One of the great things about today’s technology, is the ability to record where you go and what you do with great detail.
And as you will see in my trip reports, I am a big fan of GPS technology, and being able to accurately record where you’ve been.
I have hike logs going back to when I lived in Maryland, and I used to hike every weekend with my wife, mostly along the Patapsco River, but also places like Harpers Ferry, WV, and other locations within the Mid Atlantic area.
To show you what you can do with this data, I am going to take a recent hike, (Union Grove State Park) and show you what the data looks like in several different versions, and why using this data can be very useful. And because this was a ‘spur of the moment’ hike, and nothing technical or needing a lot prep before, so there wasn’t any need to “PLAN” a hike ahead of time, other than just picking where I wanted to go.
So, in this entry, I will be talking about apps for recording the hike or looking at it “post-hike”.
For the recording of the I will be reviewing the “All Trails” app, and the “Garmin Connect” app, (Although the “Hiking Project” app also records as well.)
And for reviewing data after the hike, REI’s “Hiking Project” app, and “Google Earth”.
All these apps are “FREE” for download and use. Although I went ahead and bought the “PRO” version of the “All Trails” app. The “Garmin Connect” App is only compatible with Garmin GPS devices, but does allow you to export your files into *.kmz files for use with Google Earth. And speaking of Google Earth, I downloaded the “PRO” version of Google Earth, which is now free as well so why use the basic version when the PRO version is available. (NOTE: Google Earth Pro is actually a very powerful tool that allows you to import a very long list of data types.)
The purpose of this blog is to show you how to use these apps to record your adventures. To show where you’ve been, and if you want, share with the world. This article isn’t about how to navigate with one of these apps. I am still going to defer you to GPS vs. Maps, (and always want you to use the map, because technology will fail you when you need it most!
Here we go…
Garmin Connect:
If you own any Garmin Device like a fitness watch or
wearable GPS device, I am sure you are familiar with “Garmin Connect”. For
those of you who are not regular Garmin users, (DRINK THE KOOLAID!!! JOIN THE DARK SIDE…) the Connect app, which
is available in iOS, Android, and PC formats, is the interface between your
wearable GPS device, and you! The connect app, when synced with your wearable,
provides an easily readable display of your activities. It shows things like
distance, speed, pace, elevation, and for compatible devices, heart rate, or
cadence if you’re riding a bike.
Because it is designed to work primarily with “fitness” devices, it gives you a
tremendous mount of information you DON’T need…
Depending on the device you have, you typically have the mobile app, and the PC website that displays your user data. Most newer Garmin devices wirelessly sync via Bluetooth to your mobile device and saves the data to your user account. And because the mobile device is a mirror of the web page, the info you see on one, you see on the other, just in a different format/layout.
This screen image shows the route as it looks on my PC. The images below are from the Connect App on my iPhone.
I didn’t show the Heart Rate, and other charted info, as it’s not needed for hiking, (Unless you’re tracking that info, you big weird heath freak!!)
You can switch the map view from “Terrain Shaded” like is shown or the satellite view as well. (I leave it in the default “Google Maps – Shaded View”, but that’s me…)
One aspect of the Garmin Connect view I am not a fan of is their elevation profile chart. The info provided by the GPS shows the minimum elevation was +1328’ ASL, with a max elevation of +1469’ ASL. Yet detail on the chart itself shows the elevation profile between +1000’ ASL and +1750’ ASL. The change in the elevation of the actual hike is less than 200’, yet the display shows 750 of elevation. This wasted “bandwidth” decreases the level of detail (In my opinion)
All of the information shown in these mobile screen grabs (above) is the same as the web version. The map detail is much lower on the mobile version, but the amount of information you get is the same as what is on the PC, and is still a bit much, but that is because its recording “fitness” information.
These screens so more “fitness” information, like hear rate, pace, exertion zones etc., but the elevation info about the only information I look at.
For me, the biggest feature that the Garmin Connect app offers, is through the web interface, you can save your information into a “KMZ” file which you can then import into Google Earth. All the information you need is transferred, including elevation profiles along the hike track. But I will talk about Google Earth Shortly. You can also export it as a “TCX, “GPX”, or “CVS” files.
All Trails App:
The All Trails (PRO) app I used to record the hike is also cross compatible between OS’s so it’s available on iPhone, Android, and your PC.
I have used the All Trails app to record some hikes but haven’t really ‘explored’ the features of the app until I started to write this blog post. And I will be honest, the deeper I dig, the more I see that I like about it. But don’t worry, there are some detractors to this app, as with any app you will find out there
All Trails, like the REI “Hiking Project” I will discuss later, are free apps that rely on user data to build their database of hikes, and trails. I have the “Pro” version of the all trails app, simply because I wanted the added features, which I am now discovering are even more useful than I had expected.
Preparing for a hike using these apps is covered in another blog post.
This screen image shows the route as it looks on my PC. The images below are from the All Trails App on my iPhone.
The first image is the screen when you pull it up to your location. (These are ‘zoomed in’ views)
The second image is what it changes to when you press the record button on the bottom of the start page. When you’re ready to hike, you then press the “red” button to start the recording.
The third and fourth images are what you see once you’ve completed the hike and stopped/saved it.
Google
Earth:
I am sure at some point, we’ve all used Google Earth, or it’s poor, under
appreciated cousin, Google Maps. Granted, Google Maps is great for getting you
from “Point A to Point B”, it’s not great for planning or reviewing hiking and
camping trips… (Unless you’re one of those wussy “RV Campers” who drives
everywhere and has AC, and toilets 24/7…
That’s not Camping, that taking your home with you on Vacation. But I
digress….)
Google Earth on the other hand, is a great tool for planning trips, or review past trips. Because of some of the things that are part of my military background, I have become a big fan of “Photo Analysis”.
Along those lines, I have begun the process of mapping out the trails in the Black Hills, primarily those in the Black Elk Wilderness where I do a LOT of my solo camping. Comparing the trails on my paper maps, to the satellite imagery, and plotting the approximate trails. From there, you can pull up the elevation profile, (See below) and see what kind of elevation changes a given trail may have. I like to be able to do this, because it gives you a better elevation profile than looking at the slope of terrain lines on a topographic map.
This screen image shows the route as it looks on my PC. The top portion shows the satellite image, along with the overlay of the route I hiked, as recorded by my GPS. It shows the start/stop point, and the “Laps” for this hike. (My GPS has hiking laps set at 1.0 miles)
The bottom portion of the image shows the terrain elevation. With a much more refined “bandwidth” with the lower end of the scale being only slightly lower than the lowest recorded elevation. As you move your cursor along the scale on the bottom, it give you the elevation for that point on the map, as well as the % grade, and the distance from the start point. To me, this is a better display than the Garmin Connect display, (Which is what this is derived from, just not viewed from sea level.)
Hiking Project (By REI):
This is a great app for finding new places to go and sharing the places you’ve been with others! And like the “All Trails” app, its content is user created, and submitted. So, these are hikes other users have actually done and submitted. And as others do these hikes they can rate them and comment on them. On a personal note, one of the best feelings for me was when my “Black Elk Peak Loop” was actually selected by the staff at REI as one of the “5 Bucket List State Park Hikes” in the US. https://www.rei.com/blog/hike/5-bucket-list-hikes-state-parks
Like the “All Trail” app, this app allows you to record your hike as you progress. (I will have to do a “Side by Side” comparison on my next hike to see how well the two apps compare and do an update to this entry.)
Hiking Project is one of several apps offered by REI. Besides the “Hiking Project” app, they have the following free apps for download from the Apple Store or Google Play:
- National Parks – Well… for the National Parks
- MTB Project – For mountain biking
- Powder Project – For Skiing
- Trail Run Project – For those in the growing sport of trail running
- Mountain Project – For those who are into climbing and mountaineering
I am in no way pushing anyone to be a customer of REI, but I love their store, and being a member gets you a lot of perks. And a $20 one-time membership fee is well worth the lifetime benefits it offers!
Because I was an “early” contributor to the app, there were some hiccups in the trail submittal process. But over time, REI has streamlined their process for submitting hikes. (When I submitted the Black Elk Peak hike, because it was made up of several trails, they kept kicking back my submission, until I had submitted each individual trail separately, then the “Combined” hike… It was NOT a user-friendly experience, but like I said, they’ve worked through it. (But it has been a while since I submitted a trail, so I am hoping its still easy to submit trails.
But as I become more familiar with these apps and become more dedicated with sharing my (LIMITED) knowledge about hiking, and the outdoors with others, I am seeing many of these tools as a great way to PLAN a hike. And that will be covered in a separate entry!
Sage Adventures 