What “experienced” actually means
In the age of GPS devices, smartphone apps, and satellite communicators, it’s worth being honest about what “experienced” really means. If your phone stopped working mid-hike, could you keep going with confidence? Could you locate yourself on a map, read the terrain, and make sound decisions without a digital track to follow?
This isn’t an argument against technology. It’s a reminder that skill has to come first, because the device is only useful for as long as it works.
Where technology actually helps
Technology has made bushwalking more accessible and, in a lot of cases, genuinely safer. GPS watches, navigation apps, and personal locator beacons (PLBs) let hikers track position, monitor progress, and signal for help in an emergency, and that gives real reassurance to hikers and their families alike.
The problem starts when a device becomes your primary method of navigation instead of a backup to your own judgement. That’s when skill erosion creeps in, because the skill you don’t practise is the skill you don’t have when you actually need it. If batteries fail or the signal drops out, can you still read a map, use a compass, interpret topographic features, or pick out catching features to confirm where you actually are? Experience isn’t measured by the devices you carry. It’s measured by the decisions you can make without them.
A practical way to test yourself
One straightforward way to check where you actually stand is to deliberately reduce your reliance on electronic navigation for a single, controlled hike. Leave the GPS tracking and mapping apps switched off, carry a physical map and compass, and use terrain awareness and observation to confirm your position as you go.
That doesn’t mean abandoning safety margins. You still carry your essential emergency tools, including a PLB. The point isn’t recklessness, it’s calibration, finding out in a manageable setting where your actual skills sit rather than assuming they’re fine because the app has always been there to catch you.
What the exercise develops
Doing this deliberately builds a few things at once:
- Navigation competence: it reinforces your understanding of terrain, bearings, and spatial awareness.
- Problem-solving: it forces deliberate thinking instead of passively following a line on a screen.
- Confidence grounded in skill: resilience that comes from knowledge, not from signal strength.
- Preparation discipline: it sharpens your route research and your contingency planning before you even leave home.
All of that feeds back into your broader hiking skills, not just navigation on the day.
Doing it safely
If you want to try a low-tech hike, do it deliberately rather than on a whim. Start with familiar terrain, a well-marked trail you already know, so you’re testing your skill rather than gambling with it. Plan thoroughly beforehand: study the route, the elevation, the access points, and your escape options if something goes wrong. Tell someone your plans and keep up good communication practices, and carry your emergency equipment regardless, because a PLB remains a critical safety tool whether or not you’re using your phone to navigate.
Treat skill development as something that happens in controlled conditions, then progress gradually to more complex terrain as your competence actually grows, not as your confidence outpaces it.
Technology as backup, not primary
None of this is about rejecting modern tools. PLBs and satellite communicators have saved a lot of lives and are a genuine part of the Communication and Rescue safety system. The principle I’d hold onto is balance: technology should supplement sound judgement and preparation, not replace them.
When you combine traditional navigation skills with the right technology, you get redundancy, and redundancy is what resilience actually looks like in practice.
Learning alongside other people
Navigation and terrain interpretation improve with practice and with shared experience, and joining a bushwalking club can speed that process up considerably. Experienced members often provide mentorship in map reading, route planning, and decision-making under changing conditions, and if you’re looking to build structured competence rather than pick it up piecemeal, joining a bushwalking club is a practical step worth taking.
Most people find that removing the digital layer is confronting the first time they try it. Working out your position manually feels slower and less certain than glancing at a screen, and that discomfort is doing its job: it shows you exactly where more practice is needed and why the preparation matters in the first place. True experience was never really about distance walked or devices carried. It’s demonstrated in how you adapt, how you judge a situation, and how you manage uncertainty when the easy answer isn’t available. Technology still has its place in that, but skill, preparation, and self-reliance are what it’s actually built on.
I tried this a while ago. It’s pretty humbling but great for identifying where your can improve your bushwalking skills.
I’m leaving nothing at home…
Peter Jolly fair call. Always good to have multiple sources of navigation tools and comms.
There are some great old school books on map and compass navigation, and can find them second-hand. Bushwalking and Mountain Craft Leadership was my gold standard recommendation. Topo paper maps are still the best for exploring route options and understanding the types of landscape. I’m so glad 1:25K maps are easy to get. Exploring off route with 1:100K involved knowing the major features but having to fill in lots of blanks as you go. Even driving to a site we needed paper maps of roads, towns etc.
Great tips, thanks for sharing Darren. I often remember travelling to a destination with the street directory on my lap. Love my 1:25k maps too.
Over the years I have found this to be one of the best resources to show new rescuers about map reading.
Media: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10226844226084296&set=p.10226844226084296&type=3
Russel Wells thanks heaps for sharing. I’ll have to grab myself a copy.
Most of my walks are map and compass, I love me some navigation! I do love the ability to ‘check with the tech’ though and always ALWAYS take a PLB and solar charger in case I can check my phone for weather updates etc.
I’m less useful in urban navigation! Absolutely trying to practice feature recognition in that zone 😂
Bushwalking Mama I use map and compass too and have tech as a backup to quickly check my location when needed. I enjoy relying on my own abilities and also find it helps me slow down and really appreciate what’s around me, as I pay more attention to it. What I enjoy most is navigating by topography rather than relying on anything else. Studding the map before hand and really understanding the route and its challenges is equally enjoyable to me as the bushwalk itself.
I’m doing a navigation course next month. Can’t wait
Karen Jane Hawkins nice one. hope it goes well.
Electronic devices should include PLB! Self rescue or die….! Too many rely on the fact they can press a button and help will come.
Nick Wright I completely agree that over-dependence on devices like PLBs has become a significant issue. Increasingly, activations and calls for assistance seem to result from situations of ‘I didn’t prepare adequately’ rather than genuine instances of ‘my life is in grave and imminent danger.’ I’ve also noticed a troubling mindset among some people who believe the SOS button and search-and-rescue services exist so they don’t need to plan or can push beyond their limits. The sentiment seems to be, ‘That’s their job.’ This highlights the need for greater education on preparation and responsible use of these tools.
Nick Wright self rescue with a snake bite, broken leg, etc??? Take the PLB. Its just as essential as your first aid kit, being able to navigate without electronic navigation aids, and is part of proper planning and preparation. And in my opinion, so is having more than one option for navigation.
Amanda Warriner totally agree with having more than one option for navigation. I always recommend people carry at least two. The purpose of this challenge, is to encourage people to test themselves in a controlled environment by leaving tech at home for a few walks. I’m not suggesting abandoning it, just seeing how well you can manage without it so you can see where you might want to develop your skills. For me, a PLB is a must, especially for the medical incidents you mentioned.
Trail Hiking Australia yes I agree it’s a brilliant exercise for testing your knowledge with the aim of improving your skill. I think most of us will find it challenging to not have that electronic backup handy, but its something that could happen (and has happened to someone I know, losing a phone in the scrub). Important to know that we would cope without that backup. I might do it in our group and see how we go!!
My comment was more in response to the suggestion of leaving behind the potentially lifesaving emergency tech!
Amanda Warriner love that you want to give it a go. Interested to know how it goes. Agree about the PLB but it’s not always black and white. I think Nicks comment stems from the knowledge that a lot of people don’t plan or prepare and think that grabbing a PLB is their safety net and a replacement for self-reliance. While PLBs do saves lives, they don’t prevent people getting themselves into trouble in the first place. This over dependence is resulting in a lot more search and rescue incidents so I’m trying to encourage people to be better prepared so you don’t have to activate a PLB. I wrote a post about that here https://www.trailhiking.com.au/blog/plbs-safety-nets-not-shortcuts-why-self-reliance-matters/
PLB is a must, but i do love the idea of putting the rest away until needed in an emergency. It truly is a humbling experience
Wilderness First Aid Consultants it is humbling. Really makes you realise what you don’t know.
oh, this is an interesting challenge. I’ll let you know how I go.
Grant Hollingworth it is. For me, it really set a more accurate baseline for how experienced I am, compared to how experienced I possibly thought I was. There’s always room for improvement
I must say, I’m a totally electronic hiker.
Anne Griffin That’s totally fair! Technology can be a valuable tool for navigation and safety in the outdoors. I think it’s about finding the right balance—using tech to enhance our hiking experience while also keeping those traditional skills sharp, just in case we find ourselves in a situation where tech isn’t available or reliable. This challenge is also about understanding our own limitations, especially when it comes to navigation, and being honest with ourselves about how experienced we are. Proper planning ensures we’re not placing an unnecessary burden on emergency services. It’s all about being prepared for any scenario.
Gosh, I’m all in favour of not burdening emergency services and totally agree with map & paper compass. Rogaining is a great trainer.
Anne Griffin for me, the benefit of learning the basics of map and compass navigation (and rogaining is excellent for that) is that it teaches you to at least understand what you are looking at on a map, even if you choose to then use tech for navigation. I’ve spoken with a lot of people following rescue incidents who didn’t realise the route would be so steep and challenging and expected it to be relatively flat. When I pointed to the contours on their app, they admitted they didn’t understand what they meant. In many cases, they weren’t even aware what the tracks, roads and features were beyond the blue line they were following.
take your GPS tracker . Get one off National parks. take a paper map if you must but take the tracker
Clare McHugh Von Stieglitz great suggestion. Kind of defeats the purpose of the challenge though.
Trail Hiking Australia sorry mixing it up with a PLB. Go nuts with your paper map and compass, just have the back up.
Clare McHugh Von Stieglitz haha. I always encourage people to have at least one backup form of navigation. Not sure if you read the post. The challenge is about checking in with yourself to see how well you can navigate without tech for a few walks. Helps to put things in perspective in terms of preparation and planning needed.
Have you ever gone bushwalking without your GPS? What did you rely on instead, and how did it go for you?
I’ve never been on a bush walk with GPS!
Nathan Brayshaw what do you use for Nav? Map and compass? Intend to use a gps sometimes for recording where I’ve been but I do prefer paper maps and my compass.
Trail Hiking Australia ….I used to carry maps ‘in the olden days’ 😂, but not for a while now. And I always have a compass just in case. I’m just old fashioned…I like to know where I’m going and plan ahead. Know the lay of the land. Know how much time I have, and know my abilities.
Nathan Brayshaw I like your approach and I do wish it wasn’t seen as old fashioned. Just smart.