People aren't stupid, it's we - devs and designers - who have designed apps that confuse and deceit them, sometimes dangerously so. Let's stop blaming users and fix our shitty UIs.
The harder part is figuring out where you are on the map, and what route to take.
Aye, there's the rub.
Maps also cost money and take weight and take time to ship or pick up, meaning in many groups at most one person will have one. Better hope you don't have to split the group. Everyone has their phone. Offline maps can be had for free, weigh nothing and you can download it on short notice.
I also object to maps having no failure modes. They definitely wear out, or rip, or get stains. Some aren't waterproof. They are also terrible at night, even with flashlights (especially since most people will have lights with shitty CRI). And they can't zoom - so of you're farsighted, hope you don't lose your glasses...
It still doesn't tell you anything more about the route--for which a map by itself is probably not enough. It's also more prone to failure than I want to depend on in a potentially hazardous situation.
You have to know how to use them.
GPS is great but cannot be relied on. Batteries die.
Is there now a generation that assumes all knowledge is googlable? And if there is an “app for it” then it is as good as it gets?
I’m not blaming them, I was lucky enough to be taught about hiking (in this instance) by real people, no achievement of mine. More musing about how knowledge distribution is evolving.