Hiking advice cliché nr 2 - Take a map and compass

A number of the same 'rules' appear in every hiking advice and guideline. They certainly make sense and are a great starting point for beginning hikers, but by virtue of being short and simple they tend to cut out a lot of nuance. In this series of blogs, I'd like to provide a more nuanced view - because from the experience and knowledge I gained over the years, I learnt that the issue of outdoor safety is just not that simple. Today, hiking advice chliché nr 2: always take a map and compass (and know how to use them).

My main issue with this advice is that it narrows all the options we nowadays have down too much in favor of one, quite complex, 'traditional' method that has 1) its own limitations, and 2) that few people have been properly taught how to do. And I don't want people to stop themselves from going out on the trails just because they feel intimidated by that lack of knowledge.

If you think about it, we have so many different methods of navigation. In your own local area just can just rely on memory. In other places, there is knowledge of the lay of the land from people who live there - in Nepal, I mostly just asked locals for directions. Visible hiking trails and trail signs and marking can guide you. Written down directions in a guidebook or leaflet can be all you need to find your way. The capabilities of GPS just keeps on blowing my mind, especially in low visibility and in areas where you lack an wide view over the landscape. Even hand drawn maps or printed Google Earth satalite images can work. Tristan Gooley's book The natural navigator lists many more methods of navigation.

My advice would be to use your prefered method, but not rely on one method only. Instead, have a back-up plan in case something goes awry with the first. You're joining a tour group with a local hiking guide? Also take a GPS or map&compass in case you lose the group. Explore the pathless hills by GPS? Also download some digital maps to your smartphone in case your GPS crashes. And so on. 

I tend to use maps for the overview and for planning trips, GPS for in-the-field navigation, and sometimes also buy a hiking guidebook for the fun of extra information about local weather, history, geology, flora and fauna.

Since almost anyone carries a smartphone with them anyway, using a smartphone as a GPS is an excellent back-up navigation option. If you never tried it, give it a go. This is how you do it:
- Download a specific app for the purpose - Google maps just isn't good enough for hiking. Instead, try one of the many GPS hiking apps like Offline maps, Maps.me, Locus map, MyTrails, Gaia GPS, Viewranger, Backcountry Navigator or Sverge Topo Kartan. Some are complex, some are simple, some are free, some are a few euros, some are more expensive. Just practise with several to see which app you like.
- Don't rely on there being an internet connection while hiking. Instead, look for a good walking map of the area you're going to and download it to your phone. 
- While using your phone as a GPS, put it on flight mode to save battery power. That way, it will last you throughout the day. Then just charge your phone at night by using a powerbank.
- Bring a waterproof case if your phone isn't waterproof (this is a good idea anyhow).