EP325 | Principles of Overlanding: App Navigation with Chris Cordes

Overland Journal Podcast host Scott Brady discusses the core principles of overlanding navigation with Chris Cordes, highlighting primary, secondary, contingency, and emergency backups. They compare three main app categories: turn-by-turn tools like Google Maps, reference/layer apps like iOverlander and Tracks4Africa, and hybrid discipline-specific platforms such as onX and Gaia. While Google excels at everyday routing and real-time traffic, onX offers specialized backcountry features, including land ownership layers, trail data, weather updates, offline mapping, and off-road turn-by-turn routing. The pair emphasize thorough pre-planning, downloading maps for offline use, re-evaluating routes after navigation mistakes, and carrying redundant devices alongside paper maps. Finally, they explore responsible land stewardship, onX’s trail-verification process, global expansion, AI planning tools, and the Overwatch Rescue evacuation add-on.

Overland Journal Podcast Episode #325

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