>drive 4 hours to the nearest trail
>ready with all my gear
>decide to start at night so I can be at the peak during sunrise
>get lost 5 minutes in
>freak out
>desperately find my way out 2 hours later
>drive home crying
>always crash on the way home from how exhaust I was
Thousands of dollars in gear wasted. I'm too autistic to be out.
No. You learned a lesson and I bet you don’t make the same mistake again. Just try again during the day. Once you get to know the area well enough, then try to be at the peak for sunrise. Alternatively, if you can camp out there, you can get close during the day then camp overnight then hike out after sunrise. You also get a bonus sunset.
We all have trips we fricked up. You learn from them and do better next time.
If someone says this hasn't happened to them they're either lying or were fortunate enough to learn with someone more experienced.
You gave it a shot and failed, next time start in the early morning (daylight). Don't quit.
Now you have time to clean the piano room
Wrong person, I'm the piano room guy.
It's ok, all you have to do is learn from your mistakes. I just got back from camping for the first time and made a bunch of mistakes. Before I went to bed in my tent, I took a mental note of everything I could of done better or improve and now I can't wait to go back out again....gotta use that Carinthia bivy I purchased!
You’ve inspired my next out trip. Which is also a 4 hour drive. Did you bring a gps with loaded maps with you? That would give you a little bit more security in the future.
>bring a gps
you mean your phone?
Sure, as long as you have a way to charge your battery when you’re out. Otherwise, it’s a good redundancy having a weather/water robust second gps device.
Why do people act like battery backup packs are some secret thing? There's charging cases with extra batteries as well as a variety of different chargers you can plug in with a cord.
Nothing wrong with that, I have one that has a solar panel built into it, really reassuring. It’s also just having a backup device in case something happens to the phone.
I don't think solar panels are going to gain much charge here. Too overcast and wooded. Solar panels are a bit of a meme at that size. I would just recommend a good big battery (20,000mA+) just in case and a no-subscription personal locator beacon like RescueMe (brand is irrelevant) if you wish.
Just gotta remember to check your battery pack before you go to make sure it's charged. I bring two just in case.
>It’s also just having a backup device in case something happens to the phone.
that's what dead reckoning is for
my dad often asks me "point where the car is" so I try to learn which direction in general we've headed and have yet to go/return
that said, modern phones can handle getting wet, and I always keep it zipped up securely for stream crossings, steps, cliff edges, anything like that.
If anything this board has taught me to GRIP my phone tightly with all the doomtalk about failed smartphones.
Yeah, it would take a couple days to solar charge enough to be practical. More of an emergency use or makes the battery charge last longer if you hang it on your pack. I mean yeah, plan c is having a topographic map of the area, and knowing how to use a compass. All of these things go hand in hand.
My preferred pack is Phone with redundant batteries, secondary gps device, topo maps and compass (no electronics/batteries needed.
10w folding panel is lot lighter and takes up less room than 2nd device ect
PLB means you can skip the secondary GPS (and its costly subscription plan) - you can have a 40,000mA battery backup and that will last a full week with light use. You genuinely do not know. how to read a topo map or compass with alltrails and that's what's so great. "Dude just have 3 points you can triangulate" - that does not work in a lot of situations and it's just a lot more work and you have to have paper maps of the specific area you are in printed beforehand - sometimes I decide to go somewhere different than planned.
Paper maps get wet and ruined and they are annoying.
I would never get a gps device that required a subscription to use uploaded maps and gps, anything else is really just extra, like a satellite text/call features.
The paper maps can be a pain in the ass, it’s preferable to laminate them ahead of time. There’s also a bit of pride that comes in having them and knowing how to use them. It’s a great security having it too, like who knows, an emp could happen and then you’re really in deep water if you’re way off trail or exploring some area off the grid.
>you just have to laminate maps for every single different place you hike
this is CRAZY - your phone works FINE the odds of it breaking are TINY
>There’s also a bit of pride that comes in having them and knowing how to use them
that's 100% of it
>like who knows, an emp could happen and then you’re really in deep water if you’re way off trail or exploring some area off the grid.
and jesus is real...
is it like a meme that people cant put their pictures right side up on this board?
I have no idea how it works. I upload it, preview looks good. Click upload, and it flips the image.
Yeah just stay home. /in/ is the new PrepHole
>thousands of dollars in gear
>to hike a trail
Lmao lol just use your legs and walk hahaha. Bring some water and snacks if you’ll be out for a while. You don’t need fricking gear to hike lmao
People use their phones for GPS? Do you even get signal deep in the forest?
If you get a premium subscription to gps apps, like gaia gps, they let you dl the maps for offline use. You don't need cell service for gps anon
Can dl Google maps for offline use
Signal
GPS
Anon really?
There is a persistent myth that modern smartphones cannot somehow access gps receiver signals without data reception (they can, turn on airplane mode)
Google Maps offline maps is great for driving innawoods - but less helpful when hiking because it doesn't have topo map layer and Alltrails has its own map layer that's sometimes helpful (depends where you are
you can download .gpx/track files into google maps but it's just a lot easier to have it already in a searchable system like Alltrails does.
I use Australia topomaps app which is free but mentioned Google as it's universal and yeah GPS definitely works offline most of my out is beyond cell service
>when ur awake at real aussie hours
>and yeah GPS definitely works offline most of my out is beyond cell service
sometimes the signal doesn't lock well if you aren't on airplane mode and the google maps offline maps literally does not load unless you have airplane mode on and nowhere in the app does it say to enable airplane mode to make it work
its just understanding the mechanics that a cell phone has multiple antennas and if you turn off the data signal one the gps one still works (and works better)
Also google maps has a "terrain" mode which can be helpful for visualizing elevation but Alltrails pro has a 3d mode which is actually pretty useful for getting a sense of how steep where you will be hiking is.
I always switch to airplane mode to conserve battery as ph will keep searching for a signal otherwise
I guess my point is that these apps (alltrails,google maps etc) don't make it clear in the app that you kinda HAVE to be on airplane mode for them to work without a signal - and especially if you have like a low intermittent data signal that will really eat your battery and frick up your location signal if you don't engage airplane mode.
Smartphones have their limits. But there´s devices like the "Garmin GLO 2 GLONASS", that can enhance your phones GPS capabilities.
What battery packs do you bros use? What brand should I invest in? Looking for something to charge my phone in case I get lost like OP.
Literally any chinesium is fine - with some considerations - larger battery size is going to be heavier - don't pay for a brand name that's stupid - I like ones that come with a light that shows the PERCENT battery charge - I find that much more useful than the ones that just have like four blinking lights for 0-25%, 25-50%, etc.
Make sure it has the charge port type you want - usb-c or otherwise - and you get the right cords for it
So, you bought thousands of dollars in gear (what the hell did you even buy lmao) despite living 4 hours from the nearest trail and probably not having any outdoor experience, decided to explore a place you've never been at at night, and got so tired in 2 hours you were exhausted ( I assume whatever you were planning to do would be more demanding than what you did) so you were also out of shape. You really are too autistic to get out.
Way to encourage someone into going out fricktard, bet you're a real popular guy
Kek.
> went bike packing first and so far last time
> 140k the first day on gravel trails
> stop at some farm where they allow cambing for a few bucks
> set up tarp in the most moronic way possible
> my sleeping bag be walmart +5C, old af too
> can literally see the full moon through it's fabric
> frost
> dance aroung a fire all night
> frozen my lungs off, started getting a bad cough
> make a frickit decision, go bikepack 140k back home next morning
> suffer from bronchitis for 2 more weeks
The ride was still extra comfy, just the sleeping part got fricked up. Will do again one day with proper gear.
Have you not done this trail before? Be pretty dumb to try a new trail when it's dark out.
lol I bet you learned a lot. Now go again when it's light out.
Just start with something more manageable. Small steps, you giant buffoon.
You don´t become Dick Proenneke over night.
Go out again, but do something easier. And be more prepared. Get a good GPS maybe.
OP's story just got me spooked because I'm currently in the same spot, might have to get one of these little fellas before heading into the woods.