Are we there yet?

By Barb Boyer Buck

​Ever since I was a kid, hiking with my family in the mountains of Northern California and later in Colorado's high country, I remember the refrain:
"Hey, Pop!  Are we there yet?" 

My brother, sister, and I echoed this sentiment on all long hikes, even if we were enjoying ourselves. It became a habit.

My dad would bend down, circle one arm around my shoulder and point to where the trail rounded a bend, traveling out of sight.  "Just around that ridge," he would say. 
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Most of the time, there was another ridge beyond that one… and another ... and another.  When we were tired this was frustrating, but these days I understand why my dad did that.  We had to keep going forward to reach our goal and he was trying to keep our spirits up.  

My little sister, my dad, and I hiking on the Glacier Gorge Trailhead above Alberta Falls on the way to Mills Lake in the mid 1980s.

But in reality, knowing where you are on a hike at all times is pretty important.  Now that I'm adult and most of the time I hike alone, I find it essential. 

Rocky Mountain National Park has more than 300 miles of trails and many will undergo changes as the seasons change.  Natural forces such as flooding and wildfire may cause a trail to become unrecognizable for a time. 

When the trails are covered with snow - especially if you're the first one to blaze tracks - it's extremely difficult to stay on the trail.  Getting lost is a very real threat in the wilderness.

Add to that the spotty and/or non-existent phone coverage in RMNP and the danger increases.  ​​

Rocky Mountain Day Hikes has developed a free app for smart phones (either Apple or Android) called GPSmyhike to help with these concerns.  
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• Step one:  download the app by following instructions on the GPSmyhikewebpage.

 

• Step two:  select an RMNP hike on the app from several hiking categories.

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• Step three:  download the trail map before you enter Rocky Mountain National Park and lose reception.

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• Step four:  refer to the downloaded map which uses GPS to tell you exactly where you are while hiking on the trail you've selected.

The downloaded topographic trail map indicates the trail with a red line and a moving blue dot (which we've named ED) tells you exactly where you are at any point along your hike. ​

RMDH founder and app developer Dave Rusk had an opportunity to test the app's efficacy in early June, while hiking the Flattop Mountain Trail.  Portions of the trail were covered in snow and it quickly became unclear where it went. 

"Even if there are tracks in the snow, it doesn't mean that it's the actual trail," Dave said.  GPSmyhike helped him to find the trail which he & his hiking partner had wandered away from.   Read his report of that hike here. ​

Once you've downloaded the map, ED will appear anywhere you are!  Even if you are off the trail, even if you have downloaded a map for a different hike altogether.  Zoom out on any trail map you've downloaded and ED will tell you exactly where you are! 

ED always answers the question "are we there yet?" 
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Have you tried out the app?  We would love to hear about your experiences and perhaps see some app screenshots paired with actual photos of the location ED indicated you were.  Submit these photos to HikeRockyAtHome@gmail.com and we may use them in a future piece!

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