Apps for hiking and trekking enthusiasts allow you to geo-locate your location and share your experiences on social media
With the arrival of the warm season, hiking and trekking enthusiasts will have new possibilities to put their hobby into practice. Of course, finding routes, logging them and organizing your backpack is not easy, but apps can come to the rescue.
Today's hiking apps offer multiple services. The basic one, of course, is GPS navigation that allows newbies and enthusiasts alike to not get lost while hiking. Many of the apps available on the Google Play Store and the App Store allow you to share your experiences directly on social networks. In many mountain or sea areas the phone reception is not always efficient, not to mention the battery consumption. All aspects that leave the user without the possibility of contacting help in case of emergency. This is where trekking and hiking apps come into play.
Oruxmaps
Oruxmpas is an app for navigation, that is, for keeping the right course during physical activity. Oruxmaps is among the most popular apps for hikers with Android operating system. The reason for its success is the functionality it offers and the ease of use. This makes the app useful for both experienced and novice hikers. The app has an archive of maps saved within it, but you can easily upload new routes or download them directly from the Net. There is an option to follow a track and even geolocate a particular point with a photo.
GPS KIT
GPS KIT is one of the best iOS apps for navigation. The success of the app T is given by the enormity of maps present in the database. Such a vast number that there is hardly any need to load new routes. The recording of tracks and waypoints (including photographic ones) is also interesting. Among the most significant functions is the one that allows you to save part of a map for offline use. This allows you to save your smartphone's battery life during the hike.
WIKILOC
This app is connected to one of the most popular websites among adventure and trekking enthusiasts, where users share maps, information and advice on routes and itineraries. Thanks to Wikiloc we'll have millions of roads and streets to cover with a simple touch. It is available on both iOS and Android smartphones. The only flaw is the cost. The official version is free but without the paid features it is much less efficient than the others already listed.
My Tracks
My Tracks is developed directly by Google. It offers several functions: recording of the route taken, analysis of the most common statistics, such as distance, speed and time in motion. There is also the possibility of saving the various routes and then sharing them on social networks. You can also plot waypoints and import tracks from an external memory. The flaw is the inability to edit the maps offline and above all you can only use Google maps and not alternative ones.
Barometer Reborn
If the weather apps aren't precise enough for your taste you could use a barometer app. This will allow you to check the weather changes in real time.
Georesq
This is an important app developed in collaboration with the Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS) to ensure maximum safety for people when they go hiking, in the mountains and beyond. How can an app get us to safety? Simple, services like this one are able to identify the position and track the movements and above all to send an alarm including geodetic coordinates to the Alpine Rescue stations, in case of difficulty. The main limitation of this application is that the alert service depends on the phone signal.