By MWIS ambassador, Rachel Clarke:
I was out recently in foggy conditions on the hills and it was a lesson in how unprepared and shockingly bad people are at navigation. Many of you are fully versed in how to read a map and find your way, but even experienced walkers may miss the subtleties of route-finding.
The green dashed lines on an OS map aren't paths. They are rights of way (ROW), which are historical features. Often a path intersects or runs with a ROW, but a green dashed line on its own in the absence of a small black dashed line, is NOT a path. Never follow a green dashed line blindly, you may be heading into potential danger.
Some hiking apps use heat sourcing and other fandangled methods that other apps don't use, to give you routes, or allow you to plot routes.
This means, if you plot a route off the west side of Great Gable, you may be walking onto a trad climbing route that has previously been recorded to a popular outdoor app. Or it may be down Piers Gill, off Scafell Pike, where someone has recorded it to their watch, then got stuck, or worse, died.
If you still want to use an app, (because we all do), choose one which has OS maps and preferably one which doesn't allow you to clip to ROW'S, unless they are definitely paths.
Some apps even put warnings on certain locations if there has been a spate of rescues in the area.
Take extra care if you are just following an app which shows no contours, drop offs, crags etc. And even better, know how to identify these on a map, whether digital or paper.
Be mindful of the hazards on the mountains, especially when they are shrouded in fog, even if your app, or your paper map, gives you the mental assurances that you are safe.(Image shows OS mapping, courtesy of Outdooractive)
About Rachel Clarke
35 years hill experience, I discovered mountains whilst doing the Duke of Edinburgh award at 16. I have spent every spare moment since then, exploring the fells of The Lake District and the mountains of Wales and Scotland. My love of the hills also involves walking long distance trails solo, wild camping in some of the most remote parts of the UK. Based in North West Cumbria.