Hiking Apps

GPS hiking applications can provide a little stress relief when hiking in unfamiliar territory. It’s not wise to solely rely on your phone app to navigate while hiking. You should always carry a compass and paper map, and refer to it on your travels to be aware of where you are. Apps can provide a more precise point, helping at junctions, etc. I admit I rely on their ease of use more and more myself, but it’s important to be able to get from point A to B should your GPS fail you. Good navigation skills can get rusty when we rely on a single tool to be our safety net.

This isn’t a review or endorsement of a particular application. I’ve used several, and will relate my experience with them. We’ve all got our faves, and I’m interested in yours too. Feel free to drop a comment and we can discuss in the section below.

I love trying out software, and played around with several apps.

1. Gaia: I began using this app when it was still just a small startup company. At first I used just a free account, but soon upgraded to the $20. yearly fee. It’s was a very robust app, with a very nice interface for my phone and tablet. I used it extensively mapping routes for hikes on my computer. I may have stayed with them, but they were bought out by Outdoor, a large company that gobbled them up. The app really didn’t get much attention under it’s new owners, as they have apps for mountain biking, off road vehicles, running, etc. The company made aggressive efforts at data mining and location tracking through the app, and customer service fell off as well. I held on for a year, but began to feel like a cow to be milked by Outdoor. As I prepared our divorce, I shopped around.
2. All Trails: A good app, very much like Gaia, but less powerful in terms of interface and mapping. It has a huge user base and routes are crowd sourced. This is excellent if your looking for a less popular hike or route because of the number of users. Maps can be a bit inaccurate, but It’s a handy app. I still keep a free account, but rarely access it. I find the app is most useful for trail conditions. Users post ratings for trails frequently. For Instance, if you’re planning a hike to Goose Eye mountain in Maine, you may find a recent user who hiked it last week and left useful information in their hike review.
3. Google Maps: Let’s get this straight. Maps is not a hiking app. It can give you a location if you’ve got cell service, but that’s it. It should not be used to navigate in the wilderness. There is no topographical data on maps to show elevation, streams or terrain. On one occasion novice hikers in New Hampshire were running behind in hiking back to the trail head. Concerned that they would not reach their cars before dark, they used maps to take a “shortcut” through the woods. Unfortunately it took them to a cliff. They had to call for rescue after attempting to climb down, becoming stuck halfway.
4. Caltopo: I tried the app early on, but went in another direction. I finally returned to it a year ago. It is an amazingly powerful mapping app, with a nice phone and tablet interface. It’s not very user friendly or nearly as slick as the competition, but It’s a great value, is not privacy intrusive, and the map building and routing in excellent. I use it in the field, and to build a custom map before every hike that I can save to my device for use out without cell service in areas with poor coverage.

There are many more out there and new ones coming out every day. What’s your favorite?