What we look for in a map! It’s not just phone vs. paper.

These are the features we look for when choosing which maps we’ll use on an adventure: 1. It shows all of the trails in the area (not just the big ones). If only some trails are shown, intersections can be confusing! 2. It is topographic so we can read the elevation changes ahead. 3. It includes details like points of interest and water, and indicates trail mileage between points. 4. It covers an area larger than our plan so we can find exits or change the route. 5. It works offline! It’s a lot easier to find a bad map than a good map, but these features can be found in both phone and paper maps. Phone maps downloaded for offline use are usually our choice, but sometimes we go with paper. Either way, we bring multiple tiers of backups. Our watches with downloaded topo maps are the final fail-safe. https://thruhikers.co