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View Full Version : Using Gaia GPS with my Iphone 4s on the Appalachian trail



Fletchlives1234
02-21-2014, 09:26
How do.

I live in the UK and I am planning on doing the appalchian trail from April to mid August. I have bought an AT Trail guide to help me navigate and to help me find shelters etc. It looks great, but as I am relatively green when it comes to hiking such distances I would like some advice on the best method to pinpoint my exact location on the trail.

Initially I was looked into buying a pedometer to help me track the distances, elevation, calories etc. However after doing some research I found that my typical stride pattern i.e. step would change so much over the course of the trail then it would be pointless.

I have loooked at various GPS devices, but as I am keen to save weight and also cash, I thought it would be best to use my Iphone 4 and an app rather than carrying additional items.
My cellphone contract is with Orange and is based in the UK. Normally when I go to another country I am very wary about using my phone and I turn off all roaming features as otherwise this can be very expensive.
However if I find myself in a Wifi hotspot I happily use things like skype as well as sending emails etc, without being charged.

I have been looking at Whiteblaze regarding GPS for my Iphone 4 and I came across the Gaia app and I have read the following:

When you have WiFi connection, use Gaia to download to the phone the USGS topo maps for the area of the JMT. You can also find a .gps file for the JMT track online and download that to the phone. Now you have the trail (as a track) in a nice bright color of your choice on a detailed topo map and your phone will show you exactly where you are (on or off trail) whenever you need to check your position. No internet or cellular connection required once you have done the downloading.

Is this the case. Can I simply download sections of the AT map when I find a wi-fi hotspot? Can I then use the maps offline to help me determine where I am along the trail?? Obviously I need to do this with my roaming functions turned off.
Are there even many wifi hot spots along the trail??
Also does viewing the maps and / or tracking my position run down the phone battery significantly??
Would I be able to download sveral maps / the entire AT map before my trip when I know I have wifi?? Or will the file size be too big.

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Fletchlives

AT_Walker
02-21-2014, 11:22
Buy a T-Mobile SIM card ($10) for your iPhone and sign up for one of their no contract plans ($50 and up with data). Check their website for more info.

BrianLe
02-21-2014, 11:42
My approach is to indeed download the whole thing ahead of time and cache it. I don't recall the answer for Gaia GPS, and it depends on your phone --- I have an Android phone, and don't know how this particular aspect is managed for the iPhone.

For Android, there's internal storage and then there's a microSD typically. And on phones that I've owned there's also a sort of phantom microSD that's really implemented in internal memory. This latter beast causes trouble sometimes, depending on the software product. I can't use Guthook's AT app, for example, as it doesn't know how to save downloaded data to my actual microSD card. I have plenty of extra space on that, and no space at all available in internal memory.

I know that Backcountry Navigator does a fine job at saving to my actual microSD card. I'll be hiking about a month of the AT starting next month, and so have cached that map data, along with trail plot and shelter locations, using Backcountry Navigator. On almost any other trail I take a "real map"; on the AT, having it on the phone is enough for me (and I'm not inviting a new round of debate on this point, just saying it's what I do). And starting in 3 weeks, there could still be some snow. I started the AT in late Feb last year, and due to substantial snow it was on occasion handy to use my smartphone GPS and trail plot then.
Anyway, that's the only reason I went to the bother. The AT is really very well marked, and mostly it's "intelligently marked" (not always ...).

I htink that you'll be getting a lot of wi-fi options along the way, especially if you ask politely as you go. Being from the UK (and thus having a GSM phone) you could consider going into an AT&T store here, getting a SIM chip, and doing a by-the-month voice plus data plan with them. Sadly, Verizon works better in the southern part of the AT, but doesn't do GSM phones. AT&T is the next best; it's what I used when I hiked the AT, and would allow you do send email, get weather reports, etc.

But it's certainly possible to download the map data ahead of time.

What works best for me is to do so using Backcountry Navigator for my 10" Android tablet, then transfer the data to my phone. It's much easier doing the download with a big screen --- I can download in larger chunks that way. It's still a bit tedious I'm afraid, something you'll want to be doing at a point where you have a lot of time and patience and perhaps a magazine to read while you monitor progress.

Battery use: my strong suggestion is that you don't try to "track your position". In fact, I suggest and suspect that despite all the work and hassle, you'll hardly use it at all, apart from curiosity. Again, the AT is a very well marked trail.

I've hiked extensively on the PCT and the CDT with a fellow who lives in Cumbria (Kendall). He's thru-hiking the AT this year, starting in three weeks. If you contact me off-line I could put you in touch with him, though he's not a smartphone type of guy.

Fletchlives1234
02-21-2014, 11:42
Hey thanks for the reply.

Would I be able to do this whilst I am in the UK?

I am assuming that you are still recommending a GPS ap like Gaia GPS?

Could I not just do what I initially planned and use wi-fi to update the maps?? What is the advantage getting a T-mobile sim?

Kind Regards,

Fletchlives

QiWiz
02-21-2014, 12:13
BrianLe has summed it up very nicely. If you just use Gaia from time to time to check your position (am I on the trail? how close am I to the road I'll be crossing? how close is the next shelter?) you will not run down your battery very much. I find I can get away with as little as 15-20% battery drop per day if I use the iphone only for [1] photos and to [2] to check my position, and to [3] read my AT Guide (downloaded to the phone) leaving it in airplane mode when not checking position, and turning it off completely at night. Reading (due to screen use), trying to get a cell signal, forgetting to put it back in airplane mode, and surfing the internet are the things that run the battery down the fastest.

Drybones
02-21-2014, 12:13
You can download all the maps before you go on trail. I had Gaia on my phone but never used it, it's just not needed, the guide book will provide all the info you need. You will also be able to get plenty of info from hikers you meet on the trail, like, how are water conditions up ahead, where's a good place to resupply, where the heck am I, etc.

TrailBehind
02-21-2014, 13:11
I am one of the Gaia GPS developers (Andrew). I'd be happy to provide a copy of the app for your AT hike. Please send an email to [email protected], and we'll send you a code to download the app.

We have people on staff who have done thru-hikes, and the app has always been crafted with that in mind. Always great to hear about another thru-hiker taking Gaia GPS!