Gaia GPS: Mobile Trail Maps 4+

While taking a new way from Colorado to Utah I went through a dead zone where my navigating app dropped completely with no signal to accurately follow my pre planned route so I resorted to my compass and map and proceeded to follow what it looked to be the appropriate way on the map and have in mind all of these while a Thunderstorm is raging in the background. So after my soon to discover erroneous choice and 27+ miles later of Offroad muddy rainy and lighting strikes all around… I must admit even so I love off-roading being alone in a remote area under these conditions was a bit intimidating. Well short story this route came to a holt because of a lock gate. Realizing my mistake I turned around and had no choice but to drive back through the storm I was hoping to out run so needless to say the area was beautiful but the storm was making it a bit harder to appreciate at the moment. After what it seemed a while of negotiating wet obstacles under lighting and Phone Alerts to seek Higher ground I made it back to the main road this time deciding to make a quick right and seek shelter while I figure out my next move. I drove maybe a couple hundred yards and I remember I had previously downloaded this region map on GAIA so I loaded it and YEAH ! here where the answers I needed, clear marked mapped routes and completely offline. So here it is Gaia thanks for saving the Day !!

I am an avid outdoorsman, private pilot, recreational fisherman, big game hunter, etc. and I have used a hundred different GPS/mapping/geolocation/topographic maps over the years. Gaia is by far the best all-in-one map app I’ve ever used BY FAR. Used free version for a while and decided to upgrade to paid version and it is money well spent. This app has literally hundreds of overlays from cell service coverage to 24 hour weather forecasts to private landowner information to USGS topo maps to VFR aeronautical maps. I couldn’t recommend this app more highly to anyone who spends any amount of time in the mountains, or boating, or hiking, camping, cycling, kayaking or big game hunting. In my humble opinion this app is indispensable for outdoor enthusiasts of any kind. Probably my favorite feature is the map overlays — you start with a solid base map like Satellite imagery or OpenStreetMaps and from there you can start stacking other maps on top of it with varying transparency. I also like the trip recording feature, which you can trigger from your Apple Watch and it will record distance traveled, elevation changes, average traveling speed, and even show you a cross section of the ascent/descent changes made on your trip. I honestly can’t say enough great things about this app…you’ll just have to download it and see for yourself.

Gaia's accuracy even when I have zero service is pretty dang impressive. It's often spot on perfect but even when it isn't, it's not far off. At the very least it's always close enough for me to find my way. It also seems to have a bigger database of trails than any of the other apps I've used. Reviews of trails written by other users have always been helpful and led to some great gems and tips on what to expect for a given trail.

The feature I personally love the most is the trail tracing feature. You can create two or more waypoints and Gaia will generate a trail path to get you to your destination. It's particularly dumb proof for those of us who are map challenged, and I loooove that it includes a distance estimate. It helps plan my endurance, meals/snacks, time allotment, and expectations. If you want, you can break a single hike into several waypoints so you can know about how long each leg of the trip is. This can help line up your map trail so you can know when to expect obstacles, challenges, route changes, or noteworthy milestones listed in user reviews. For example: "4 and a half miles in there's a really dicey scramble up steep shale. Take your time and be careful!"

I *never* write reviews, so it's saying something that I'm impressed enough to write one at all. 11/10 would recommend.