Select a destination or tap and hold a spot on the map for a few seconds, then you'll get a prompt to download a map. You can adjust the corners of the rectangle to specify the area to download and zoom in/out to make the area bigger or smaller. If you lose cell coverage, the map and your GPS location will still be available. We recommend doing this while you still have wifi, especially with larger map areas. We store the last 5 map downloads. Once downloaded, all you need to do is hit the trail and enjoy.
We believe experiences with others are more important than buying stuff, so we are doing what we can to help you spend more time outside this holiday season. Cairn recently launched offline maps. Cairn is one of the only apps that allows you to download Topo maps for offline use for free. Even sweeter, we show you cell coverage overlays- here's the scoop:
Download a map before your trip:
Select a destination or tap and hold a spot on the map for a few seconds, then you'll get a prompt to download a map. You can adjust the corners of the rectangle to specify the area to download and zoom in/out to make the area bigger or smaller. If you lose cell coverage, the map and your GPS location will still be available. We recommend doing this while you still have wifi, especially with larger map areas. We store the last 5 map downloads. Once downloaded, all you need to do is hit the trail and enjoy.
#OptOutside
On Black Friday we're joining REI and many others by hitting the trail. Join us and share using the #OptOutside hashtag on your favorite social site. Look for team Cairn on the trails at Deception Pass State Park, WA on Black Friday.
ENJOYING CAIRN?
You can help us by telling others about the app. Here is a pre-populated tweet and email for easy sharing.
Love Team Cairn
Here’s the scoop on what's new at Cairn. SMS alerts, live tracking and more!
SEND ALERTS VIA SMS
Get your contacts’ attention by using SMS. You can also use email, of course (or both!). And we have to agree, our contacts are more like to see those text messages.
TRACK YOUR STATS
Track your distance, elevation gain, and get a live ETA. The ETA adjusts itself according to your pace and is especially helpful for making a decision on your turnaround time.
LIVE TRACKING
Now your contacts can keep tabs on your progress. The link to your trip map is now automatically provided to your safety contacts.
FIND YOUR SPOT
Now it’s much easier to specify your destination. We’ve added more trails to our search and have made it easy to find and name your own custom location. Just tap and hold on the map!
ENJOYING CAIRN?
You can help us by telling others about the app. Here is a pre-populated tweet and email for easy sharing.
Happy trails!
Love,
Your friends at Cairn
With the help of our community, team Cairn was able to map nearly the entire Pacific Crest Trail in 2015. 2,650 miles (4,265 kilometers) of the PCT were hiked by Three Go North and cell coverage mapped for Verizon and AT&T, including many dead spots. Other users have since gathered data on T-Mobile and Sprint. If a PCT section or thru-hike is in your near future you are probably wondering if you will be able to make phone calls, check emails, or post photos to social pages from various spots on the trail.
Overall there are places with great LTE coverage to not a single signal for up to 10 days. 2650 miles of trail is a large area to cover so in the spirit of brevity, we’ve highlighted specific spots going South to North. Download Cairn and search for a place to view the area of the trail you are interested in. You will see circles depicting mapped areas and can get carrier details by tapping a circle.
Southern California
The PCT starts on a small hill near Campo (elev. 2,915′), a town near the Mexican border, passes through Lake Morena County Park, Laguna Mountains, dips into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park at Scissors Crossing (bad coverage south of here), but as you pass near Big Bear lake you can get a weak signal which gradually gets stronger close to town. Overall coverage for AT&T and Verizon is pretty dismal on this part including poor at Cedar Springs and Bouquet Reservoir.
Central California
Starting from this section’s lowest point at Walker Pass (elev. 5,246′), the trail enters a roadless and scenic area, alternating between expansive meadows and conifer forests; Sequoia National Park, the John Muir Trail (JMT), Mount Whitney (elev. 14,494′), and Yosemite National Park are all highlights. As you head North cell coverage tends to improve, with decent AT&T and Verizon spots at the summit of Mt. Whitney, many spots on the JMT, and Yosemite. On the Central California stretch the route repeatedly descends deep canyons only to ascend to high saddles, as expected you won’t find coverage in canyons and the best spots are ridges/peaks with line of site to towns and cities.
Northern California
As you hike Northern California North of Donner Summit (elev. 7,989′), old volcanic flows and sediments bury most of the ancient bedrock of the Sierra Nevada crest. Beyond the North Fork of the Feather River, the Sierra Nevada yields to the southern Cascade Range. The PCT traverses Lassen Volcanic National Park where there’s good AT&T coverage North of Old Station, onto Mount Shasta with AT&T coverage on the South slopes but not the summit, as you pass through Castle Crags State Park in this area you’ll have a strong Verizon signal but lose it and AT&T gets weak further North in the Trinity Alps Wilderness. The trail climbs to 7,600 feet in the mountains connecting the inland Cascade Range with the coastal ranges, winding north through the Marble Mountain Wilderness before descending to the Klamath River (elev. 1,370′). It climbs again to the crest of the Siskiyou Mountains with spotty to no signal from any carrier as it traverses east, entering Oregon.
Oregon
As the trail crosses I-5 near Siskiyou Summit (elev. 4,310′) in southern Oregon to the Washington border you’ll pick up AT&T signals, enough to post pictures. Other highlights in Oregon include Mount McLoughlin (good Verizon to South on trail), Crater Lake National Park (dismal coverage except for AT&T at the top of Watchman Peak) , Diamond Peak Wilderness (no cell coverage), the Three Sisters (Verizon on South Sister but not others), Mount Washington (better coverage further North), Three Fingered Jack (AT&T is strong), Mount Jefferson (no signals from AT&T or Verizon on this section of the PCT), and Mount Hood (ok Verizon and AT&T). The major elevation change in Oregon on the PCT is the 3,160 foot drop into the Columbia River Gorge crossing Interstate 84 and the Columbia River on the Bridge of the Gods (elev. 180′), this is a good spot to plan for communications and photo shares with decent LTE signals from Verizon and AT&T. A side trip to Multnomah Falls is highly recommended in this area.
Washington
This section begins at the Bridge of the Gods on the Columbia River and ends at Monument 78 on the Canadian border (elev. 4,240′).
Starting with a lengthy climb out of the Columbia River Gorge, generally decent cell coverage in this section on high points and ridges. As you pass Mount Adams (elev. 12,276′). Just north lies the dramatically rugged Goat Rocks Wilderness and a traverse of the Packwood Glacier with no cell coverage to at all.
The trail crosses Highway 12 at White Pass before encountering dozens of lakes in the William O. Douglas Wilderness. Between White Pass and Highway 410 at Chinook Pass, occasional spots of coverage (best to view Cairn for the exact places), the trail skirts many lakes as it approaches the towering monarch of the Cascades, Mount Rainier National Park (one of our most mapped National Parks) from Chinook Pass, the trail has an easy, rapid run to Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass (Strong LTE). As you work your way North from I-90 coverage goes from ok in some spots to non-existent and improves as you near HWY 2. North of HWY 2 is some of the most rugged terrain on the PCT (and US), near North Cascades National Park with non-existent cell coverage. This is also one of the most remote regions, one of the only and last places in this section to get a call off to family is small the town of Mazama.
As you near completion and reach EC Manning Provincial Park Canadian carriers take over (check your roaming settings) but with weak signals, best to use landlines and wifi at the nearest town. An additional seven miles were added beyond the border by the Canadian government to provide access to Highway 3 in British Columbia’s Manning Provincial Park (elev. 3,800′).
Remember it’s possible to get a full cell coverage map of the PCT by downloading the Cairn App and in some cases you can call 911 on another carrier's signal so Cairn shows all carriers on it’s topo maps.
You may have heard the tragic story of the Appalachian thru-hiker who perished after getting lost along the trail. Geraldine Largay spent nearly a month waiting for rescue. She desperately tried to contact her family, even walking to higher ground in an attempt to find cell coverage. But her texts were found unsent on her phone.
Here’s what you should do in a similar situation:
First, never assume you’ll be able to get a call or text through. Do your research and put together a plan in case there is no coverage for the area you’ll be in or your phone runs out of juice. Or breaks. Or gets dropped in the river.
It may surprise you to learn that calls to 911 from cell phones are the most common way wilderness rescues are initiated in the US. And that’s even considering that many places have spotty or no coverage. As worldwide coverage increases, cell phones are certain to to play an even bigger role in wilderness emergencies.
Many search and rescue organizations prefer and recommend that people call emergency services when in trouble (in the US, that means calling 911).
1. Stay calm and speak clearly. Before calling for help, take a few deep breaths, calm yourself, and make sure you can describe your location. Know just what you will say in the first few seconds of your call.
2. Get critical info communicated first. When an operator answers, state your location (preferably in latitudinal/longitudinal coordinates), identify yourself, and briefly state your emergency. Operators are trained to ask specific questions and might interject to quickly narrow down on the required info needed. However, they might not be aware that you’re calling from the wilderness, so it’s important to get your location on the recording as quickly as possible. You might lose reception or battery power.
3. Use the compass app to find your latitude and longitude coordinates. The most precise pieces of location information are your coordinates. The best place to get this is to open the standard iPhone compass app. If you don’t have your lat/long, mention any information you do have. The trail name, the mountain you are on, your vehicle info, land features, how far you are from the trailhead, your elevation, and prominent points can all help identify your location.
4. iPhone users, be aware of Siri. With devices using iOS 7 or higher, Apple has confirmed that when dialing 911 from an iPhone capable of Siri, your call will be directed to Siri. Siri will ask you a couple of basic questions to make sure you actually need emergency care. If you do, you will receive the proper resources. Be ready to answer simple questions so you can connect to a live operator.
5. Send an SMS. If you can’t get a call out with low reception you might still be able get a text out. Text a reliable person you know with a simple message and your location. Ideally you would have left a trip plan with this same person. Many municipalities have or are planning on upgrading their 911 systems to accept text messages.
6. Enable automatic location sharing. Most new phones automatically detect your location when you make an emergency call. However, this isn’t guaranteed and you can take a few steps to help. Some devices require you to activate your phone’s automatic location setting, which enables E911 to calculate your position. Ensure you do this before your trip.
7. Turn off your phone to conserve power. On longer trips, turn on your phone once a day for about 5 minutes when out in the field. Powered-up phones check with the nearest towers. Even if there isn’t enough signal to make a voice call, you might be leaving an electronic trail.
8. Find the best coverage.
Most devices work from line-of-sight. This means that land features such as hills or heavy tree cover can block signals. Weather can also impact coverage. To make an emergency call, remember that higher locations provide the best signal. Hold your phone at arm’s length and rotate around to find the best reception. Once you find the best spot, return to that spot for future calls and try and keep the device in the position which provided the best reception. You should also ensure your phone’s voice & data roaming setting is turned on so you can take advantage of other carriers.
But most importantly, you should use Cairn to find exact spots of cell coverage on the trail. It also notifies your emergency contacts if you’re overdue. Download and give Cairn a try.
A friend once told us that an outdoor app needs a good map. We took that to heart and with much excitement announce that the app now has a FANTASTIC map. Thanks, Mapbox!
Here are a few ways this version rocks.
TOPO LINES + MARKED TRAILS
Easier navigation means more time soaking up nature’s goodness and less time spent wondering where you are.
TAP & HOLD TO DROP A PIN
Specifying a destination just got faster.
BIRDS-EYE VIEW
See exactly where our crowdsourced data is without having to zoom in.
CUSTOM LAT/LONG
If you know your destination’s latitude/longitude coordinates, type it right into the search box.
ENJOYING CAIRN?
You can help us by leaving a short review on the App Store, liking us on Facebook or following us on Instagram.
Happy trails!
Yosemite is one of the most popular US National Parks with 4.15 million visitors in 2015 and for good reason. With Half Dome, El Cap, The PCT, John Muir Trail and 100s of other scenic hikes you can’t go wrong spending 2 days or 2 weeks in the park.
Cairn users have been accumulating cell coverage data in the park and mapping popular places. Here’s the quick scoop to help you plan your visit:
Tuolumne Meadows
AT&T: Voice and 3G (4G HSPA+) data service are available in parts of Yosemite Valley Voice and EDGE data service are available at Tuolumne Meadows.
Cairn tests resulted in poor coverage (AT&T and Sprint) in the TM campground, several calls were unsuccessful and no texts made it in or out. Reception at the TM store itself is decent for voice and text but data is lacking.
Verizon Wireless: Voice and 3G data service are available in parts of Yosemite Valley and El Portal. Voice and 1x data service are available in Tuolumne Meadows, Crane Flat, and Wawona.
Half Dome
Cell coverage is generally good at the top of Half Dome. Cairn needs more users mapping data on the rest of the trail before we can make an assessment elsewhere.
June Lake
Verizon coverage on the eastern side of the Sierra’s was ok and good at June Lake.
Yosemite Valley
All 4 major carriers had coverage. Verizon and AT&T were best, but with Sprint and T-mobile one could communicate by going to the right spots. AT&T had coverage at the North end of the Valley on and around Northside Drive. It’s possible to get Verizon coverage at quite a few spots in the Valley including Northside and Southside drive. Sprint, Verizon, T-mobile, and AT&T had coverage at Yosemite Village.
Cairn users have mapped the entire John Muir Trail for AT&T and Verizon. Download Cairn to see exact spots.
Your best bet for finding cell coverage in Death Valley is in the Furnace Creek area (Verizon shows four bars of LTE). But as you head south of Furnace Creek, your signal strength will start to degrade. Here’s the full scoop:
There's no T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T coverage at Stovepipe Wells or Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes.
As you drive south from the 190 and Scotty’s Castle Road junction, Verizon coverage starts to improve, with decent signal strength at Salt Creek.
There is spotty coverage at Badwater Basin. And although Titus Canyon Road is an experience you should not miss (it’s a fun drive), don’t break down because you won’t be able to call for help.
Coverage is likewise missing at Ubehebe Crater and Scotty’s Castle, but there are a few spots of coverage south of Mesquite Spring Campground. Good luck finding a signal anywhere in the campground, but you’ll find a pay phone two miles north at the Grapevine Ranger Station.
Cell service on Scotty’s Castle Road starts 1.5 miles north of the intersection with California State Route 190 at the rest area with the vault toilet.
The best place to unplug from the grid is at Darwin Falls, a true oasis.
To see exact spots of coverage by carrier, download the Cairn iOS app.
Today we are launching Cairn, a new iOS app that helps you stay in touch and safe while enjoying the outdoors. With Cairn in your pocket, you’ll know where to find spots with cell coverage, and you’ll be keeping your emergency contacts up to date.
When you start a Cairn, you’re taking precautions for yourself by sharing your plans with the people that care enough to come looking for you. But you’re also becoming part of something bigger — you’re building the cell phone coverage map of the wilderness that may someday save lives.
We are proud and excited to welcome everyone to Cairn. Download Cairn now and prepare for your next adventure!
