GPS ..................

Cool article. I have some directionally-challenged friends, and their dependence on GPS services to get places really kills their ability to find their way anywhere without it.

I almost never use the step-by-step directions on my maps app. I just use it as more of a digital map than a direction-giver, and that seems to help me learn an area pretty well.
 
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Cool article. I find that GPS is best-used as merely an aid or convenience--it is in no way a substitute for knowing a place. I think it has produced a generation who don't know how to get around. I'm guilty of this in the city. I always use a GPS when I rarely travel to the city, and as a consequence, everything seems confusing. If I lose the GPS signal among the skyscrapers, I feel lost.

Especially in the backcountry, you should study the layout of the land way ahead of time and have a map and compass handy...GPS should only be used as a quick reference and to track distance and elevation gain. You should ask yourself, "If this GPS dies right now, can I still find my way? Can I find my way back?" If the answer is no, you should rethink why you are there (at the least, stay on trail).
 
We moved into a new home a few years ago and our address wasn't in any of the maps systems yet. Anytime anyone came to our house we would get a call from them asking us how to find our house because it wasn't showing up in their phone. We live in a standard grid type area where even a child could find the address after teaching them for a few minutes how the north/south and east/west addresses work.
 
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