Navigation is the one skill every backpacker should know. It puts you in charge of your itinerary, and improves your peace of mind. Plus, it gives you confidence that you’ll always be able to find what you need—and find your way home.
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Gaia GPS
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Knowing how to read a topographic map is the foundation to any backcountry adventure. Through the use of contour lines, topo maps bring a 3-dimensional element to a 2-dimensional paper map, allowing you to visualize the rise and fall of the land and “see” the depths of canyons, the location of boggy meadows, and the height and shape of mountain
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Join us in welcoming seven new members to the Gaia GPS team! This new addition includes members of the support, design, and engineering team. Get to know them and read about their wildest outdoor pursuits, their greatest professional accomplishments and the organizations they support.
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Battery drain stinks, and often hits the hardest at the most inconvenient times. Countless factors can threaten the life of your phone battery, like cold or blazing hot temperatures, or even how many apps you’ve recently used. Whether you’re out for a 3-night backpacking trip, casual day hike, or a few hours on the slopes, there’s no escaping the inevitable drain. Whatever your adventure looks like, these tricks will help you save the juice in your phone and keep Gaia GPS up and running longer.
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It’s not too late to catch one of the most striking meteor showers of the year. Whether you’re looking for a romantic date night, an opportunity to really wow a first-time camper, or a quiet night to yourself, the Perseids are not to be missed. Find the dark skies near you and catch the meteor shower with these tips.
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Find 4×4 roads and points of interest quicker than ever with Gaia Topo’s latest updates. Gaia Topo now displays color-coded points of interest, more 4×4 roads when the map is zoomed out, and larger labels, badges, and contour markers when the map is zoomed in.
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Find water sources, identify river crossings, and get a better picture of any landscape with the new US Hydrography map. This new layer points out more rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands than any other map on Gaia GPS. Level up your favorite maps by pairing them with the US Hydrography layer for more precise and expanded coverage of bodies of water across the United States.
Learn how to photograph the night sky, including star trails and the brilliant Milky Way, with these five pro tips from landscape and action photographer Scott Sady. Sady covers the fine details of gear recommendations, how to find the best location, and editing tips, so you can get the best results.
Overlanding has taken the outdoor industry by storm, and for good reason — the goal is to get as far off the beaten path as possible. Get started by learning what an overlanding route looks like, the type of vehicle and equipment you’ll need, and tips for planning your first trip.
Cell phones offer many useful features, even when you find yourself far away from cell towers. In the backcountry, they’ve become a go-to navigation tool, an alarm clock for alpine starts, and the place to conveniently store guide books and maps. Check out these ways you can use your cell phone in the backcountry even when cell service is sparse to none.