I do much of my touring in outback Australia. Basically "one route on one road". On such trips there are only 2 routes: forward or backward. Thus, a paper map is fine. I use the strip maps from the Australian road association web sites and Hermes maps. However, on these travels I do meet travellers with the latest GPS and monitoring equipment. They say it tells them how they are performing and exactly where they are.

I always know where I am, and with "mile-posts" know within 10 km how far it is from my last town/roadhouse and how far to my next. More precise travel info is not needed for me.

In July-August I will just have a paper map on my trip from Cape York to Cairns. A GPS won't give me any better info to make my trip more enjoyable. Lots of folks on the road that will provide assistance if needed. Hopefully, I will not get into strife with a serious medical injury. If so, no mobile phone coverage won't be of any value. A satellite phone would be a nice back up - but on that track the RFDS has only limited landing locations...

Another issue is recharging mobiles/GPS units when there are no places (aka few and far between) for a few days... On some tracks I have been on there was no ability to charge a phone etc for 5 or 6 days - but with my map I knew where I was and how far the next place (ie "The Lost Cities" in Northern Territory) was.

If you stay on paved roads, then from Las Vegas north, there just won't be that many roads, except for places where you are entering/leaving a larger metro area. There will likely be days when you spend the entire day riding one highway. So the issue becomes less about "where do I turn" and more about, "what is next town or point of services".

With that in mind, I tend to split my "navigating" into three overall time periods:

1. In advance of the trip:
* I make sure I have the rough "time budget" of how long it might take.
* I check some of the big parameters like climate. For example, Las Vegas itself can get fairly warm even in early May, whereas some of the highest seasonal passes are only getting open then. So check rough seasons, climate, precipitation, etc so I bring the right clothing and prepare.
* I read others journals of similar trips, mostly to get insights of what others have learned and whether there is information I might borrow e.g. services, water stops, camping opportunities, etc.

2. On the trip, but night before riding (or sometimes more than one night):
* I look up the rough choices for the day. For example, "US 95N to OR 31 @ 26 miles", "small towns @ 26 and 80 miles, camping @ 64 miles".
* Often I'll write this info down on a 3x5 card and that is all I need to navigate the next day.
* Often, I'll do a quick online search to find potential services.

3. Navigating during the day
* Follow my previous night's navigating cards. Make local choices along the way. For example, if turns out windier than expected, I might stop short. If having good day and making additional distance, might go a bit further. I might also talk with locals I meet.

As far as paper maps, books and GPS go, I end up with a mixture:
-- In time frame #1, I mostly use my computer at home.
-- In time frame #2, I'll have paper maps, but also look up some details on cell phone or laptop if I have it with me. Dependent on finding working wifi, which is always fun
-- In time frame #3, mostly following local signs and using cue cards. Occasionally might consult GPS/phone but on a trip like one through American or Canadian west, that is more exception than rule.

More detailed navigation becomes a bit different in a denser populated area like US East Coast or parts of Europe.

Depending on how far north in Canada you go, an additional resource to consider would be "The Milepost". It is a great mile by mile (kilometer by kilometer) description of primary roads in Alaska, YT, NWT as well as primary access routes from BC, Alberta that lead there. The most recent print versions contain an access code that let you download a copy onto a tablet or similar device.

This past year, I used The Milepost as part of my navigation from Prudhoe Bay southbound all the way to Banff. I had ripped apart pages from key sections and also had a 7" Android tablet with the Milepost loaded. It was quite useful in identifying stream crossings for potential camping sites as well as potential services.

I don't keep a phone on regularly, but do like keeping my bike computer charged to keep track of distance. Most every day or two, I would find some local outlet to recharge. In addition, I specifically carry a small battery stick to use in recharging on those occasions when the bike computer goes two or more days without finding external power. Similarly for tablet above, I generally didn't use it very much so could wait an charge it when I got to a power outlet.

You can download Google maps into your smart phone so there's no need for cell service.

One reason I went with a Garmin GPS was the frustration of not knowing where you're at and spending time approximating your exact location on a paper map. With my phone, I'll know in 2 seconds (or less) my exact location!

Once Google maps are on your smart phone, you don't need to pull data and your battery goes a long way! The Garmin GPS sips batteries and I prefer ones that exclusively use AA only. I can walk into a store and buy a pack of 12 AA batteries or 13 days of touring! This doesn't include the rechargeable ones I'll bring along.

I'll be honest and state that Garmin GPS systems have their issues. As backup, I'll turn on my phone and Google maps is just amazing at how fast it determines your location.

Plenty of folks tour while using a smartphone to navigate. I knew one kid who had a folding solar charging panel on top of his rear gear, kept his phone at near 100% all day. Went across the US this way, never looked at a paper map.

Wouldn't do that personally and not in your circumstances maybe, but there are ways to keep stuff charged.

Sort of. You can't do routing offline.

It's more straightforward and reliable to use another program.

Yes.

I don't know what issues you are talking about but I suspect that some of the problems people have is due to them thinking that using a GPS is going to be easy. It takes some thought and practice.

One of the problems I have with my Garmin is if you go off course, it will continue to ask you to backtrack thinking you're lost. Now maybe you want to be off-course on purpose but I'll find that it will start to re-route you eventually but I would like to control this feature if possible. I don't like to back track and prefer it re-route all the time.

My GPS is getting very old (5 year or more) and it's possible the new ones have faster re-routing capabilities. However, I still hear from new users that come across this problem.

The cycling ones have the route recalculation as an option. The older ones abandon the loaded route and calculated a new route to the end point (which is not that useful). The newer ones seem to calculate a route to the nearest point on the loaded route. The backtracking (to the start?) doesn't seem that useful.

I turn off route recalculation.

When I had my Arvon1 custom build in 2005-6, I did his "manufacture" because of two fellows who used Arvon's bicycles to go from Chile to Alaska. That bicycle and the equipment has been part of my incredible Australian bicycle-touring adventure....

I've toured over 8,000 miles without any maps or dedicated GPS devices.

I use an android phone for all my navigation. I use regular google maps, I never use pre-made routes. I just wing it.

As far as charging, thats easy. Many new phones have quick charging. On my last tour I never, ever worried about battery on my phone. Any time I stopped to pick up groceries or eat some food, I'd plug it in. 20 minutes of charging would give me 40-50% of battery. No way you can run out of battery going through the areas you're going to travel. Now if it were somewhere more remote this might not work.

To charge the rest of my electronics (Headlights, tail lights, bluetooth speaker, go pro etc.) I carry two additional items.

First is an outlet to 4x USB port converter. Smaller than a pack of smokes, weighs nothing. I try to stealth camp in spots that have outlets, and this lets me charge just abut everything.

The last thing I carry is a 12000 mah battery pack. I own many different batteries from 4000mah to 25000, low end and high end. This is my favorite for touring. Not too bulky or heavy. Built in prongs so it plugs up directly to an outlet. Best of all its also got quick charge, so it charges so much faster than a battery pack that doesn't.

I use that battery pack for keeping electronics topped off during the day, or charging them at night if I'm stealth camped in the middle of some woods, or anywhere that doesn't have outlets. I can also run a USB cable from the battery pack in my frame bag to my headlight so I can bike from sunset to sunrise if I desire.

Have fun on your tour! My wife and I have been going on tours on our tandem for the last 10 years. Our tours have mostly been in Europe, where the road network is very dense and signing can be interesting. Our first two tours we used paper maps, but spent a fair amount of time looking for our route. After a tour in Germany where we turned our first 47 mile day into 87 miles (in a cold rain, too) our next tours used a gps unit. We seem to pass a fair amount of people who are puzzling over maps, but to be fair there are probably just as many who are following their maps at speed.

I use a Garmin Edge 1000 (overkill for most touring situations) in the front, and my wife has a Garmin Edge Tour model in the back. The Tour model is probably the best fit if I didn't do other types of riding as well. I find that navigation is easiest for me in the front, but we have friends that have their gps units in the back with the stoker.

We also carry a paper map that would allow us to continue riding if our batteries died, but we haven't had to resort to it--a compass is handy in that case, but there's one on your smartphone. This map isn't in sufficient detail for comfort, but would be helpful in figuring out intermediate towns and then supplement it using highway direction signs.

In the US the road network isn't nearly as dense as Europe, but going through cities a gps unit can let you use city streets or bike routes that aren't nearly as busy as the main roads. It would be very difficult to carry enough maps with enough detail to show named city streets for the entire tour, and searching for maps may be time-consuming or fruitless.

Have fun,
Mark W