HMN 2026: Why hikers need a backup for the maps on their phones

Four of five Norwegians use digital maps when they are in the outdoors. In just a few years, our mobile phones have gone from being a practical navigation aid to a virtual compass in your backpack. The more we rely on digital navigational tools, the more important it is that technology actually points us in the right direction.

“In challenging terrain, the margins that separate safe trails from dangerous detours are very small. If the digital track is 50 meters wrong, it can have major consequences,” says NTNU researcher Ole Edward Wattne at the Department of Design.

How we orient ourselves

Wattne and his colleague Frode Volden have investigated how people find their way when they are in the outdoors, and whether a well-known theory for wayfinding in a man-made environment, Barker’s taxonomy, also applies in the forests and mountains.

The researchers conducted a survey in which 401 people answered how they orient themselves when they are out on a backcountry trip. Most were young adults between the ages of 20 and 39. The participants themselves described which strategies and aids they usually use.

The researchers analyzed the responses with an eye to choices, how well the travelers understood the terrain, and which tools people actually use. They found that as many as 81% used digital maps on their mobile phones. Google and Apple Maps are the most popular. The study is published in the Journal of Navigation.

“This means that we must ensure that the good principles and practices for labeling and orientation are included in the digital domain,” says Wattne.

What the research shows

Here are the most common ways people navigate when they are outdoors.

Digital habits:

• 81% use digital maps on mobile devices
• 93% of those who use digital maps use Google/Apple Maps
• 51% use maps specifically created to for the outdoors (faroutguides.com, Norgeskart)
• 26% use training and hiking apps (Strava, Komoot)
• 15% navigate via social media (Snap Map, Instagram Stories)

Analog habits: People still use marked trails, signs, cairns, paper maps and asking others.

Behavior: Respondents report an average of seven different types of behavior when they are out hiking.

Instagram lures people out—and leads them astray

The researchers also described another development, where beautiful natural images on social media cause more and more people to seek out demanding hiking destinations.

“Many people are lured by spectacular photos from so-called ‘honey-pot locations’ such as Trolltunga and Lofoten. When inexperienced hikers only navigate with a map on their mobile phone, the risk of getting lost or ending up in dangerous situations increases,” says Wattne.

He mentions research from the U.K. that suggests that the number of rescue operations is on the increase for young people who only use mobile navigation.

We orient ourselves the same way, whether in the city or out in the outdoors

Wattne and Volden found that the strategies we use in man-made environments also apply in the outdoors.

Barker’s taxonomy describes three forms of behavior: social, semantic and spatial strategies, and is directly transferable to how we find our way in nature. It describes a set of behaviors that we humans use regardless of the type of environment we are in.

These are the three ways we find our way:

• Social strategies: We use others as a “compass.” For example, we follow someone who seems familiar, or ask for directions.
• Semantic strategies: We interpret signs, maps, and digital symbols. This can be a DNT marking or Google Maps.
• Spatial strategies: We use the senses and the terrain: a valley, a peak on the right side, a river course. The terrain becomes our reference.

The researchers saw that the participants in the study often combined several strategies at the same time. In other words, we use technology, our understanding of the terrain and social information when we navigate outside.

“We should teach the digital generation to use social and spatial strategies in addition to the semantic ones from the mobile phone. Several strategies provide safer and better experiences in the backcountry,” says Wattne.

The researchers emphasize that safe travel is not about putting away your mobile phone, but about having alternatives if the technology fails. Paper maps, marked trails and asking other hikers remain important tools for your backpack.

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