How To Use Your Smartphone to Navigate the EBC Trail
Trekking to the Everest Base Camp is an experience of a lifetime, due to its remoteness and exceptional beauty. But the classic trek is all about going back to basics – even if, let’s face it, in 2019, there isn’t much you could need for trail navigation and safety besides that little thing known as your mobile phone. But the Everest Base Camp Trekking route isn’t so gadget-friendly – from scarce power outlets to the absence of service networks. The ability to quickly and easily use your smartphone for navigation — without becoming enslaved by it — can also help ease your journey in countless little ways. This is your ultimate guide, so you know exactly what to take, whether these must-have apps, smart moves, or how not to get caught short on the Everest Base Camp trek, with the closest anything for that matter, 12 days away.
The “Why”: Navigating with Smartphones
For a hiker accompanied by a professional guide, the smartphone is nothing short of an indispensable backup tool. For solo trekkers, it could function as a number one navigation tool. Below are a number of the key pros and cons to take into account on the subject of EBC Trek with only a smartphone as your GPS:
Offline Maps: Even if you don’t have a mobile carrier, a cellphone can decide exactly how far it is on an offline map via GPS. Real-time tracking: Apps can update you in real time on your current Altitude, Distance covered, and how much more till the next point. Route planning and waypoints: Plan your route before you travel, and record landmarks or teahouses, emergency shelters, so they can be easily found on the trail. Emergency Info: In case of emergency, you can use your smartphone to relay your precise coordinates and even call a guide or the rescue crew.
A lot of those expenses are already included in an organized Everest Base Camp Trek price, such as a guide, but your smartphone can be a great personal safety net all the same.
Essential Apps Your Digital Toolkit
Here are the essential apps to download before you travel from your home country. Note that Wi-Fi can be spotty, especially as you ascend, so all downloads should be finished before stowing your phone.
MapsMeme: This is one of the most popular and useful apps for trekking in Nepal. It’s a free, open-source mapping app that allows you to download maps for offline use of entire regions. A map of the region around Everest on Maps. It is very detailed, and it also has the main trekking trail, side trails, teahouses, and even small villages on it. It uses your cellphone’s GPS to show you where you are right now, and that makes it necessary to follow a trail. Gaia GPS: This app calls for a charge; however, it’s a favorite for serious hikers and mountaineers due to its unique topographic maps and advanced capabilities. you can download map layers for eachthing from satellite imagery to weather layers, essential stuff when planing your hike for the day.
Peak Finder: This is a fun and highly functional app that uses your phone’s camera and GPS to tell you the name of all the peaks around. Point your camera at a mountain and the app tells you its name and height! It’s a great way to spot the soaring peaks of Ama Dablam and Lhotse, while also getting a good sense for local geography. AllTrails: This isn’t the best one for navigating in real time when you’re on a trail, but it’s a great app to prepare and plan with. That includes a database of trail information — with pages for photos, a written review from other trekkers, that sort of thing — that can help you get an idea of what to expect on every section of the trail.
With a charged phone, the following apps are your digital compasses for the Everest Base Camp hike.
A Smart Power Strip: The Long Cord to Endurance
And a smartphone is nothing if it can’t keep a charge. Plus, the cold at altitude can suck your battery dry in a couple of hours. An experienced long-distance hiker — or a camper, who also might want to save power while outside — will conserve it, so the tracker is running when they need it.
Airplane Mode: Once you leave a village where there is Wi-Fi, turn on airplane mode. That perpetual search for a signal is what’s draining your phone’s battery. Turn off airplane mode when you are in a teahouse and need to use Wi-Fi or make a phone call. One and Only: Keep it Warm Perio.d That’s the only key. Tote your phone in an inside jacket pocket during the day and bring it into your sleeping bag at night. That means cold won’t suck as much power out of your battery. Grab a Power Bank: You just need a power bank with decent capacity, period. The Everest Base Camp climb price is high, but compare that to the power bank, which comes in at such a low amount of money, so it would be daft not to have peace of mind that your device will be fully charged.
The Human Element: Digital – The Additive, not the Replacement
Your phone is a tool, not a mandate to bypass your guide or the smarts of local wisdom.
Trust your Guide.» Trust the decision that is made by your guide. They are vets who know the trail better than any map. (AFL)Ask for Loca.l When in doubt, always ask a local or trekkers on the way when lost. For an app, details could lag due to a recent trail closure, a new connection, or a temporary route around rockfall. Embrace Disconnection: The EBC trek is your chance to disconnect from the world of the internet and reconnect with nature. Your telephone is a remarkable gizmo for hiking; however, you shouldn’t spend your journey observing a screen. Appear, take inside the view, and be a gift.
Final Conclusion: the suitable balance
Trekking to the Everest Base Camp with a smartphone is a form of funding for your safety, comfort, and peace of mind. With the right coaching with offline apps, smart strength management, and perhaps a middle-of-the-street appreciation for humankind, you can have technology do its task alongside your Trans-Siberian journey in peaceful coexistence. “It’s a personal improvement process when you come here to the base of the world’s highest peak, and I believe that whether it is done with a smartphone or an old-school map, the greatest adventure is one that you are ready for.”
