GAIA Acquired by Outside Magazine Organization

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For Outside, I agree that the mag merger is probably the route to surviving a little longer. (But probably not much longer...)

I think this is the continuation of very long term trend for print media. Being from near NYC, I remember the "mega merged" newspaper "The World Journal Tribune." Pop quiz: can anyone list the original newspapers that finally ended up as the (short-lived) WJT?
 
Nessmuk said:
It's not like cell phones are inexpensive. Certainly can't rely on always having a a cell signal in many remote regions. Can't run a cell phone for the hundred or so hours on the Yukon 1000 mile canoe race. I can change the battteries daily on my Garmin. During SAR, we use hand held GPS units that easily transfer daily track search coverage data to ranger support computers at the end of the day. They are not going to be able to download track data from everyone's individual phone. I wont give up my Garmin handheld quite yet.
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I'm with you. And then some. I managed to hike all across the usa with ease using a garmin and available topo programs for use with both pc and gps units since 1998 and will never ever rely on or use a phone for anything then pictures. I don't have any trouble with transferring,saving data back and forth or where ever. Wife runs her Garmin all day too during hikes as well adding to the expierence.

Just plain rugged,versatile,acccurate and works anywhere anytime in this world. And now with the Garrmin 700 I have the screen is A1 for this old guys eyes. Ha.
 
TCD said:
For Outside, I agree that the mag merger is probably the route to surviving a little longer. (But probably not much longer...)

I think this is the continuation of very long term trend for print media. Being from near NYC, I remember the "mega merged" newspaper "The World Journal Tribune." Pop quiz: can anyone list the original newspapers that finally ended up as the (short-lived) WJT?
Click to expand...

Well my first guess was: Muhammad Speaks, The Village Voice and Duo Wei Times:D

But a quick Wiki check revealed that I was wrong...:)
 
TCD said:
For Outside, I agree that the mag merger is probably the route to surviving a little longer. (But probably not much longer...)

Being from near NYC, I remember the "mega merged" newspaper "The World Journal Tribune."
Click to expand...

I think you're referencing the International Herald Tribune. When I was a graduate student at Oxford, we Americans read it daily, like religion. It pulled the best from the New York Times and the Washington Post. It was fantastic newspaper. I now subscribe to both papers, largely because the IHT got me hooked on them.
 
B the Hiker said:
I think you're referencing the International Herald Tribune. When I was a graduate student at Oxford, we Americans read it daily, like religion. It pulled the best from the New York Times and the Washington Post. It was fantastic newspaper. I now subscribe to both papers, largely because the IHT got me hooked on them.
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No, I think he is referring to the World Journal Tribune.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_World_Journal_Tribune

The IHT was published in Paris
 
I was out in fairly chilly temps on Saturday, -8 when we got out of the car in the morning, and -12 when we got back in well after dark. I'm guessing temps were in the -15 range while we were still up high later in the day. I had my iPhone 12 in my pocket, not protected from moisture, and also not really protected from the cold. I was pleased to find that, even though I hadn't fully charged the battery in the morning, it seemed to fully hold its charge through the day (I kept it in airplane mode). This is in contrast to my older iPhone (6s, maybe?), which would not function, no matter how fully charged, once temps dipped to around 0. It was cold enough that I only took my hands out of my gloves/mittens for a max of half a minute or so to take a picture. I also glanced at Gaia to be certain we were at the actual summit at one point. No issues. It was nice to have a big, color screen, to pinch-zoom, and to not have to fiddle with weird menus. I find Gaia to be very intuitive, which is nice because I don't use it much. I hope that does not change. Figured the temp data point might be useful to folks who are wondering how the iPhone functions in colder weather. The only hassle was that it couldn't do face ID when only a narrow eye slit was visible - I had to punch in the numbers.
 
hikerbrian said:
I...wondering how the iPhone functions in colder weather. The only hassle was that it couldn't do face ID when only a narrow eye slit was visible - I had to punch in the numbers.
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I simply unlock mine when using it on a hike. More convenient than thumb print or trying to enter the code.
 
ChrisB said:
I simply unlock mine when using it on a hike. More convenient than thumb print or trying to enter the code.
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That's all well and good until you pocket dial 911 swimming through spruce somewhere near the summit of SW Twin.
 
CaptCaper said:
Just plain rugged,versatile,acccurate and works anywhere anytime in this world.
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Absolutely not trying to talk you out of anything, just one more data point: a close friend recently completed a masters in outdoor leadership from Oregon State. As part of their final project, his cohort planned a 2 week excursion to somewhere way way off the beaten path in Asia. Although navigation was a critical component of the masters program, during the trip not a single person ever pulled out a map. And no one brought a dedicated GPS. They downloaded maps of some kind to their phones in advance of the trip, used Gaia for navigation, and recharged using solar cells and power banks. My friend was a bit disappointed in how much phone use there was, actually (despite considerable training throughout the program in map and compass navigation). To me, this says 1) you can rely on a phone at least as much as you can rely on a dedicated GPS really anywhere; and 2) the 'kids these days' are not being dissuaded from using them as their primary means of navigation, even in some of the more rigorous outdoor leadership training programs (I don't know what NOLS is doing). While map and compass is still a requisite skill, it seems to be the backup plan rather than the primary plan. Interpret all of this how you will. Personally, if I were to go trekking in Africa again, I'd bring my phone rather than my Garmin. But that's just me.
 
JoshandBaron said:
That's all well and good until you pocket dial 911 swimming through spruce somewhere near the summit of SW Twin.
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That’s why you’re in airplane mode unless you need to make a call. ( My iPhone will not override it even if you dial 911.)
 
hikerbrian said:
Personally, if I were to go trekking in Africa again, I'd bring my phone rather than my Garmin. But that's just me.
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That's it in a nutshell. Personally....what works for one individual does not so necessarily work for the next. People's minds work differently and interpret information differently. Comparing the Pros and Cons of Navigation does not make one better than the other. It's the user and the context where the particular tool works best for the individual. IMO redundancy is what matters in a survival situation. When we only had map and compass and no electronics a stick in the sand on a sunny day or which side moss was growing on the side of a tree worked pretty good. Now we still have Map and Compass and some of these electronic gizmo's work really well also. Again having more than one tool in your kit is prudent.
 
Here (what I happen to think) is an important tidbit that (I happend to think) gets overlooked. We often see recommendations or lists or "requirements" that people bring

* Map and compass
* Ice axe and crampons

but in reality (I happen to think) most outdoor enthusiasts are not experienced users of these tools and thus they can be a false sense of security or even dangerous.

Instead of eschewing it, we should embrace it, because that's what "kids these days" are comfortable with and for sure they'll figure out GAIA (or similar) far faster than map + compass. Ice axe and crampons is a different animal altogether.

My $0.02... IANAL... HYOH... etc ;)

Tim
 
JoshandBaron said:
That's all well and good until you pocket dial 911 swimming through spruce somewhere near the summit of SW Twin.
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My swimming moment was several years ago, somewhere on Big Slide in the ADK. Once we got to the highest of the Brothers that had a clear line to a nearby tower, they called me and said they had been trying to reach me and wanted to know what the scope of my emergency was.

On the Airplane mode thing, as a luddite, the commercials with Apple Watches called for a rescue because they sense the wearer's vitals changing. (he's unconscious after a bike fall) Would that work in airplane mode?
 
bikehikeskifish said:
Here (what I happen to think) is an important tidbit that (I happend to think) gets overlooked. We often see recommendations or lists or "requirements" that people bring

* Map and compass
* Ice axe and crampons

but in reality (I happen to think) most outdoor enthusiasts are not experienced users of these tools and thus they can be a false sense of security or even dangerous.

Instead of eschewing it, we should embrace it, because that's what "kids these days" are comfortable with and for sure they'll figure out GAIA (or similar) far faster than map + compass. Ice axe and crampons is a different animal altogether.

My $0.02... IANAL... HYOH... etc ;)

Tim
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I'll agree to a point. IMO it's a matter of attenuation to what you embrace. I embraced and learned how to use an Ice Axe, Crampons and snowshoes for that matter. GPS, Cell phones, and beacons which was also a whole other animal to embrace which I did upon my own volition. You allude to Ice Axe and crampons and not knowing how to use them as being a false sense of security. Well I will say the same of electronic devices even more so. Folks new to the hobby thinking they can get by with a cell phone as a flashlight for instance would be one example. The issue with electronic instruments is they provide a level of stimulation of instant gratification rather than honing a skill over time in a delayed gratification methodology where true outdoor skills are spawned. This is where the attenuation of what you embrace comes into play. Not to say many hours can't be spent learning GPS and cell phones to a high degree. But my intuition is the newbie can easily be lead astray through the use of electronics and therefore creating a false sense of security.
 
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Reminds me of early in the GPS and cell phone era when someone got caught in the Dry River area. He knew his exact coordinates and reported them on his cell but was totally clueless on where he was and how he needed to head out. My guess is even if he was following breadcrumbs he still would have needed to be hauled out.
 
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