All Caminos are marked with yellow arrows. Some are better marked than others but on the Camino Frances (the main one) you could easily walk the entire 800 kilometers without a guide or a map or a gps, just following the yellow arrows. They are friendly and reassuring. They always show up when you need them.
They also mean that you can walk without a care, thinking about things, without worrying about navigating, just follow the yellow arrows. I guess this is anti-mindful but, I think, in a good way. You get lost in the process which is part of what a Camino is all about.
GPX tracks do this in a way also but in a very techy way. Sometimes they seem to consume a lot of your attention and make you concentrate on the path rather than the journey. I guess it is how you treat it. I tend to look at my phone a lot and keep track of where I am.
When you are a double (and triple) checker like Wynette they are great since you know you are on the correct trail.
I, like you, would prefer not to have to check my phone all the time to see that I have not wandered off the trail. I hope they mark them better in the future, like they have on the Camino Frances. Constantly checking would certainly dampen the mood. Somewhat related, one of the reasons Moira hates to hike on trails is that she says you never get to look at the scenery. She says you always have to look at your feet to make sure you aren’t going to trip over a rock or a tree root. She also does not like the ups (she doesn’t mind the downs), but that is another story.
The wikiloc app sends a notification, and my phone vibrates, when you go off trail. Our android tracker uses voice, “ off track!” When you go off track.
I usually look at where we are every 5-10 minutes.
But the arrows are the best.
I can see Moira’s point. Walking on rocks is more tiring also and makes my ankle muscles sore. Our favorite here is walking on small roads that are flat.
The stones are very tiring. And bigger rocks intimidate me to think I will slip. I did fall twice using poles.