My neighbor's dog taught me a lesson about reading trail maps

I was hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park two weeks ago and got totally lost for 3 hours because I trusted a trail map app on my phone. The app said a loop trail was 4 miles but it was actually 7 miles of rough terrain with no cell service. I forgot to download the offline version and ended up following a dried-up creek bed trying to find my way back. A guy with a map on paper passed me and asked if I needed help, and he showed me how to read the contour lines to avoid steep spots. Has anyone else had a phone map fail them on a hike and switch back to paper maps?

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calebrivera1d ago

Loved a trail marker once and ended up hiking an extra 2 miles in the dark.