Granted nobody’s perfect, and hindsight is always 20/20. However, one of the worst outcomes in my mind involves finishing the trip, going home, and realizing after the fact that I had missed the target waterfall(s)! There are lots of things that can go wrong on a waterfall trip or hike, and we’re living proof of that. The table in this link compares the differences in membership levels as well as their pricing. Their premium map catalog also includes weather maps. Meanwhile, the Gaia GPS Premium Membership lets me layer additional maps, including the detailed NatGeo Trails Illustrated maps (the same ones that I had paid $100 for each set of CDs for specific US states back in the early 2000s). Premium Map Layers on the Gaia GPS website The main benefit of the Gaia GPS Membership is that it lets me download maps offline so I wouldn’t need the phone network to use their maps while in-the-field. Gaia GPS has a membership scheme where I could pay a yearly subscription to become a Gaia GPS Member or a Gaia GPS Premium Member. Similar to how we might use GoogleMaps or individual websites to research a particular hike or waterfall, the Gaia GPS website gives me this ability using their own map catalog. Gaia GPS also has a website that allows me to navigate their worldwide base map. But more importantly, this software essentially makes our iPhone act like a handheld GPS unit. This is especially true with the Apple iPhone, which is what I use. The Gaia GPS App is mapping and navigation software that is optimized for working with smart phones. So is Gaia GPS the killer app for hikers and backpackers that I’ve been looking for? Here’s a breakdown of my findings… What Is Gaia GPS? And I wanted to see if this tool would solve such problems. So I decided to write this Gaia GPS Review because I looked for a way to improve how we’ve been chasing waterfalls and prevent these failures. However, if you’ve looked at some of my write-ups in the World of Waterfalls website, you’ll notice that I’ve had more than my share of failures where I didn’t actually experience the targeted waterfall. Gaia GPS viewed on the website for trip planning purposes with premium layers on top of the base layerFor the better part of two decades, I have been using a dedicated GPS handheld unit as essentially a breadcrumb navigator and trip logger on all of our waterfall hikes both domestically and abroad.

Gps rating review