicament that only a willfully oblivious reliance on Google Maps can achieve. The left turn onto a dirt road that is supposedly a shortcut in reality leads the wrong way into the middle of nowhere on a quarter tank of gas.

We place so much blind faith in maps—we assume that the size of a town, shape of a continent, or length of a trail is true and fixed. But maps are created from data, and data is collected by humans. If we get the data wrong—say, the or the precise bend of a river—then our map will be inaccurate.

Maps lie in many other ways, too: with symbols, through generalizations, because of scale, by omission. Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli mused in his 2019 book, , about how a map’s point of view inherently warps reality. Consider, he writes, “those maps in mountain villages showing routes that can be walked with a red dot next to which is written: You are Here. A strange phrase: how can a map know where we are? We might be looking at it from afar, through binoculars. Instead, it should say ‘I, a map, am here’ with an arrow next to the red dot.”

Maps lie from the get-go when they transfer three-dimensional space onto a flat plane. This process, called projection, inevitably warps that space by pressing it into two dimensions—like an orange peel spread onto a table. We owe some of our enduringly skewed perspective of Earth to a man named , who in the 16th century created one of the more familiar renderings of a flattened globe. Mercator’s map shows a giant Greenland and the Western world at its center. To Mercator’s credit, his map was created for the purposes of navigation, and it does this well—but it sucks for visual accuracy.

It’s not just about clarity—maps can also be manipulated to reinforce power dynamics. For instance, , which have never been consistent or accurate, don’t come close to representing the convoluted history and politics of the region. By reducing the complexity of a given place, these maps control—and censor—the political narrative. A map of California real estate listings will advertise schools and walk scores but omit the proximity to in an effort to conceal the health risks of buying in that area. The practice of manipulates electoral districts to favor one party over another, which is how you wind up with such strange contortions and thin, snaking appendages on legislative maps.

But more often than not, maps lie to make things easier to understand. Cartography is both an art and a science. It’s an attempt to make things both clearer and more beautiful. , a retired geography and environment professor at Syracuse University and the preeminent scholar of cartographic deception, , “There’s no escape from the cartographic paradox: to present a useful and truthful picture, an accurate map must tell white lies.”

Every map is drawn based on a hierarchy of information: it includes the most relevant details and subtracts the rest based on what the map is ultimately intended for. You could call this lying by omission. Take, for instance, the New York MTA subway map. The is the result of a showdown in the late 1970s between an Italian modernist designer named Massimo Vignelli and a cartographer named John Tauranac. centered on conflicting priorities. was geometric and beautiful: it pared the whole system down to a series of lines on a grid and omitted street names and other spatial features. Tauranac, who was serving as head of the MTA’s map committee, wanted landmarks and fewer conceptual right angles. The debate, which was described in the recent documentary , as “the most controversial of the New York design scene, ever,” on a small stage at the Cooper Union in April 1978. Tauranac won: accuracy over elegant simplicity. It’s the map that is still in use today: a simplified version of the system but with parks, rivers, and other spatial reference points.

A map presents only one of many possible stories. Even Tauranac’s subway map doesn’t show us, for instance, the population density of Rattus norvegicus seen scurrying across the tracks with leftover slices of pizza or the crowdedness of each car. Neither of these information layers are necessary for navigation, even if they are part of the human experience of taking the subway. On the other hand, something like crime statistics or train delays might influence your decision-making in the same way that real-time weather information on a trail-mapping app could affect your route.

Static maps don’t update in real time like this and must sacrifice a holistic representation of place for the sake of clarity. But digital mapping apps now can include multiple layers of information. They allow users to add, eliminate, and organize the relationship between layers of information. A hunting app like OnX can help you better understand the movement of an animal through a given landscape. Others let you in a location or on the way to the crag. Even the MTA recently launched a of a live subway map (based on Vignelli’s original design) that allows you to add a layer for COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

Used effectively, digital maps can illuminate things like how roads might affect elk migration patterns or which cultural, spiritual, and historic sites could be destroyed by uranium mining. Still, these layers can’t show us everything at once, and too much information on a dynamic map will be confusing. A map of Bears Ears National Monument, digital or otherwise, can’t precisely show all of the area’s Indigenous place names, boundary changes over time, species distribution, Native American spiritual grounds, and roads and campsites at once without some comprehension being lost. Not to mention the fact that you’re limited to the frame of whatever device you’re using. It’s hard to look at even a small part of the world on an iPhone screen. In his paragraph-long short story “On Exactitude in Science,” Argentine writer writes of an empire that finally achieves a perfectly accurate map; to do so, they draw one that is the size of the place itself.

We are mostly passive map readers, and many of the stories they tell us go unchallenged. As we navigate the world, we should ask ourselves: who made this map and how, with what sources and what authority? What’s been modified? What’s been left out? To a landlocked elementary schooler, the color of the ocean is the innocuous powder blue of a laminated classroom wall map. The ocean, of course, is not always blue and almost never that specific blue—a light color chosen according to design principles of hierarchy to better make the continents stand out. But we base so much of our geographic imagination, our understanding of Earth, on these visual cues. I still half-expect the ground to change color when I cross state lines.

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In 1785, President Thomas Jefferson embarked on a mind-boggling endeavor: to map the entire western U.S. With no advanced technology available, teams of surveyors fanned out across the country with —80 chains made a mile—to create square-mile sections. The surveyors marked the corners of each section with whatever was geographically convenient, such as cedar posts in the Northwest and piles of rocks in Arizona. They made notes and took sketches of the surroundings, checked the stars to ascertain their latitude, and sent the coordinates back to the land-survey office in Saint Louis.

Over 200 hundred years later, we are still using these measurements to delineate federal, state, and private land boundaries. If you’ve ever traced the checkerboard squares of public land or needed to find the edges of your own property, you’ve seen those survey lines, which stretch perfectly straight across paper maps.Ìę

When I first learned this from David Icenhower, the digital guru of physical space in Washington State, I was shocked and equally surprised to discover that it’s someone’s job to maintain and update such a massive trove of data. As the record keeper for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Icenhower’s job includes finding and recording the corners of those original square-mile sections, ensuring that modern maps are accurate, and keeping track of places that haven’t been surveyed yet. He’s responsible for a catalog of more than half a million maps from the past 150 years, and he’s also responsible for making that archive—which is still used every day by everyone from government agencies to private homeowners—up to date. Bob Knuth, who manages Washington State’s Public Land Survey Office, tells me it would take a person 18 years to upload and understand all of the historic records and catalog the notes on sections divided into subsections and split into smaller plats. “It’s continuous work to quantify it,” he says. “But it’s important.”

This task is even more challenging because those original surveys were far from flawless. Imagine some dude on a donkey, 60 sections from somewhere, trying to keep his numbers straight. In Washington—what was then the Oregon Territory—they took measurements off the Willamette Meridian, one of 37 principle longitude lines in the U.S. They headed east and west from there, and worked south toward the guy coming north from the Humboldt Meridian, in what is now California. It amazes me that they even got close to lining up the squares with shaky hands and basic math, trying to account for the curvature of the earth.Ìę

All the same, Icenhower has to align the hand-measured structure of the past with the digital present to make sure landowners, hikers, Forest Service workers, and more are all referencing the same points when they look at current maps and boundaries. “The markers are the markers,” he says. “They can’t be shifting sands.”Ìę

But of course, things do shift. Rivers erode, trees fall down. We move mountains to build highways. Those posts the surveyors pounded in may rot or fall over. And then there were places that the initial surveys skipped entirely. In other words, Icenhower is working off inconsistent and occasionally inaccurate foundational data. He has to hold the dysmorphia of markers not quite lining up with reality or geography to overlay the present onto history and make them both as true as possible. Even if modern GPS says the corners aren’t exactly a mile away from each other, the initial markers are the legally binding points of property ownership, from federal land boundaries to neighborhood fences.Ìę

I found it fascinating that we continue to use such inaccurate maps to divide up our country today, and I became particularly obsessed with the idea of lost corners: places that had been erased or eroded by time or never made the map. I thought that learning about them, and maybe trying to track one down, would be a kind of geographic treasure hunt, a fun way to try to understand how maps shape our understanding of space.

I ask Icenhower whether I could go look for a lost corner. “Yes, please,” he says, laughing. He shows me a picture of one a hiker recently found: a washed-out piece of rebar with a brass cap that they’d noticed on a rarely traveled piece of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife land. “We wouldn’t have known it had gone missing if they didn’t tell us,” he says.Ìę

Over Zoom he pulls up an image of the un-surveyed Oregon Territory township 37, and helps meÌęfind the area on my Google map, to show me some of the gaps and the places that aren’t accurately surveyed. “It’s Mount Baker,” he says. “We still haven’t surveyed that yet.”

There’s something neat about that, he says—that there are still places we don’t fully know. And that someone like me might find something, some lost corner, and correct the map.

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