Author

Joe Pasteris

Joe Pasteris is a freelance writer based in Vermont. When he's not typing, you can find him climbing, biking, backcountry skiing or building furniture.

Gaia GPSHow-ToNewsletter

How to Save Phone Battery Life in the Backcountry

by Joe Pasteris
written by Joe Pasteris

Smartphones are an excellent alternative to conventional GPS devices because they are lightweight and compact, and their large screens are ideal for viewing detailed topographic maps while using an app like Gaia GPS.

But, if you use a phone to navigate in the wild, you need to consider ways to conserve battery power so you don’t end up with a dead phone halfway through your hike. The tips in this post will allow most people to get several days, or even longer, of use from their phone in the backcountry. Having said that, it’s important to note that even if you’ve mastered battery conservation, you still must bring along a compass and paper map and the skills to use them. It only takes one unfortunate drop to leave you with a busted phone.

Download Offline Maps Before You Go

Downloading maps to your Gaia GPS app for offline use before you leave home is an essential step that allows you to use the app with your phone in airplane mode or in a location without cell coverage. With the maps downloaded on your phone, you’ll be able to use all of the functionality that Gaia GPS provides, even in the most remote of locations, far away from any cell tower. Learn how to download maps for offline use here.

Use Airplane Mode

After you’ve downloaded the maps to your phone, put your phone into airplane mode before you head out on your trek. This simple change will make a big difference in how long your battery lasts. Airplane mode will stop your phone from constantly trying to establish a network connection when you’re in an area with poor or no cell coverage. Airplane mode will not automatically disable WI-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity. Manually turn off those features in settings in your phone to save even more battery.

There’s a common misunderstanding out there that when your phone is in airplane mode, you won’t be able to use apps that rely on GPS. However, because your phone can still communicate with GPS satellites while in airplane mode, Gaia GPS works just as well on airplane mode as when you are connected to Wi-Fi or cell service, so long as you’ve downloaded maps ahead of time. Download your maps with a Gaia GPS Membership or Premium Membership.

Avoid Exposing Your Phone to Extreme Temperatures

Both hot and cold temperatures can have a dramatic effect on battery life, so it’s important to take steps to avoid extremes. Apple says that iPhones are designed to work well in temperatures between 32°F and 95°F, with the ideal range being 62°F to 72°F. If you’re going out backcountry skiing, you’ll have to find ways to keep your phone warm. Conversely, if you’re headed out hiking in the hot desert, you’ll need to keep your phone cool.

How to keep your phone warm: In below-freezing temps, use your body heat to help keep the phone warm. Keep your phone stashed in a pocket close to your body rather than in an exterior pocket or in your backpack. For extra warmth on especially chilly days, try keeping a small disposable handwarmer packet in the same pocket as your phone.

If your phone does get really cold, the battery level will plummet and the device may even power down. When this happens, try warming your phone up by placing it close to your body. Once the battery temperature warms, your phone should come back to life. If you need to charge your phone, wait until the battery is warm. Charging your phone while the battery is disabled from the cold will be ineffective and can potentially damage your battery.

How to keep your phone cool: Extreme heat can be tougher to solve for and more dangerous for the device than cold temperature exposure. In fact, high temperatures can permanently damage battery capacity, whereas the effects of cold are only temporary.

Prevent overheating by keeping your phone out of direct sunlight. You can also try removing the phone from its case, as cases tend to trap heat. Storing your phone deep inside the main compartment of your pack, wrapped up in gear and clothing, will typically insulate the phone from damaging heat. This leaves your phone fairly inaccessible, so it’s not a great option if you’re using your phone to navigate.

Two climbers review their route in Gaia GPS

Shut Down Apps You Don’t Need

Many apps sit dormant when they’re not in use and won’t drain your battery while they sit open in the background. But, some apps keep track of your location and/or refresh content in the background. Force close all the apps you don’t need during your outing to be sure there’s no background activity that will draw down your battery.

If you prefer to keep apps open, limit their ability to refresh in the background to help conserve battery life. To do this with an iPhone go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh, then tap Background App Refresh and select Off. This disables background activity for all apps. If you want to turn it off for individual apps, you can do so on the Background App Refresh menu. With an Android phone, you can restrict individual apps by going to Settings > Battery > More > Battery usage. There, you’ll see a list of apps with the percentage of battery used. For apps with high battery use, tap them and turn Background restriction on.

Customize Location Services

Do not turn off all location services as this will disable your connection with Gaia GPS. But for apps other than Gaia GPS that you want open during your trip, like your camera, you can reduce the demand on your battery by turning off location services. Of course, doing so may affect how well an app performs. With your camera, for example, turning off location services means location data won’t be recorded and you won’t be able to see where you took a particular photo. But, for many people, location data on photos is not a must-have feature.

Customize location services with an iPhone by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and scroll down to the apps listed as using location services. Go through and select “Never” on those apps you will open during your trip but won’t need location services for. With an Android phone, open your phone’s Settings, then tap “Location services” or “Location access” whichever your phone shows. From this screen you can customize location services for each app.

Lower Screen Brightness

A bright screen is one of the biggest drains on your phone’s battery. Dimming your screen can reduce the impact that your display has on battery life. Here are two ways to do it:

  • Manually adjust the brightness to the dimmest level that still allows you to see your maps. With an iPhone, open the Control Center and drag the slider with the sun symbol up and down or go to Settings > Display & Brightness and drag the slider left or right. With an Android phone, open your phone’s Settings app, then tap Display > Brightness level and move the slider. 
  • Turn on auto-brightness, which allows your screen to automatically adapt to the lighting, decreasing the brightness in dim conditions and increasing it in bright conditions. With an iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and turn Auto-Brightness on. With an Android phone, open your phone’s Settings app, then tap Display > Brightness level and turn on Adaptive brightness.

Consider Turning Your Phone Off When You Don’t Need It

Putting your phone in airplane mode and taking other battery-conserving measures will allow most phones to stay powered for several days without ever turning them off. But, if you really want to get the most out of your battery, then powering the phone down completely can be a wise move. That said, you need to consider how you use your device.

If you will be checking your phone regularly for navigation or to snap photos, then you should leave your phone on, because waking the phone up from sleep mode uses less power than turning the phone off and back on again. But, if you won’t be needing your phone for a few hours or more, such as when you’re hiking on an obvious trail that doesn’t require frequent map check-ins or when you’re sleeping at night, then powering the phone down completely will save battery power in the long run.

Bring a Backup Battery

Despite all your efforts to conserve battery power, it’s still possible that your phone will get low on juice. So, if you’ll be relying on your phone for navigation, you should always have a backup battery pack and the appropriate cable to be able to recharge your device.

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A man and a woman with backpacks walk up a braod valley in Alaska's Brooks Range
Gaia GPSHow-ToUser Profiles

Get the Best Ultralight Backpacking Tips and a Special Offer from Hyperlite Mountain Gear

by Joe Pasteris
written by Joe Pasteris

Whether you want to join the ranks of ultralight backpackers or simply shed a few pounds from your backpack, you will benefit from reducing the base weight of your pack. Carrying less weight undoubtedly makes for a more comfortable hike. And a lighter load frees you to travel farther and faster, allowing you to see and do more in a shorter period.

Here at Gaia GPS, we’re big fans of Hyperlite Mountain Gear products. Whether we’re backpacking through Alaska, bikepacking across the southwest, or packrafting in Montana, Hyperlite Mountain Gear packs and shelters keep us rolling with amazingly low base weights so we can go farther and longer without resupply.

Not sure where to start? Here are some of our tried and true recommendations. Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s Southwest Series backpack is one of our go-to bags for getting deep into the backcountry. It’s made to handle rough terrain and it won’t shred to pieces when you’re bushwhacking across Alaska’s Brooks Range or squeezing through slot canyons in Utah. And at just under 2 pounds, the HMG Southwest backpack keeps us moving light and fast anywhere we want to go.

If you’re in the market for a weather-tight, ultralight shelter, take a look at Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s UltaMid 2. Constructed with waterproof Dyneema Composite Fabrics, this shelter brings a sturdy pyramid-shaped design and weighs a mere 1.17 pounds out of the box. It’s got a roomy floor space for two weary travelers and enough headroom to stay comfortable while waiting out a Sierra thunderstorm.

With Hyperlite Mountain Gear you can ignore that old theory that you have to decide between carrying a light pack to be comfortable hiking, or carrying a heavy pack to be comfortable camping. Advancements in gear technology make it easier than ever to enjoy the best of both worlds. These days, you can lighten your load while still carrying everything you need to feel prepared and comfortable in the backcountry.

Read on to learn some of the top ways to reduce your backpack’s weight — and some tips won’t even cost a penny.

Adventure Alan sits in the backcountry with his gear spread out around him.
Adventure Alan Dixon and his 9-pound ultralight backpacking gear, including the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest Series backpack.

Start with “The Free Three”

Alan Dixon, a professional backpacking guide, ultralight backpacking guru, and founder of AdventureAlan.com, coined the term “the free three” to describe three categories of items that offer potential weight savings without spending a dime. Rather than focusing on those high-dollar items you typically need to spend money on to reduce your load, like tents and sleeping bags, Dixon focuses on the “free three” things to cut weight, including water, food, and all the stuff you don’t need.

1. Carry Only as Much Water as You Need

At 2.2 pounds per liter, water is one of the heaviest items in your backpack. Knowing how much you’ll drink and how much water will be available on the route should drive how much water you carry.

“People are often carrying two or three liters of water when there’s a stream or lake every three to five miles where they can refill,” Dixon says. “When you know where the water sources are, you don’t need to carry that much.”

Dixon suggests that most backpackers can carry one liter of water and stay perfectly hydrated by refilling along the way. Numerous lightweight and efficient water filters on the market make refilling your supply quick and convenient. Plus, carrying less water means that you can stow your fluids in any lightweight, affordable bottle rather than splurging on a heavier hydration reservoir.

Of course, the one-liter recommendation comes with exceptions, like hiking in the desert or any location with long stretches between water sources. But the takeaway here lies in learning the location of reliable water sources so you can plan to carry a reasonable amount for your trip. Do some research in guidebooks and online forums before you go to find out where you can access water, and carry a detailed map that shows water sources. With Gaia GPS, you can use the USGS Topo map layer to locate water sources in the field and see your precise location in relation to them.

The Hyperlite Southwest backpack weathers an Alaskan storm in the Brooks Range.

2. Carefully Plan Your Menu

A common recommendation for how much food to carry on a backpacking trip says two pounds per person, per day. Dixon claims that on long trips where you burn lots of calories for days or even weeks on end, that recommendation makes sense. But most people on weekend trips can cut back to one-and-a-half pounds (or about 3,000 calories) per person per day and still walk out with leftovers. Making this simple adjustment significantly lightens your pack. If you’re going on a five-day trip and carrying two pounds per day, that’s 10 pounds of food. Carrying one-and-a-half pounds per day reduces the load to seven-and-a-half pounds.

Also, be thoughtful about how much “emergency” food you toss into your pack. It’s easy to get sucked into adding just a little more, adding excess weight. Avoid this mistake by taking time to plan out your menu ahead of your trip so you can be realistic about how much food you really need. To get ideas about what to eat and how to create a menu, read How to Plan a Menu for Long Distance Backpacking.

Photo courtesy of packrafting expert Luc Mehl.

3. Leave Behind the Stuff You Don’t Need

Backpackers commonly carry things they just don’t need. This happens for a variety of reasons—sometimes extra items accumulate in your pack after a few trips, but often people pack for their fears. These fears include being cold, getting dirty, or going hungry. You want to be prepared for the unexpected, but that doesn’t mean you should fill your pack with multiple pairs of clothing or a sleeping bag rated for winter use when it’s the middle of summer.

To avoid bringing loads of extra stuff, do these things before heading out:

Check the weather: Before you go, get a detailed weather forecast for the region and pay particular attention to the high and low temperatures, wind speed, and chance of precipitation. Use this information to help you choose the appropriate clothing and gear to stay comfortable for where you’re going rather than packing for unrealistic fears. If the forecast indicates a hot and sunny weekend, don’t bring your bulky 4-season tent and a sleeping bag built for winter.

When you’re checking forecasts, also take a look at the Weather Overlay maps on Gaia GPS (available with a Premium Membership). Add the precipitation layer to your favorite base maps to display 24-, 48-, and 72-hour precipitation predictions in the app and on gaiagps.com when you’re connected to WiFi or cell service.

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 2 shelter on the Uinta Highline Trail. Photo by Dan Ransom.

Don’t bring too much clothing: Backpackers frequently overpack clothing out of fear of getting dirty or cold. To get over this, you must accept that backpacking entails getting dirty. Dixon advises not to pack more clothing than you’re able to wear at one time. Thinking about your clothing this way will keep you from throwing in a complete change of clothes. When deciding what specific items to bring, use the weather forecast and seek out versatile, lightweight layers. A lightweight puffy coat proves useful on almost any trip—you can pull it on whenever you’re chilled and even wear it to bed if needed. And, if you just can’t stand the thought of staying in your hiking clothes for the entire trip, Dixon suggests bringing a lightweight pair of long-underwear bottoms and a top to change into for sleeping.

Learn from past experiences: When you get home from a trip and start unpacking, take a moment to consider how frequently you used each item. Examine the things you only used occasionally or didn’t use at all to determine if you really need them next time. Remember that just because you didn’t use essentials like a first-aid kit or compass doesn’t mean you should go without them. But things like camp chairs, books, extra clothing, and extra food can likely be reduced or even eliminated.

Trucking along the Uinta Highline Trail. Photo by Dan Ransom.

Weigh Your Gear

Considered weighing the individual items you put in your backpack. Knowing how much each gear and clothing item weighs helps identify ways to lighten the load.

To keep track, create a spreadsheet that lists all of the things you typically bring on a backpacking trip and how much each one weighs. You can find weights for most items on manufacturer websites or use a digital kitchen scale to weigh them. Try LighterPack.com, which allows you to make gear lists for different types of trips and include weights, pictures, and links.

Pack base weight: Once you know the weight of all the individual items in your pack, you can easily figure out your pack base weight, a number that many ultralight backpackers pay close attention to. Pack base weight refers to how much your backpack weighs loaded with everything you’re taking except food, water, and fuel. Knowing your base weight gives you a consistent number from trip to trip that you can focus on reducing. Base weights will likely vary between different types of trips, for example a summer trip’s base weight will be lighter than a winter base weight, because you’ll have to carry more clothing and gear to stay warm.

Reduce the Weight of “The Big Three”

Spend some time reading about lightweight backpacking and you’ll come across the term, “the big three.” This refers to your tent, sleeping bag, and backpack — three core backpacking items that offer lots of potential weight savings.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 2 in action on the Uinta Highline Trail. Photo by Dan Ransom.

Tent

If you’re not careful about your tent selection, you may end up with a big, bulky shelter that takes up lots of space in your pack and adds significant weight. Dixon believes if you really want to stay light, look for a tent that has a trail weight of about two pounds. (Trail weight typically includes just the tent, fly, and poles as opposed to the packaged weight that includes everything, including the stuff sacks, stakes, and instruction manual.)

The lightest options include tarp tents and pyramid-style tents. Some people shy away from these because of their non-traditional design and, in some cases, the lack of bug netting. But, if you want to go light, give them a serious look.

Single-wall backpacking tents made from waterproof, breathable fabric save weight by not requiring a separate rainfly, making them another good option. But, these tents typically cost more and sometimes struggle with condensation building up inside. If a traditional double-wall tent is more your style, there are some very light options that come in around 2 pounds.

Sleeping Bag

For this key item, Dixon suggests using an 800-fill power down, backpacking sleeping bag that weighs 1.25 to 1.75 pounds and has a 30-degree comfort rating. (The comfort rating, rather than the lower limit rating, gives a truer indicator bag’s temperature capabilities.) A sleeping bag in that weight range and with that temperature rating satisfies most backpackers the majority of the time.

If you want an even lighter option, consider a camping or backpacking quilt. Without bottoms, mummy hoods, or zippers, quilts are not only lighter, they are also less expensive than sleeping bags. Dixon acknowledges that backcountry quilts aren’t for everyone—some people just can’t seem to embrace the idea of not using a sleeping bag—but if you’re serious about reducing the weight of your pack, try it.

Whether you choose a sleeping bag or a quilt, be sure to pair it with a quality, lightweight sleeping pad. Dixon recommends getting a backpacking sleeping pad with R-value of 4.2 or higher (R-value measures how well a material resists conductive heat flow. The higher the R-value, the better job the material does at insulating). Without a good sleeping pad beneath you, the cold ground will rob you of most of your warmth.

Photo by backpacking expert Luc Mehl

Backpack

Backpackers often believe that bigger, heavier packs with their stout interior frames can comfortably carry really heavy loads. Dixon rejects this notion.

“Nothing carries 40 pounds comfortably,” Dixon says. “Because 40 pounds is never comfortable. The greatest comfort is to reduce your overall pack weight.”

By reducing the weight and volume of things like your sleeping bag, tent, clothing, food, and water, you’ll make it possible to comfortably carry everything you need in a pack that only weighs about 2 pounds and has around a 65-liter capacity. Packs in this weight and size range forego some padding and pockets, and they don’t have extremely rigid internal frames. But you won’t need any of that because your load will be so light and compact.

Repackage What You Can

Repackaging bulky food and toiletry items into smaller, lighter containers serves as a helpful way to cut down on weight. Rather than taking along a whole tube of toothpaste or a giant bottle of sunscreen, squeeze some into small reusable travel-sized bottles. The idea applies to food, too, so look for ways to eliminate packaging when possible. For example, transfer noodles from the cardboard box into a zip-top plastic bag, which is lighter and more compact.

Six days worth backpacking food lies in rows on the floor. Dehydrated meals, trail mix, and dried fruit have been repackaged into small ziplock pages. The allotment also contains bars, instant coffee, and two bars of chocolate.
Adventure Alan’s daily backpacking meal plan with repackaged food. Learn more about his recommended backpacking menu in his post on Best Backpacking Food.

Be Thoughtful About Luxury Items

Even the most hardened backcountry explorers can’t resist taking along a luxury item or two. And that’s okay. You just need to be purposeful about what you take and ask yourself if the weight is worth it.

For instance, if you camp without a pillow but can’t get comfy and always wake up with a sore neck, then perhaps a pillow provides a luxury worth indulging in—there are some ultralight ones that will only add a couple ounces to your load. Or if you need entertainment in camp, maybe bring along a small book or journal. Or better yet, load e-books onto your phone. Smartphones can serve all kinds of purposes in the backcountry, whether for entertainment or to help you find your way. Read Best Uses for Your Cell Phone in the Backcountry for other ideas about how your phone can come in handy and possibly help you save weight.

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Gaia GPSHow-To

Best Uses for Your Cell Phone in the Backcountry

by Joe Pasteris
written by Joe Pasteris

These days, nearly everyone heading into the backcountry carries a smartphone in their pocket. These powerful gadgets can, of course, make calls, send texts, and check email when in range, but they also offer many useful features far away from cell towers.

In the backcountry, cell phones have become a go-to navigation tool, an alarm clock for an alpine start up the peak, and the place to conveniently store guide books and favorite maps. Check out these ways you can use your phone in the backcountry even when cell service is nonexistent.

Know Your Location with Gaia GPS Navigation

Paired with a navigation app like Gaia GPS, your smartphone transforms into a powerful, compact navigation tool for backcountry travel — even when you’re out of range for cell service. You don’t need cell connection to pinpoint your exact location on a map, record your track, or find important map features, like water sources and campsites, for the backcountry area you are visiting.

To access maps offline in Gaia GPS, simply download the map by following these steps:

  • Select the map source and any layer you want to download, Premium members can access and download multiple maps and layers at one time.
  • Navigate to the area that you would like to download.
  • Tap the (+) icon at the top of your screen.
  • Tap the “Download Maps” button from the menu.
  • Tap and drag the dots at the corners of the highlighted rectangle area, and adjust it to cover the area you want to download.
  • Tap “Save”

You’ll be able to access the downloaded maps from the Gaia GPS app even when your phone is completely offline and in airplane mode to save your phone’s battery. When you’re out in the field, you can use the app to pinpoint your location on the map, drop waypoints to mark important spots like campsites and trail junctions, record your track and follow it back to retrace your footprints back to the car.

Get Your Bearings with a Compass App

A compass is an essential navigation tool that you use to take a bearing or orient your map so you can identify prominent land features and find your way if you get turned around. iPhones come with a compass app loaded on them, and can be launched from your iPhone’s home screen. Not all Android phones come with a compass, but there are many popular compass apps available for free. You can also pull up the Gaia GPS app to display the bearing for the direction you’re traveling. That said, you should always carry a handheld compass, too, in case your phone battery dies.

A backpacker looking at her phone

Download Guidebooks and Data Sets

Many popular trails and routes have guidebooks or data sets that show mileage and map coordinates for points of interest along the trail. But books are heavy and take up room in your pack. Gone are the days of tearing out the pertinent pages of a guidebook and taking them with you on the trail. Many guidebooks are available electronically and can be downloaded to your phone. If your favorite guidebook isn’t available electronically, you could take photos of the pages that apply to your trip and pull them up on your phone when needed.

Use Your Phone as a Watch for Simple Navigation and Alpine Starts

Many people have ditched the wrist watch in favor of using the clock on their phone to tell time. Knowing the time is important in the backcountry, because it helps you make important decisions such as whether to push on or stop and make camp. Time is also one of the three components of dead reckoning navigation, one of the most basic and useful backcountry travel skills. Dead reckoning involves learning your general position in the filed by using the mathematical formula of distance equals rate of travel multiplied by time. Using your phone clock or a watch on your wrist, you can find out how far you traveled by multiplying the time you were walking by the speed you were walking.

The phone’s clock also has an alarm to wake you from your deep sleep in the woods. Now you might be thinking you won’t need an alarm on your vacation to the backcountry. But an alarm comes in handy for alpine starts, when you need to wake up before the sun rises so that you can get an early start on the trail to tackle big climbs and beat afternoon lightning storms on exposed peaks and alpine passes.

a hiker looking at her phone


Measure Slope Angles with an Inclinometer App

Backcountry skiers and snowboarders use inclinometers to measure the angles of slopes when assessing avalanche risk. If you don’t already have a dedicated inclinometer, or you’d prefer to use your phone for that task, download an inclinometer app. The Avalanche Inclinometer app (iPhone and Android) is simple to use and features a large display, making it easy to read the slope angle in any weather. The app also displays your elevation and includes a compass.

In addition to inclinometers, Gaia GPS premium members can view the Slope Angle-Shading Overlay to see the subtle changes in slope angle on a topo map. This can be a helpful tool for planning your backcountry trips, but is not a substitute for carrying an inclinometer when backcountry skiing or snowboarding in avalanche terrain.


Use Your Phone as an Extra Flashlight

Almost all smartphones come with a flashlight app that’s handy for quick tasks, like looking for something inside your tent or getting out of your tent in the middle of the night to answer the call of nature. The light on your phone is probably not powerful enough to illuminate the trail while hiking, but they are helpful for use around camp and inside your tent at night. Look for third-party apps for fun in-camp features like strobes and different colors.

two hikers taking a picture of each other, one using a cell phone camera

Document Your Trip With Pictures and Video, Save Photos to your Track

With a smartphone in your pocket, you have access to a high-quality, lightweight camera that you can use to capture photographs and videos on all your backcountry trips. For many people, the default camera app that comes on a phone has everything they need: It should allow you to make exposure adjustments to get the lighting right, choose a focal point to ensure your subject is in focus, select high dynamic range (HDR) mode to capture a range of color and brightness, turn the flash on and off, and add gridlines to help you compose the perfect photo. If you want even greater control, look for a third-party camera app that lets you make shutter speed adjustments, change the ISO, and turn on image stabilization.

You can also use your trip to record points of interest in the Gaia GPS app. When tracking your route with the Gaia GPS app, snap a photo and save it to your saved route in exactly the place you took the photo. To do so, you simply tap the + icon in the top Gaia GPS menu in the iOS or Android app and select “Take Picture” when you want to attach an image. Learn more about how to take and add pictures in iOS and Android.

Create a Journal of your Trip

Many people enjoy bringing a small notebook and pencils into the wilderness to collect their thoughts in the quiet space of nature. But paper and pencils can get trashed when jammed into a pocket of your backpack. Try turning your phone into a travel diary with one of the many travel journal apps offered both free and for subscription. These apps bring a more in-depth solution to documenting your trip, including options to use text, photos, location tracking, and voice recordings to store all your memories and thoughts from a venture into the woods. When you come back to civilization, many travel journals sync your electronic journal to all your devices, so you can edit more freely on a bigger screen. Some journals even let you collaborate with other users to create a complete picture of your trip.

Stay Entertained with Games, Music, and Podcasts

For many people, the backcountry provides a space to “unplug” and get away from seemingly ever-present screens. But if you’re on a long journey and find yourself needing a distraction, try downloading crossword puzzles, games, audiobooks, inspiring outdoor podcasts like the Out and Back podcast by Gaia GPS, and playlists from your favorite music apps. Make sure you download files and/or apps to your phone before leaving home because there’s no guarantee you’ll have cell service out in the boonies. Also, nearby campers and resident wildlife would appreciate you bringing headphones to cut down on noise in the wilderness.

the Wind River Range in Wyoming, mountain in background and yellow flowers in foreground.

Identify Birds, Stars, and Plants

How many times have you looked at a pretty flower on the side of the trail or a bird chirping in a tree and wished you knew the name of it? Check out these apps, that will help you identify constellations, birds and plants.


To identify stars, try the free SkyView Lite app (iPhone or Android). It uses your phone’s camera to identify objects in the sky, including planets, constellations, distant galaxies, and satellites.

The Audubon Bird Guide app (iPhone or Android) helps you identify birds. Enter what you observe, such as color, size, and length of tail, and it will narrow down the choices for your location. The app offers data packets for offline use, which is essential when you don’t have cell service.

To identify plants and animals on your trek, try the free iNaturalist app (iPhone and Android). Using your phone’s camera, it can recognize many species of plants, animals, and insects. The PlantSnap Plant Identification app (iPhone and Android) is another popular option. Its free version helps you identify flowers, trees, mushrooms, cacti, and more.

Save Your Phone Battery

Relying on your phone for many tasks will wear down its battery. But there are many ways to conserve your phone’s battery while in the backcountry. Try running your phone in airplane mode, dimming the screen, and turning off location services for all the apps except maps and navigational aids, like Gaia GPS. Also, consider toting along a back-up battery or solar charger to juice up your phone on a long trip.

Mary Cochenour contributed to this story.

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Andrew Baldwin stands on a rocky outcropping on the AT trail and is overlooking a valley
AdventuresFeaturedGaia GPS

Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Leads to New Direction in Life

by Joe Pasteris
written by Joe Pasteris


Warning: This story may inspire you to blaze your own trail on the AT, but before you make any plans be sure to check in with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy for current trail closures and policy related to COVID-19.

Last July, Andrew Baldwin set out southbound on the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail with the goal of gaining clarity and focus after a year of living in constant motion on the road.

Many would call it the dream life, with Baldwin quitting his nine-to-five job in the insurance industry, selling the house, and traveling the country with his wife, Ashli, in their self-sufficient Toyota 4Runner and R-Pod 180 trailer. The seasons passed and they put on thousands of miles, vagabonding to beautiful places like Colorado, the desert southwest, and the Cascade Mountains in Oregon.

Andrew Baldwin and his large dog sit in front of the R-Pod Trailer that he and his wife lived in for a year.
Baldwin and his wife spent a year living on the road in their R-Pod trailer.

But the longer they traveled, the more unsettled Baldwin felt. A struggle with self-doubt and depression slowly crept in as Baldwin and his wife wandered from one place to the next.

“I didn’t feel like I was doing much of value,” Baldwin said. “I wasn’t enjoying anything, even though we were doing something really cool. I wasn’t appreciating it.”

On a solo hike to Weaver’s Needle in Arizona’s Superstition Wilderness Area, the answer to Baldwin’s situation came to him — a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

“Just being out in nature, I realized that an AT thru-hike was something I really needed,” Baldwin said. “I knew I needed to have some sort of personal growth experience.”

Appalachian Trail route pictured on Gaia GPS map

The Appalachian Trail

And just like that, Baldwin committed himself to the AT, hiking through 14 states with an elevation gain and loss equivalent to climbing Mount Everest from sea level and back again, 16 times over. And, although hundreds of miles shorter than the Pacific Crest Trail, the AT is often deemed more difficult because of the ruggedness and steepness of the path.

Andrew Baldwin sitting on a ledge overlooking a forest.

Adding to the challenge, Baldwin looked at the maps and decided on a southbound hike, which is the more isolating, less popular direction to take on the AT. Last year, in an annual survey of AT thru-hikers, only three percent of survey respondents hiked southbound on the AT, while 86 percent hiked northbound and 14 percent flipped in different sections.

Southbound on the AT begins with the most difficult climb of the whole trek — 5,267-foot Mount Katahdin. After that, hikers tackle two of the toughest states on the trail, Maine and New Hampshire, before getting their hiking legs in shape.

“I chose to go southbound because July was the soonest I could get back to the east to start the trip, and because I really wanted to challenge myself,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin knew the challenges of the AT because Ashli had thru-hiked the AT in 2014. Plus, growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the AT was not far from his back door.

“I remember in the backpacking chapter of my Boy Scout handbook there was a page that showed a picture of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail,” Andrew said. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, there’s a trail that goes all the way from Georgia to Maine?’”

As a kid, Baldwin never imagined he’d walk from Georgia to Maine, but yet, here he was at age 32 about to embark on the journey of his lifetime: Maine to Georgia.

Andrew Baldwin hiking on a single track trail high above treellne.

Maine to Georgia

Going southbound, Baldwin relied on Gaia GPS on his phone for most of his navigational needs on the thru-hike. He downloaded the NatGeo Appalachian Trail map as his main map source because it provided crucial thru-hiking details, including a clear picture of the exact location of the main trail, side trails, campsites, water sources, fire restrictions, highways, and shelter information for the whole distance of the hike.

Downloading the map allowed Baldwin to run his phone on airplane mode throughout his five-month trip, conserving the phone’s battery and getting several days of use before a recharge.

A National Geographic map of Mount Katahdin.

“It was really helpful to be able to see my exact location on the map, and not have to guess how far away the next shelter, water source, or resupply was,” Baldwin said.

In addition to Gaia GPS, Baldwin carried a paper copy of The A.T. Guide, commonly known as the “Awol guide” for its author David “Awol” Miller. Those two sources helped Baldwin stay on route the entire way.

The Journey: Lonely Miles, Trail Family, and Spam Singles

Like many AT thru-hikers, Baldwin started his trip alone. Baldwin made friends easily and quickly earned the trail name “Shanty” for singing old-time maritime tunes while he hiked.

Andrew Baldwin carrying a red backpack and looking away from the camera toward a mountain.

On the northern stretch, the different paces and personalities of those he met were never quite right for forming a group. Baldwin mostly made miles alone. During those solo miles, the self-doubt that nudged Baldwin toward the trail in the first place became impossible to ignore.

“The trail amplifies everything. The big moments are amazing moments, but the bad moments are hell,” Baldwin said. “I was in a dark place when I started the trail and I really had to battle that voice.”

Throughout Maine, Baldwin missed his family and questioned why he was even on the trail to begin with. But he knew he had to keep moving, and eventually, those negative thoughts faded with the miles.

“When I climbed Mt. Washington, when I reached the summit, that was when that dark voice went away,” Baldwin said. “And I haven’t heard it since.”

Along the way, Baldwin met fellow southbounders Oracle, Earthshaker, and Dropsey. Each one appeared separately at different points along the trail. Baldwin first hiked with Dropsey for a few days in New Hampshire, then split off by himself and caught up with Earthshaker in Delaware Water Gap on the NewJersey/Pennsylvania border. He met Oracle on his first day in Maryland.

Andrew Baldwin with his trail family.
Dropsey, Oracle, Shanty, and Earthshaker.

All four of them ran into each other in Shenandoah National Park and started hiking together as a group. Within two or three days, Baldwin knew that he finally met his trail family.

“I don’t think I would have gotten nearly as much out of this hike if I didn’t have my trail family,” Baldwin said. “You’re out there for your own reasons, but then to be out there with other people that you can share this incredible, but at the same time miserable, experience with, it’s amazing.”

Two hikers looking away from the camera, at a valley with trees.
Oracle and Dropsey take in the view.

Baldwin’s adventure lasted 148 days with 125 days hiking on trail and 23 zero-mile days spent in town either visiting family or healing an injury and resupplying his food. Baldwin fueled his adventure with a complete thru-hiker diet, which consisted mostly of candy bars, beginning with Snickers and then making the switch to Twix.

“I probably ate 500 candy bars on this trip,” Baldwin said, not exaggerating. “Sometimes I ate five candy bars a day.”

Baldwin ate things and in quantities that he wouldn’t normally eat at home: Pop-Tarts, protein bars, Spam singles, mac and cheese, and ramen.

“My wife bought a dehydrator and sent me resupply packages along the way with her homemade meals,” Baldwin said. “My favorite was this cheesy mac she made with dehydrated beef and onions and pepper. It was a real treat and I looked forward to those the most.”

Baldwin said he tried to keep his pack light but didn’t obsess about the weight. He modified Ashli’s gear list from her thru-hike to fit his needs. Fully loaded with gear, food, and water, Baldwin’s pack topped 30 pounds at the start of the trip. By New Jersey, he learned what ounces to shave and his pack weight dropped to the mid-20s. But, toward the end of the hike, the weather turned and warm clothes for winter travel made his pack heavier again.

Some 400 miles from the end of the trail at Springer Mountain, Georgia, the horse-to-barn feeling set in.

“I could feel the end was near and I really opened it up and cranked out the miles,” Baldwin said.

Andrew Baldwin standing at the end point of the AT trail, holding a fist up in victory.
After five months on the trail, Baldwin completed his AT thru-hike at Springer Mountain, Georgia.

Life After AT

On December 5, 2019, Baldwin reached the trail’s southern-most point in Georgia and emerged with courage and confidence to chase his dreams.

Since his completion of the trail, the Baldwins have moved across the country to Salt Lake City and settled into a house again. Instead of returning to his job in the insurance industry, Baldwin tapped into his creativity and talents to launch his own business as a voice-over artist for audiobooks. He also created his own podcast, the History 10s.

Baldwin’s wife, Ashli, works as Operations Manager for Gaia GPS. When she mentioned to Gaia GPS CEO Andrew Johnson that Baldwin had returned from his thru-hike and was working as a voice-over artist, Johnson proposed that Baldwin host an outdoor podcast for Gaia GPS.

Thus, the Out and Back podcast was born, and Baldwin went to work interviewing interesting people who spend an extraordinary amount of time outside. In each episode, Baldwin draws from his experience on the trail to mine each conversation for that nugget of expert knowledge and experience that listeners can take with them and use on their own backcountry adventures.

Baldwin credits his experience on AT for emboldening him to take this new path in life.

“Looking back on it now, I realize there were times out there that I was soaking wet, freezing cold, really hungry, sore, and covered in bug bites, and I was more miserable than I had ever been in my entire life,” Baldwin recounted. “But without a doubt, the good moments outweighed the bad moments, one hundred to one, especially as my confidence and clarity began to grow.

“The trail helped me in so many ways to become the person I truly wanted to be, and if you think the AT might be a good thing for you to try, I highly recommend it. It might help you in more ways than you know.”

Oracle, Dropsey, and Earthshaker also completed their AT thru-hikes. Although they live in different parts of the country now, Baldwin considers them the closest friends that he has ever had. They keep in touch, almost daily.

Mary Cochenour contributed to this story.

Have you used Gaia GPS in a unique way or on a wild adventure and want a chance to be featured? Reach out to stories@gaiagps.com with your story.

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