Sounds like an incredibly risky area but in terms of navigation can they not use gps?
Also, slipping and falling is a serious risk during the wet season, even on well known paths.
I imagine a dense jungle could pose similar challenges. If nothing else, a gps won’t help if you can’t find a route to where it’s telling you to go because the jungle/river/valley is impassable.
Just because it can't do everything doesn't mean it can't do anything.