Question for those who use Earthmate. I would like GPS.

[Rusty Beaver]

I use the least expensive plan from Garmin on my Mini. I pair the Mini to Earthmate on an older iPhone that is for this only. In other words, I do not use a cell phone in my everyday life…and I can not use this phone to talk on. I have no plan for it. Yeah…I’m more Luddite than a techno guy…and haven’t played around much with either of these things.

I use this combination to communicate with my wife while in the backcountry. However, a few times, I have sent her “I’m ok” messages just so I could see where the message was sent from….to check my whereabouts when in a huge desert littered w/ roads. It was somewhat useful but cumbersome.

My question is: Can I some how use GPS as a navigation tool with what I have…without getting hooked up to a phone plan or more expensive Garmin plan?

 

 

[BC Bob]

I use the Inreach Mini with Earthmate as well.  Can you not use a trail app for navigation?  I still have Gaia GPS on my old phone.

[Matthew / BPL]

Same. I would recommend you use either Gaia GPS or Caltopo on the phone for navigation rather than Earthmate. I have used Gaia for since 2014(?) and then switched to Caltopo this year. Both provide much better functionality as a GPS than Earthmate.

To answer your question, you don’t need to upgrade your plan, phone or InReach in order to use use Earthmate as a GPS. You can download maps onto your phone when you are at home on WiFi and see your location on the Map tab in Earthmate.

[Bob Fink]

If your old iphone could connect to wifi, which sounds like it can based on the fact you have Earthmate on the phone.  You would need to download the maps for Earthmate.  The iphone GPS would be functional without a plan or cell coverage.  Ryan’s in-reach  masterclass has great detail and is quite beneficial.  I had been using the in-reach mini for a couple years and still learned a couple key details, especially firmware updates and test messages for example.

I use the safety plan (lowest price plant)  for my in-reach mini and occasionally use earthmate for navigation but mostly use Gaia.

TrailGroove, on line backpacking magazine, gives a year of Gaia Premium access with a subscription.

[Rusty Beaver]

Thank you all very much for the helpful info!

I should have mentioned before but, I will likely only want to use GPS on one trip therefore, I would prefer something that was free. Looks like Caltopo has something but, is its free stuff any better than Earthmates?

Perhaps I should stick with Earthmate…given my familiarity with it. I haven’t the time or patience to learn much when it comes to new techy stuff.

If I do download maps for Earthmate….do I have the option to do a couple of states for instance….or do you have to download the entire US?

 

[Matthew / BPL]

You can download specific states/regions in Earthmate. I just did it a couple days ago however I found the process confusing compared to Caltopo/Gaia.

Earthmate will even allow you to download specific USGS quads but I couldn’t find a way to choose them visually – you have to know their names.

[Rusty Beaver]

Thanks, Matthew! I didn’t have the patience to figure out how to download specific quads so just downloaded entire states (OR, NV, ID). While confident it’ll come in handy, I’m sure I’ll still rely mostly on good old fashioned paper maps.👍

[Chris FormyDuval]

Also see if there is an Avenza map for the area you’re interested in. Many times the maps are free and may show more detail than other sources. I assume your phone does have GPS capability In some areas I rely on Avenza over Gaia.  Not much to it, once map is downloaded open map and the dot shows where you are.  https://www.avenzamaps.com/

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