You don’t need to be part of a real community to know this. Google Maps is good to check opening hours and how many reviews an establishment deleted, not for actually getting anywhere.

Where I live it still works fine. It might not be perfect and it does not work great for longer bike tours (If you actually want nice tours and not just the shortest), but if you’re going by car or train it’s good.

if you’re going by car or train it’s good.

Goole’s far superior car navigation app is Waze.

What’s the big difference? I’m using Maps and it does its job. So what cool features does Waze have that Maps doesn’t?

For me on many phones over the years the arrow in Google Maps never points into the direction of travel.

Although GMaps at some point integrated some of Waze warnings, Waze offers more and not just speed cameras others mentioned. Broken down car streetside, btw.

I don’t hike, but my experience with regular walking directions is that Google is regularly wrong…because it overestimates how long a trip will take.

Its directions for driving and public transport (at least where it has cooperation of the local public transport agency, as it does where I live) are excellent.

Cycling directions are the only one where I’d say a normal person’s experience is likely to be a bad one, with it regularly taking you on dangerous busy roads rather than nearby quieter streets or bike paths.

So I don’t find it particularly surprising at all that someone who isn’t a regular hiker would make the mistake of relying on it.

Walking speed is very subjective though. Realistically, hikers never agree on time it takes, and a lot of it comes down more to experience with your speed. In my case, I’m actually probably stronger than many people going uphill… But, downhill, my feet start to hurt and I get slow quickly.

Gravity walking is the missing link, lift your foot and let gravity pull it down. You’ll be going down almost running and it takes barely any energy.

It’s best in places without other humans, as you’re basically a locomotive and it takes time to slow down

These were pretty steep stairs. And I have plantar fascitis. With a 20kg pack, not much you can do really