I’ve backpacked 3,200 miles, all of them on the Pacific Crest Trail, in CA, OR, & WA.
First tools, compass and paper maps in hand, in Zip Loc bags, then digital maps on an electronic device (Android cell phone) w/ waterproof container available and battery bank charger good for 96 hours.
Exactly.
We were on a well marked trail so getting lost wasn’t an issue but I was might upset at this guy. First he told us that we wouldn’t need water purification as there were plenty of wells and potable water stations along the trail. Uh, there were zero. (we had several Sawyer filters)
The map on the watch was killing me. It was so small it couldn’t be read so we had absolutely no idea how far to the next campsite.
The guy leading had all kinds of gear but no real knowledge. It was a small contingent from a weeklong youth camp. My buddy and I were the other adults and we had plenty of skills.
The trip was a combination of backpacking, Cycling and canoeing. About 70 miles over 5 days. The lead guy got injured on day two, (bad blisters) so we arranged a pickup and took over.