GPS Not the Way to Go to Yosemite

Four GPS devices in one car may not be enough to keep you on the right road headed to Yosemite. Photo by Karl Baron.

Seems like once a year we need a reminder about the pitfalls of trusting GPS. Although GPS units are great (I happen to have 2 – a stand alone and one built into my phone) they do have their drawbacks especially on rural and mountain roads. Take this couple for instance. Headed home from an family get together they trusted the GPS built into their car and found themselves stuck on a remote road in the snow, lucky to be alive.

The couple had been in Portland and followed their GPS as it directed them south on U.S. Highway 97 to Oregon Highway 31, which goes through Silver Lake and Lakeview before connecting with U.S. Highway 395 to Reno, Evinger said.

In the town of Silver Lake, the unit told them to turn right on Forest Service Road 28, and they followed that and some spur roads nearly 35 miles before getting stuck in about 1 1/2 feet of snow near Thompson Reservoir, the sheriff said.

“For some reason they finally got a weak signal after 2 1/2 days,” Evinger said. “They called in. They alternated between two different cell phone numbers.”

A GPS-enabled phone is able to send its coordinates to 911, and eventually one of the couple’s phones sent its location to the dispatcher’s console, the sheriff said. (Yahoo News)

Earlier this year four women on their way to Yosemite became similarly lost when the GPS unit they were using to find their way to Yosemite directed them down a little used country road ( read the post ). They eventually were able to call a friend who relayed a message to the Mariposa County Sheriff’s department and were rescued.

There are MANY, MANY roads around Yosemite that don’t go anywhere or are nearly impassable except with 4-wheel drive vehicles. If you’re going to Yosemite for the first time stay to the highways and trust your common sense. All the roads to Yosemite are well marked with signs.

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to explore some of the old logging roads then be sure ask a few locals about the road before heading out. You’ll also want to be sure you have a National Forest map and a compass and know how to use them. Keep in mind that your GPS may become unusable due to heavy trees and your cell phone will not have signal in most areas. Most of the logging roads in the National Forest surrounding Yosemite aren’t maintained and will often be rutted or even washed away in parts from winter snow melt and rain.