Your GPS May Get You in Serious Trouble

by Jim Bremner

In this modern age, we rely on computers more and more. Google maps and other online maps give us directions. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) guide us turn by turn to our destination.

How can these digital maps that look so good, lead us to make such foolish mistakes? Almost every week someone pulls into the dirt road that leads to my house thinking they’re on the road to some location a mile away. (The road has been closed for 20 years.) The road is marked "Private" and "No Exit," but they don’t believe the signs. Sometimes they will try driving past the end of the road and straight into the brush, just because their GPS says the road is there.

So what is the point of this story… well, let’s move the location to the desert. Unless you have topo map software in your GPS unit, it will only show you the main roads. Your GPS device will say something like “You are in a area where no turn by turn information is available. Follow the route on a map.” If you have a GPS unit with topo software then you will see more trails and dirt roads.

This is where it gets interesting. The GPS knows where you are, and you tell it where you want to go. So it gives you the shortest route. Remember, in the desert, the standard GPS may not know where the roads are, or even if there are any roads. If you follow its route, you may be taken off the road that you’re on, and directed to make your own road. If you are in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you may even be able to do that for a while.

When you come to a big drop off, do you continue, if the GPS tells you to go right over it?

This is what the Google map looks like in Joshua Tree NP on Black Eagle Road. (See below.) Looks like a nice drive into the desert. We took the road to see what we would find.

Here is how our GPS depicted our route:

When we got to the wash that the road goes right over, even though the GPS didn't indicate any problem, we stopped.

There is a way that you can cross it (see below). Cell phones don't work out here though -- it would be far better to have another SUV traveling with you, if you decided to take this road. Remember it's always easier going down a bad road, then getting back up. It's not a bad idea to get out of your vehicle and walk the route so that you're aware of the amount of traction you can expect, and any other possible issues that might affect your return trip, before you have committed to the route.

The second road shown on the Google map is so bad that Joshua Tree National Park closed it several years ago. It still shows up on the GPS map though, and you can drive it, by going off the dirt road and over some rocks. This is illegal in the park though, even if there is no sign.

Remember this:

Use common sense -- don't go where there is no road even if your GPS device shows you one. In many cases you will be breaking the law and endangering yourself, and anyone traveling with you.

A GPS when used in the desert may be plotting the shortest distance, not the best route for a car or even for hiking.

Driving a Jeep or other 4-wheel drive vehicles does not make you an expert off-road driver. In low 4-wheel drive, your SUV can go many places that don't seem possible, if you just keep your foot on the gas. Getting back is not always possible.

There is no cell phone service in most remote desert areas. It’s always a good idea to have two cars when exploring off-road. If you get stuck, it can be a life and death situation. You'll be glad for that second vehicle.

Summer is not the best time to be exploring in the desert.

Plan your trip on a topo map before you go. Try to find a write-up on the web about the area you’re going to. See what others have experienced before you finish planning your own trip.

Read more about the Joshua Tree NP

• Black Mountain Road
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Old Dale Rd

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