I did a search in the message boards but didn’t see anything really. Hopefully I’m not asking the same question as many others. I’m wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to some waterway maps apps. I’m using an app called MyTrails but it seems to kill my battery(Note 9) and I can’t get it to stop running in the background(I think). I really want something that works like google maps but so far I have not found anything. Or the ones I have found I don’t know how to properly use. I’m a hiking trail guy so I’m use to finding maps pretty easy and following blazes, lol! Anyway thank in advance!
It is so much nicer to have a paper map with grid lines drawn to magnetic north, to have a compass, and to memorize bearings to destination often if you are paddling over long distances, or if the shore is far away and details are not evident.
This is not going to correct for tide or wind, but if your navigation device fails and you don’t have a map, things can become very unpleasant very quickly.
The chances of losing a navigation device to water or moisture are much much greater in kayaking than hiking–there is nothing wrong with using a GPS imho, but there is a problem if you have no means to deal with a dead or lost or soaked GPS.
If you have a dead or lost or soaked GPS while hiking (which is less likely) , you cant really build a shelter, have a fire, search for trail markers, or hope someone comes along on the trail. There is no downhill or streams… Finding drinking water and boiling it (on the ocean) is not possible…its easier to fix being lost while hiking–kayaking not so much.
Excellent PA/NY waterway map books. Waterproof, Tearproof, spiral bound. Mile by Mile Format. Detailed and accurate. www.kayakmapspa.com
@ExploreNE said:
It is so much nicer to have a paper map with grid lines drawn to magnetic north, to have a compass, and to memorize bearings to destination often if you are paddling over long distances, or if the shore is far away and details are not evident.This is not going to correct for tide or wind, but if your navigation device fails and you don’t have a map, things can become very unpleasant very quickly.
The chances of losing a navigation device to water or moisture are much much greater in kayaking than hiking–there is nothing wrong with using a GPS imho, but there is a problem if you have no means to deal with a dead or lost or soaked GPS.
If you have a dead or lost or soaked GPS while hiking (which is less likely) , you cant really build a shelter, have a fire, search for trail markers, or hope someone comes along on the trail. There is no downhill or streams… Finding drinking water and boiling it (on the ocean) is not possible…its easier to fix being lost while hiking–kayaking not so much.
When handheld GPS units started coming out I was certain we were going to see a huge jump in city folk getting lost in the woods because of over reliance on the GPS which as you said, is prone to failure.
Reliability of the electronics, luck, people being smarter than I gave them credit for or something, that never really happened.
These apps have their place, especially inland where you don’t have navigational charts showing channels, depths and even current flows. The trick is to pay attention and know that the app may be handy to get you places but remember what you need to know to get back out. For non coastal work it’s hard to beat a quad map and a compass but I want to find a good app that will track things like distance and time and extra bonus if I can mark spots using it. Mostly to track and evaluate my progress paddling. Give me some real world data to plan future trips.