That 12-mile day on the Ozark Trail where my GPS lied to me twice

Last spring I hiked the Ozark Trail near Taum Sauk and my phone said the trailhead was 2 miles away when it was actually 6. I learned the hard way that the route markers there get confusing after a creek crossing because some signs point to old flood paths. People keep trusting their apps over the physical white blazes, and that's a mistake when you're out past dusk. I've done this loop 4 times now and the GPS dropout happens in the same rocky valley every single time. Does anyone else rely on paper maps as a backup, or is that just me being paranoid about my battery dying at 15%?

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riverf347d ago

Paper maps are the only reason I made it back from that same area last fall. My buddy's phone died at 18% right after it showed us heading the wrong way up an old logging road. Now I keep a folded map in my chest pocket and check it at every creek crossing, just like I check the blazes.