I am sick of seeing people go out hiking with smart phone apps. Stories like this help encourage others to take care
If you are going to use a smartphone app, maybe get one good enough to put you within 50 miles of the right trail
If you are going to use a smartphone app, maybe get one good enough to put you within 50 miles of the right trail
Download the maps so you can use them offline. Have a backup battery so you can charge your phone if it dies. Keep your phone in a waterproof case or ziplock bag. Either be in a group with multiple phones (what's the chance that in a 3 person group everyone loses or breaks their phone?) or carry a paper map backup. This guy broke at least 2 of those rules.
The points the guide made that convinced me were: 1. You're already carrying the phone, it's silly not to utilize it. 2. Phone gps is so much easier to use than a map that you're much likelier to check it on a regular basis and therefore notice something is wrong earlier than if you are relying solely on a paper map. 3. Paper maps are great in some cases but they really suck on low visibility or dense trees. There are techniques for navigating in those situations but they aren't very precise.
Now, you do still have to have some level of competence and preparation. The trail this guy did was on altrails. I would've studied the trail there. I would've studied the route on caltopo. I would've consulted a paper map or guide book. I would've looked at the area on Google maps. I would've made sure everything seemed consistent between those different sources (if he had done that, he wouldn't have ended up on the wrong trail). But ultimately, I would've used caltopo to generate a PDF map of the area, loaded that map into avenza maps, and used that as my primary means of navigation.
I've just heard of cases where people died of dehydration with water sources nearby and think it's important that people are aware of the fact that they can drink untreated water in most cases (I say most because toxic algae can kill you pretty fast so know your local situation there). I wouldn't suggest doing it regularly but it can be a reasonable risk to take in an emergency situation.
Chance favors the prepared mind and all that. Also, one of my major life goals is to not die of something preventable, due to my own stupidity. :)
But I'm pretty sure that for a typical person from the street, a smartphone and spare battery will be more effective than a compass, map, and emergency flare.
On the other hand, you need pre-downloaded maps that show trails and landmarks, as well as a general sense of the terrain and some basic preparedness.
The fact that they didn't even realize they were on the wrong trail shows an absolute failure to plan ahead and navigate correctly. That is really the larger problem - a 17 mile hike is not a light stroll through the woods. If I were doing such a trail (and I'm hardly a seasoned outdoors enthusiast) I would have pre and post hike arranged check-ins with emergency contacts, backup batteries, suitable clothes, 2 light meals worth of food and water, and a rough mental map of the area. None of these things are hard to do or require spending tons of money at sporting goods stores, they are just common sense.