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Home »Posts tagged  navigation

Tag: navigation

Map, Compass, GPS: Not Either/Or, But All of the Above

Posted onJuly 12, 2025July 13, 2025AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

A collection of my Reddit posts. cleaned up and expanded, with thoughts on how maps, compasses, and GPS all work together in the field. It’s not about which tool is “better,” but how they complement each other. Read More …

CategoriesGetting StartedTagscompass, electronics, maps, navigation

A look at Avenza

Posted onSeptember 15, 2021January 27, 2026AuthorPaul Mags6 Comments

Avenza allows small companies and non-profits to publish their maps. He’s a look at this somewhat obscure app. Read More …

CategoriesGearTagsapp, electronics, gear review, maps, navigation

Gaia GPS map layers – Which ones I use

Posted onOctober 1, 2020AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

The various map layers I use for Gaia GPS. And some lesser-known overview map print options that complement any GPS use, too. Read More …

CategoriesVideosTagselectronics, maps, navigation, videos

Quick Tip: Calibrate your phone GPS

Posted onSeptember 6, 2020February 7, 2024AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

You may need to calibrate the internal compass of your phone GPS on occasion to get accurate results with your navigation software. Read More …

CategoriesQuick TipsTagselectronics, GPS, navigation, quick tip

Intro to Backpacking: Part 6 – Navigation Basics

Posted onMay 14, 2020May 14, 2020AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

The sixth chapter in our series – An introductory look at map, compass, and electronic navigation resources. Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, VideosTagselectronics, navigation, videos

Stuck at home? Some skills to learn

Posted onMarch 27, 2020March 27, 2020AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

If you have to stay at home, now is the time to brush up your outdoor skill set. Read More …

CategoriesGetting StartedTagsbooks, cooking, knots, LNT, navigation

GPS Essentials app

Posted onSeptember 25, 2019December 18, 2019AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Another free app that I find very useful. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsapp, electronics, GPS, navigation

Gear Review – Atlas Guides GDT app

Posted onOctober 5, 2018January 3, 2020AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

A review of the Atlas Guides (Guthook) Great Divide Trail app for Android and iOS-based devices. More than just navigation, it works as a guidebook, too. Read More …

CategoriesGearTagsapp, electronics, gear review, maps, navigation

Gear Review – Gaia GPS app

Posted onNovember 21, 2017January 9, 2025AuthorPaul Mags20 Comments

A review of the Gaia GPS app for Android and iOS-based devices. A powerful, flexible, and easy to use navigation tool. Read More …

CategoriesGearTagsapp, electronics, gear review, maps, navigation

Quick Tip: Measuring distance with a lanyard

Posted onAugust 31, 2016September 1, 2019AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

A quick and dirty way of estimating map mileage using a compass lanyard or similar sized string. Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, Quick TipsTagsmileage, navigation, quick tip

Macro vs Micro navigation

Posted onJuly 1, 2016March 22, 2017AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

The fine art of making adjustments in the field while navigating in the backcountry. Something learned through experience. Read More …

CategoriesGetting StartedTagsnavigation

Maps are dead? Long live maps!

Posted onJune 8, 2016April 12, 2018AuthorPaul Mags5 Comments

The death of maps are greatly exaggerated. Here’s why. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagselectronics, maps, navigation

Naviagation for the long trails: An overview

Posted onMarch 14, 2016February 19, 2018AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

The Power Point presentation about navigation for the long trails. Covers basics that should be known. May be viewed online; no additional software needed. Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, Trip PlanningTagslong hikes, navigation, presentation

Quick Tip: Easy declination on a compass

Posted onSeptember 12, 2014April 15, 2018AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Don’t have a compass that where declination can be adjusted? Here’s a quick and dirty way to pre-set it!

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, Quick TipsTagscompass, hiking, navigation, quick tip

TrailGroove Issue 17 : Off-Trail Delights

Posted onAugust 25, 2014November 17, 2023AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

In the latest issue of TrailGroove, I wrote an article about off-trail hiking and reported the news. Lots of other excellent articles as well. Check it out! Read More …

CategoriesPressTagsnavigation, news, off trail, Trail Groove

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A Quick Guide to Moab

The Squak – A readily available, $60, active-focused grid fleece hoodie from a Utah-based company. Read the review.

Women’s | Men’s | Children’s   

The Squak Camp Dress 

One of Joan’s favorites!

The Squak Alpha Fleece 

                                                                    

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PMags Instagram

Some local hiking this weekend. I scouted a route for a possible packrafting trip later this month, and on Sunday, @ramblinghemlock and I meandered through a canyon we’ve been curious about for a while.
I can’t imagine this landscape with a wall.
Two years inside the Park Service, trying to balance trade and calling. I left in fall 2025, and I’m still making sense of it - part grief, part gratitude, and part closure.
With a brief but noticeable bit of winter this past week, we opted not to travel the muddy, snowy roads into more remote areas. Instead, we tackled some home projects on Saturday and spent Sunday revisiting a place we hadn’t seen in a while. Red rock, canyon wrens, images, and late winter desert light accompanied the day.
@ramblinghemlock and I pivoted from an original trip after much-needed rain on Friday. On Saturday, we avoided muddy roads that would have derailed our original plan and spent two nights poking around a place we could reach only because of temporary, water-filled potholes and a handy Ziploc bag that made it possible. We also revisited sights we hadn’t seen in a while. Red rock, grand views, and old images marked the unofficial long weekend kickoff of spring around Moab.
@ramblinghemlock and I finally felt better and took a long-overdue trip into the backcountry. We slept outside and enjoyed the peace of the wild places. Canyon wrens filled the canyon with song during the day, and owl calls echoed off the walls at night. We returned to places we had not seen in a while and saw places new to us. The land endures.

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Disclosure: This website may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products to which I link. These sites include Amazon, REI, Moose Jaw, Gaia GPS, Six Moon Designs, Squak Mountain Co, and ULA Equipment. There is no additional fee for purchasing items through these links.

 

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    • Thru Hikes, Long Walks, or Routes
      • My Alphabet Soup summary
      • Vermont’s Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
      • Benton Mackaye Trail
      • Tahoe Rim Trail
      • Uinta Highline Trail
      • Collegiate Loop
      • A Walk Across Southern Utah
      • Great Divide Trail (Canada)
      • The Northern New Mexico Loop
      • Grand – Moab Route
      • SEUG Circuit
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