10 Must-Have Smartphone Apps For Hikers

by Jessica Festa on

The summer weather is warm and beautiful, and pretty soon autumn will be bringing stunning fall foliage to our national parks and nature trails. What better activity to enjoy this beautiful scenery through than hiking? To help ensure trekkers are prepared before venturing off into the wilderness, here are 10 must-have smartphone apps for hikers.

EveryTrail

Looking to find a new hiking trail in your area? EveryTrail is the perfect app for you. This community-driven tool allows users to “share tips, connect with other travelers and find new great things to do.” It features over 400,000 trails around the world, including points of interest, reviews, useful information, audio and video for each. Additionally, EveryTrail provides directions to, from and along the trails. For example, after looking at “Half Dome Hike” in Yosemite National Park in the app, I now know a wealth of information, such as the hike is a difficult 15.7-mile trek that takes you to the signature landmark of the park. Furthermore, there is a set of included interviews with veteran hikers, a preparation list, inspirational messages, photographs and a video taken via a head-mounted camera.

Available on Android, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free. U.S. Army Survival Guide

This app, which is called “Army Survival for iPad/iPhone” in the iTunes store, is something you should download before any outdoor adventure. There is information on how to find food and water, how to create a shelter, information on plant and animal identification and more. The tool has over 1,400 pages of information adapted from an actual military survival manual, so you know you’re in knowledgeable hands.

Available on Android, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free on Android, $1.99 for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

MapMyHike

MapMyHike is a smartphone app that allows hikers to log their treks, get elevation information, create a hiking journal and share details via Facebook and Twitter. The tool uses GPS to note your location, then shows an interactive map that marks out your route while measuring duration, pace, heart rate, calories burned, elevation and speed. If you’re looking to increase your fitness, MapMyHike saves all your treks and tracks improvements.

Available on Blackberry, Android, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free.

Point de Vue

Are you the type of person who likes to hike high peaks, and wants to know more about the surrounding mountains? Point de Vue was created with you in mind. No matter where you are in the world, this smartphone app will supply you information for mountains that are within a 125-mile range of your current location. Unlike with similar apps, you won’t need to hold your phone in the air, and it even works in bad weather and indoors. Moreover, you’ll be able to download maps for any location in the world and search for summits, sorting them by elevation or distance. Point de Vue works both online and offline.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. $3.99.

ProCamera

Looking to take some high-quality iphoneography pictures? While you could stick with the free and popular Instagram, a more professional nature photography app is ProCamera. This user-friendly tool allows you to set the focus, exposure and white balance points when taking photos. Likewise, hikers can edit their photos afterward to adjust exposure, brightness, saturation, contrast and color temperature, as well as crop, filter and rotate pictures. What’s also great about ProCamera is you’re not just limited to still pictures, but can create superior videos, as well.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. $2.99.

GotoAID

You never know what could happen when you’re exploring the great outdoors. Even if you’re hiking an easier trail, sprained ankles, sunburn and choking on your mixed nuts are still possible. GotoAID tries to help prepare hikers for these unfortunate incidents with a smartphone app they can always have on hand. The app has three different tabs to separate treatments for humans, cat or dogs. Furthermore, a wide range of topics are covered, including respiratory, poisons, heat, cold, cuts/wounds, bites/stings, burns, breaks/sprains and serious emergencies. The app is created for the “non-professional responder,” meaning the app takes you through exactly how to respond in an emergency step-by-step.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. $4.99.

Simply Hike

If you’re in the market for some new hiking gear, Simply Hike is a great app. You can shop for outdoor gear right on your phone and have it delivered to your door. Search by department or just browse for the item, and you’ll be given product descriptions and photos for the merchandise. So, why would you use the app and not the website? Simply Hike gives special discounts and offers to app users.

Available on Android, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free.

MyNature Animal Tracks

MyNature Animal Tracks is a handy app for identifying animal scat and footprints when hiking in North America. Images are extremely clear, with illustrations of both fore and hind feet, and detailed descriptions of track measurements, animal life cycles, gait patterns and even sounds clips. Moreover, the app includes a journal, and works both online and offline.

Available on Android, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. $6.99.

Leafsnap

Developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian institute, Leafsnap makes use of visual recognition software to help hikers “identify tree species from photographs of their leaves.” How it works is every leaf photograph is matched to images in the app’s library using shape measurements and the leaf’s outline. From there, the best matches are returned to the user. Additionally, simply browsing the library can be an interesting virtual trip into nature.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free.

Mosquito Device

If you’re like me and get eaten alive no matter where or when you’re hiking, Mosquito Device is an excellent tool to have. The app emits a high-pitched sound that is harmless to humans, plants and animals but keeps mosquitos away. Just be careful if you have small children, as it can hurt the ears of youngsters.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Free.

Exploring Orkney: Scotland’s Rugged Northern Isles

by Sean McLachlan on


In my school library in Canada, there was a curious old volume printed in 1909 called “The Orkney Book.” It was written for schoolchildren living in the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland and told them about their land, culture and history.

This book fascinated me with its stories of Viking warriors and mysterious stone circles. I studied the grainy black and white photos of those remote islands and dreamed of going there. Last week I finally did.

Orkney, as Orcadians call their home, is a group of about 70 islands between the North Sea and North Atlantic. The exact number is a matter of dispute because in addition to the numerous inhabited islands, some with a population as low as one, there are many more uninhabited islands and skerries. When is an island really an island and not just a rock sticking out of the sea? I suspect this has been the subject of many long conversations in Orcadian pubs.

My wife, 6-year-old son and I landed in the tiny airport at Kirkwall, Orkney’s capital. With a population a little above 7,500, it’s not exactly a booming metropolis, but it does account for more than a third of Orkney’s population. What Kirkwall lacks in size it makes up for in history and character. In the broad harbor are moored numerous fishing and pleasure boats and a few larger vessels. Beyond can be seen other islands, green humps rising out of the gray sea.

Dominating the Kirkwall skyline is the 12th century St. Magnus Cathedral built of red sandstone. It was built in 1137 by Earl Rognvald, a Viking at a time when most Vikings were nominally Christian. He built it to house the remains of his uncle Magnus, who had become a saint after having his head split by an axe in traditional Viking fashion. Magnus had been an Earl of the Orkneys, ruling for the Norwegian king along with Magnus’ cousin Hakon, who was Earl of another part of Orkney. This co-rulership led to trouble and when Magnus and Hakon met to sort things out, Hakon betrayed him. Hakon didn’t want his own hands soiled by a kinsman’s blood and called on his cook to perform the foul deed. Soon miracles started happening around Magnus’ grave and he was proclaimed a saint.

Kirkwall also has an excellent museum tracing Orkney’s history from the surprisingly active prehistoric period to the modern day. There’s also a cool Wireless Museum filled with a huge collection of old radios; one from 1912 actually works and on another set you can practice your Morse code. My son was more interested in the old TV where you could play Pong, a video game from an era that must seem as remote to him as the Neolithic.

%Gallery-160901%Our next stop was Stromness, a half-hour bus ride from Kirkwall. As we got off and gazed over the cluster of gray stone buildings huddled around the harbor, my son asked, “Is this the other place they call a city?”

Well, after growing up in Madrid, I guess it doesn’t seem like much of a city to him, but with a little over 2,000 people it’s the second biggest town on the islands. It has a thriving artistic community and many artists display their work at the Pier Arts Centre. There’s also a large museum about the lives of the hardy local sailors, whalers, and explorers of days gone by. Many of the displays are of the things they brought back from their travels, everything from artwork from Niger and Greenland to whalebone scrimshaw and necklaces made from human teeth.

The highlight of our visit to Stromness was walking along the shore and around a promontory. Soon we left the town behind us and looked out over the cold waves. Seals popped their heads out of the water to study us. “Look, a seal! Look, a seal!” my son kept shouting as he spotted another and another. A few rocks became identified as seals too, and spotting more seals took on the uncertainty and excitement that adults generally reserve for UFOs. We clambered over the remains of a World War II gun emplacement, one of many on the islands, and admired the high hills of Hoy island, shown in the photo above.

Both Kirkwall and Stromness are on Orkney’s main island, which Orcadians call the Mainland even though mainland Scotland is barely twenty miles from its southern shores. For those wanting a base from which to get out and about on the islands, either of these two cities is a good bet. Many of Orkney’s top attractions are on the Mainland and Kirkwall and Stromness have regular ferry services to other islands. While we stayed in Kirkwall, my wife and I found Stromness more attractive. Its old architecture and quieter streets had a more traditional feel.

We’d only been on Orkney for 24 hours and we were already hooked. I was looking forward to seeing the countryside and the smaller islands.

This is the first in my series “Exploring Orkney: Scotland’s Rugged Northern Isles.”

Coming up next: “The Heart of Neolithic Orkney!”

10 Essential Destinations In Mexico

by Jessica Festa on

While many think of Mexico as a country that’s too dangerous to visit, there are actually many beautiful, safe and historically rich cities worth making a trip for.

While Tulum features one of the most well preserved ancient civilizations in the country, Copper Canyon features an extreme adventure park inside its ravine. Additionally, Guadalajara boasts magic villages, UNESCO World Heritage Sites and 684 historical monuments, while Guanajuato has an entire underground road system and an active mining community. These are just some of the experiences to be had in these worthwhile cities in Mexico.

For a more visual idea of these essential Mexican destinations, check out the gallery below.

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[image via Bjorn Christian Torrissen]

A Night Aboard ‘Ms. Nancy Boggs’ At Far Rockaway’s Boatel

by Jessica Marati on

It was like stepping onto the set of a horror film. An array of dusty knick-knacks lined the shelves, ranging from empty glass bottles to vintage photographs and eyeless doll heads. Torn pantyhose, some colored red, were strewn up as curtains. In the closet, there was a musty aroma and a pile of something furry.

This would be our home for the evening.

We were onboard “Ms. Nancy Boggs,” a 1967 Drift-R houseboat that had been outfitted as part of the Boatel floating hotel project at Marina 59 in Far Rockaway, Queens, just an hour from downtown New York City. Described as an “interactive art and sound installation,” the Boatel consists of 16 themed houseboats, clustered around a central dock that functions as an outdoor kitchen and common space. “Bad Irene” combines futuristic décor with Bollywood kitsch; “Sweet Annisa” sports a red vinyl interior said to have been designed for West Indian drug lords; and “Americano” was built for a weekend bender with Vanilla Ice, Richard Pryor and Neil Patrick Harris. Personality? This place has plenty.

Our adventure had begun earlier in the day, on the A train from Manhattan. Boatel’s website had advised us to come “adventure-ready,” so our overnight bags were stuffed accordingly: bug spray, sunscreen, sleeping bags, booze and an assortment of costume apparel left over from last year’s trip to Burning Man.

By the time we arrived at Marina 59, the sun had already fallen. A few grizzled sailors manned the entrance to the Boatel, swilling Coors Light on plastic chairs. When we inquired about our night’s accommodations, a fairy-like blonde appeared with directions to our boat and an invitation to return if we wanted sheets.

The dock had seen better days, and its panels groaned under our weight. After unloading our gear onto Nancy and gaping at her oddities with a mix of whimsy, curiosity and fear, we poured ourselves a drink and ventured out to explore our surroundings.

First stop was the convenience store next door, where we were instantly reminded that we weren’t in a nautical Never-Never Land, but rather smack in the middle of one of Queens’ rougher neighborhoods. The cashiers seemed used to drop-in hippies from the Marina, though, and they laughed at our tie-dye and face paint.

Back in the Marina, we dropped by a shipping-container-turned-art-studio, filled with paintings that were colorful but angry, and filled with sexual symbolism. A pillow and yoga mat lay in the corner, as evidence of artistic commitment.

Walking back to the boat, we encountered two goats that seemed perfectly at home in the middle of a parking lot in a dilapidated marina in Queens. This would be an interesting night.

Back on the dock, a lecture was in progress. In addition to houseboat accommodations, Boatel also offers a variety of community programming, including lectures, live music and a “Floating Cinema” featuring screenings of nautical classics like “Treasure Island” and “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.” Two-thirds of the way through, the lecture was interrupted by a theatrical play on a shark attack, complete with splashing kayakers and projected images of sharp teeth.

Post-lecture, we barbequed, drank and relaxed on the pier. Between the softly lapping waves and surreal surroundings, it was easy to escape the pulsating energy of the city we’d left just a few hours earlier. Conversation jumped from topic to esoteric topic, and laughter echoed in the air. No one checked their smartphones. Somewhere between late evening and early morning, we slipped into deep sleeps, aided by Nancy’s gentle rocking.

Morning came, and intense sunlight woke us long before we were ready. As my eyes fluttered open, I took in the surroundings: the glinting glass bottles, the vintage photographs. The light was soft streaming in through the pantyhose. Even the doll heads didn’t look so creepy in the light of day.

Stepping off the boat, we greeted the friends we’d made the previous evening and began to prepare a light breakfast. But soon, the morning calm was interrupted by a band of police inspectors, who stopped at each boat to inquire about the Boatel’s safety practices. Despite my initial reservations the night before, I now felt affectionate toward the Boatel, even a bit defensive of the otherworldly atmosphere the artists and organizers had managed to create. The Boatel is no luxury “I’m On A Boat” experience, but it is certainly something special, and we shared as much with our interrogators. Then, with one last look back at the dock, the goats and Ms. Nancy Boggs, we braced ourselves to reenter the real world.

The Boatel is located at Marina 59 in Far Rockaway, Queens, just off the A subway stop at Beach 60th Street. Rooms are available from Wednesday to Sunday until November 1, with rates starting from $55/night.

People Of Mali Fight Back Against Fundamentalists Destroying Their Heritage

by Sean McLachlan on


We’ve been covering the turmoil in Mali for some time now. Three months ago, rebels in the north of the country took advantage of a coup in the capital to break away and set up the nation of Azawad. This new nation, as yet unrecognized by any other, was supposed to be a homeland for the Tuaregs, a people who complain of poor treatment from the central government.

All did not go as planned. The radical Islamist group Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) took over part of the area and put it under harsh Sharia law. Their area of control includes Timbuktu, where they have been destroying the medieval shrines of Muslim saints they say are contrary to Islam. There are also fears they may burn the hundreds of thousands of early manuscripts in Timbuktu. Fundamentalists tend not to like reading much.

Now moderate Muslims are fighting back. Sufi Muslims, who are the majority in Mali and who honor the shrines, have created an armed band to defend them. They’re guarding the holy tombs at Araouane and Gasser-Cheick, close to Timbuktu.

This is the latest step towards conflict between the supposedly allied Ansar Dine and the other rebel groups. Ansar Dine has overstepped its bounds and insulted local religious feeling. They may soon pay the price.

With the world community doing nothing but wringing their hands and making sympathetic noises, it appears the only hope to save the ancient treasures of Mali is in the hands of the locals.

[Photo courtesy Emilio Labrador]