Search-and-rescue crews say hikers can get into trouble when they use Google Maps for wilderness navigation, even though the app works well for everyday travel.
The warning comes after a string of rescues, including a recent case in Colorado, involving hikers who used the app to map out trail trips.
Here's what to know
At least two emergencies in July prompted warnings from rescuers, as Backpacker reported. In both cases, hikers had used Google Maps while preparing for difficult backcountry outings, and teams say it should not be the main planning resource for those trips.
On the Howe Sound Trail in British Columbia, a severe gap between the app's estimate and the terrain's reality spurred the conditions that required a rescue.
Google Maps told three teenage hikers that the 11.2-mile hike would take about 5 hours and 13 minutes, per Backpacker. But in practice, the rugged alpine trip usually takes between 12 and 14 hours and includes roughly 4,200 feet of elevation gain.
The teens ended up without enough water, and only one had a headlamp. After darkness fell and they started back, one slipped from a boulder and hurt his tailbone. One member of the group eventually needed to be airlifted out, per Backpacker.
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The Lions Bay Search and Rescue team is now urging hikers, "Before heading into the backcountry, check the weather. Understand the elevation gain. Bring enough food and water. Carry the essentials. Start early. Know when to turn around. [And finally,] please don't let Google Maps convince you that a serious hike is just another afternoon walk."
The app is designed first and foremost for road travel, a setting where mileage and timing are more straightforward. Those assumptions do not translate neatly to remote mountain routes.
Because Google draws much of its public-lands mapping from government data, Backpacker reported, the trail information shown in the app may lag behind on-the-ground reality. As a result, users may see routes that are no longer passable or that are much more involved than a plain basemap suggests.
Travel-time estimates can also be misleading because they miss the features that actually govern trail speed. A route's mileage and elevation gain do not capture talus, poor tread, steep switchbacks, or scrambling that can slow hikers far more than an app indicates.
When plans are built on those bad assumptions, people may head out without enough water or the right safety gear, and can end up caught out after dark.
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