Crime & Safety
Cell Phone GPS Leads Hikers Off Trail; Caution Urged By Officials
Hikers from Cambridge, and Methuen, Massachusetts, were guided back to a hiking trail after mapping was not accurate for remote areas.
TAMWORTH, NH — On Saturday, November 28, at 3:30 p.m. New Hampshire Fish and Game was notified that two hikers were off trail and had phoned for assistance.
NH Fish and Game said the hikers were Mattea Gennell, 23, of Cambridge, MA, and her mother, Lisa, 56, of Methuen, MA. After speaking with them and giving them directions they were able to regain the trail and hike out to an alternate trailhead prior to darkness.
NH Fish and Game Sgt. Alex Lopashanski said, "Recently there has been an increase in calls where hikers have become disoriented using cell phone mapping applications. Many of these applications contain mapping errors and they also do not function well or at all in areas without cell service. "
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Sgt. Alex Lopashanski advises less popular trail systems can be poorly marked and fresh leaf litter in the fall can also add to route finding difficulty so having a paper map, compass and a handheld GPS unit are important items to bring when venturing into the mountains.
NH Fish and Game and several rescue agencies had a busy weekend rescuing two Massachusetts hikers in Tamworth, NH and a hiker from Providence, RI in Bartlett, NH.