HELP! Nav tools when you’re old, solo, and in the backcountry

I’ll give this more thought and watch Ryan’s video, but I am older than you and also hike mostly solo in remote places including cross country.  I’d love to have partners but folks near my age don’t want to, or can’t or can’t keep up. Folks younger are working and don’t have the time.  About 15-20 years ago despite lots of prior moderate to high elevation experience, I came down with HAPE and self evacuated and ended up in a hospital overnight.  On that trip I was elk hunting in Colorado and was with partners when I self diangosed. They wished me good luck as I hiked back to the trailhead and eventually found my way to a hospital in Gunnison.   (I had to tell them I had HAPE when I showed up).  That experience reinforced in my mind the importance of caution and proper preparation. I also have some upgraded replacement parts and downgraded fixes that increase my risks for stumbles (Achilles rupture and repair results in diminished balance….).  So, I am very sensitive to these concerns.

I’ll watch Ryan’s video, and I acknowledge that based on the age of your smart phone, reluctance to buy a Garmin inReach, etc. that you shun the electronics and shun spending the money. I get it.

I’m still going to say – get a Garmin inReach Mini3.  It’s antenna and reception are, IMO VASTLY better than the inReach Mini2.  I have the 3+ which provides opportunities to run down your battery sending photos to friends and family and generally amuse yourself (me anyway).

You would probably benefit from an upgraded phone.

If I can find my old inReach Mini2 I would give you a good deal on that just to help out someone who hikes like me, but is a bit (almost quite a bit) younger. haha.  I’d have to find it though. It works fine, its just a lot slower than the inReach Mini3 and by “slow” I mean it can take a long time to get a connection.  I also think the Garmin inReach Mini3’s have been on sale (which tends to mean a newer version is coming out).

I will warn you, despite the fact that IMO Garmin has absolutely the best customer service and the best hardware they border on incompetent when it comes to user interface. So, if you are not willing to figure out the upside down sideways reverse english of their menus you could be frustrated.  I have a gazillion Garmin devices and for 20 years I’ve very professionally and directly been trying to tell them how they can fix some of their UI issues – and after 5-10 years they fixed a couple of them but probably not do to my “expert advice”.

I’m serious about the inReach mini2 if you want it, I just don’t know if I can find it.  And you probably shouldn’t wait for me to find it because it might take until next summer, if ever.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply and the InReach offer. I’ll never love all the gadgets but I know I should have them. I started with a PLB and decided a two way SatCom was the wiser move but I opted for the far cheaper, heavier, and bulkier  Zoleo over the inReach of whatever model. Zoleo=no keyboard so my phone comes with me. It’s the navigation piece I ‘m missing. The two ways to go are a handheld GPS or a watch. The analogue stuff (map & compass) always comes though I need to up my skills to match my ambitions. Glad your still able to do what you do.

you are a youngster : )

I use garmin inreach mini to communicate when I’m out of cell phone range, which is usually

New phones will send and receive satellite messages

I like to leave my wife a message each day when I get somewhere.  Stick to my itinerary.

What is the issue with Gaia on your iPhone? Maybe that is worth pursuing/resolving rather than adding another piece of equipment?

I’m with Mathew.  I’m curious what’s up with your Gaia.

I’m 62 years old and also hike alone.  I have Gaia on my Samsung and love it.

It’s never failed me here in the PNW.  I just used it last month on the Artic Circle Trail iñ Greenland.

To be honest I don’t know if I van figure out any of those watches.  I’m not a tech person.

70 here and I hike solo and with folks, most of my desert work is off trail.  Zoleo (it’s never failed), android phone with Caltopo, paper maps and compass.  I find navigation with Caltopo almost like cheating compared to only relying on paper maps, just the fact of knowing exactly where you are makes it so easy.

Gaia & CalTopo sometimes simply stop tracking. I assume they lose signal. Perhaps my phone is too old which has been my backup, so losing signal is an issue.  A paper map, analogue altimeter, compass is what I use. But having a more robust, dependable, backup seems prudent: To backtrack if necessary, to check if I’m on route if I lose it, to guide me in fog, white out, etc. to get me back to a trailhead in an emergency all of which has occurred to me. Finally, after I put myself in considerable danger on a recent backpacking trip, ending up being hospitalized, I want more rugged and dependable redundancy. I’m no Skurka or Jordan, my backcountry skills pale in comparison-and I certainly have more aches, sprains, and strains than the two of them combined: there is a direct correlation between age and risk for emergencies in the backcountry, reliable navigation tools are part of mitigating the risk. For those of you in your 70’s and out there solo, I hope to be there in six years. You inspire me. Sorry I do go on a bit.

I’m 74 and use a Zoleo with a cheap (free?) T Mobile phone with Cal Topo on it. This set up has worked perfectly for the last three years. If I need longer battery life, I take along a solar power bank/charger.  The Zoleo is good for at least six days for me without charging,  The phone is good for at least three days if i set it on airplane mode and only use it to take photos. The power bank gives me another two charges, for a total of at least seven days on both devices.

CalTopo gives me location and trails–I also use it to pinpoint issues on the trails for my volunteer work: take a photo and a screen shot of CalTopo centered on the same location.

I am no longer interested in carrying food for seven days on my own anyway. Did I mention I’m old?

When you say that your phone stops tracking, what do you mean? I assume you’re downloading maps and not assuming that you’ll have a data connection. The phone should not lose GPS signal, even when in airplane mode. If you’re relying on a data connection for the map, that’s not the way.

I never have trouble with my iPhone, and I never had trouble with my iPhone 10, tbh. I use Gaia and download maps to my phone. For navigation, that really should be sufficient.

I have an inreach mini communicator that I never use for navigation, although I could in a pinch. It’s just there to send my wife a message each night, and for a potential SOS.

I like CalTopo too. I sometimes find the CalTopo map database to be better and more effective than what I can get through Garmin Explore.  More than once when in a remote place with zero or minimal trails, I’ve transitioned from my Garmin database of maps to Caltopo.  Caltopo has it’s challenges too, with its surprise revision of their online tools last summer…but they are a tiny company and I can forgive them.

Like I said, Garmin is “user – interface challenged” so almost anything that directly touches the consumer (other than the hardware and Garmin’s awesome customer service) tends to be a bit “off”.    I would say “incompetent” but that would be an exaggeration.

The app I use is US Topo Pro. It has never glitched, maybe because it is simple. It does not have as many features. Other apps give you things like 3D images, land ownership lines, etc. I assume that all adds up to more updates and more opportunities to break. I’d try another app and if that does work get another phone. In my opinion a phone with downloaded maps is the simplest navigation system

Thanks for all the input. I spent a few hours getting schooled in CalTopo which was loads of fun. I think $20 for a year subscription is worth the price to see if it works for me. I am still not convinced that relying on a phone versus a more rugged Garmin unit is the way to go. I’d certainly be more comfortable with an inReach mini 2 or 3 ability to do basic navigation as backup, something my Zoleo cannot do. Still, for now it’s gonna be Zoleo, the usual paper map/compass, CalTopo on iPhone 13 mini in a rugged case, and probably an analogue weather station with altimeter because it’s fun. If anyone still uses a handheld GPS unit do speak up :-). Tell me what use scenarios you find it valuable over a phone. Oh and all you watch types too!

I find a GPS better than a phone… basically never. One exception was packrafting. Back then I used a GPS with a toggle because it was waterproof and the touch screen on a phone didn’t work with wet fingers. I think with a phone and paper maps you are fine. Worst case scenario the phone breaks and you go back to the paper maps picking up from your last known location. Caltopo is great. I use it on my computer a lot (I have undiagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Map Reading Disorder), I just haven’t bothered with the app yet since I already have one working.

Getting lost or suffering an injury may involve the potential of having to stay the night in the woods with the risk of hypothermia. Are you prepared for that and have you taken wilderness survival training? If not, you should consider it along with carrying things in your backpack whose sole purpose is survival (starting a fire, making a shelter, stopping the bleeding). If you can’t do these three things, you are not adequately prepared to go in the woods, in my opinion.

Before I would consider a satellite phone or messenger (Garmin Inreach), I would get a PLB such as ResQLink by ACR. If a calamity occurs you may not be in a position to dial a number or press several buttons on your Inreach. You may be near the point of passing out and need a device where you can press a single button and the cavalry will come. All other navigation tools come after that.

Moreover, I would spend time learning wilderness navigation and terrain association, along with  observational skills, that will help you to extract yourself the old-fashioned way. This is the best article describing those techniques I have found on the internet.

https://www.adkhighpeaksfoundation.org/adkhpf/navagation.php

In the end, all devices can fail so one is none and two is one. I always have both a PLB and satellite messenger when in the woods along with survival gear and can begin to hunker down and stay the night if it comes to that. A PLB, survival training, and navigation skills will help you to see another day.