# MyHikes - share, track, and plan hikes!



## djmill (Dec 16, 2016)

MyHikes  is a small, all features free, webapp that aims to help hikers and backpackers find trails easier.

Don't see a trail or park near your area? Sign up and add it! 

As a user, you can track your miles, complete other people's trails, and chart your completed trails on a yearly basis. More features to come and it's all free!

I'm hoping to get more trails from all over the North East so that hikers and backpackers can find trails a lot easier.

All/any feedback is much appreciated.


----------



## dlague (Dec 16, 2016)

We use AllTrails!

Sent from my SM-G930P using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## djmill (Dec 16, 2016)

I've never signed up for AllTrails mainly because I believe trail data should be open and free. Most of their features require an account to even view trail data - which for most people is fine.

I know most people use AllTrails - 55k trails vs. my 146... but I'm trying to build a community who believes in open free trail data. I'm also trying to focus on hiking and camping whereas AllTrails is a bit more broad.

Thanks for checking out the link and responding though


----------



## wtcobb (Dec 20, 2016)

Not sure who entered this (Admin?): https://myhikes.org/trails/10

But promoting camping that is "technically not allowed within ~200 feet of the cliff, but it's doable" isn't really the best thing. The photo also appears to be from Mt. Willard, which is not the description in the hike. 

The other WMNF hike listed (https://myhikes.org/trails/40) also describes a "decent bootleg campsite." Is the goal here to point out backcountry camp sites?


----------



## djmill (Dec 20, 2016)

wtcobb said:


> Not sure who entered this (Admin?): https://myhikes.org/trails/10
> 
> But promoting camping that is "technically not allowed within ~200 feet of the cliff, but it's doable" isn't really the best thing. The photo also appears to be from Mt. Willard, which is not the description in the hike.



- Thanks for the reply, and yes Im the admin. I'll update the comment to discourage camping within 200 feet of the cliff. I completely understand the concern. And thank you for pointing out that this went up Mt. Willard! Trail info updated...



wtcobb said:


> The other WMNF hike listed (https://myhikes.org/trails/40) also describes a "decent bootleg campsite." Is the goal here to point out backcountry camp sites?


The goal is to point out backcountry sites and hiking trails easier without drudging through google searches. The site is not complete and is always getting new features added.. unfortunately we also rely on our users to add information on trails, so we need to build out a user comment section so that other users, who hike a the same trail, can leave backpacking feedback too.

The idea here is to link trails with parks - the parks page can be updated with a site link and a site map link so that hikers can access even more data quickly. They can quickly see if the trail they're looking at is actually a trail you can camp off of, etc. by researching a bit further.


----------



## wtcobb (Dec 20, 2016)

OK - I can see a niche for that, especially where many parks/campsites are not thoroughly mapped in relation to hiking trails. You often need to piece these together using multiple sources, such as AMC's White Mountain Guide for the trails (I use wmgonline.org for a lot of trip planning) and NH State Park's site for where to camp.

Outside of including established backcountry campsites/huts/shelters (built and maintained by USFS, AMC, RMC, etc.) I'd strongly discourage promoting stealth camping "sites" - while many of these are used repeatedly, they're too close to trails/established camp sites and do not represent dispersed camping and LNT practices. 

With the influx of hikers in recent years, especially along the AT, there are more and more of these "stealth" sites appearing in NH's woods. There are already too many sites that promote the more popular ones, and the impact is obvious.


----------



## djmill (Dec 20, 2016)

wtcobb said:


> I'd strongly discourage promoting stealth camping "sites" - while many of these are used repeatedly, they're too close to trails/established camp sites and do not represent dispersed camping and LNT practices.



Yep I totally agree. I work with the guy that added this trail and he only camps off of public trails that allow camping. He may mean something different by 'bootleg' than what others may think. I'll update this comment as well because it looks like you can camp off of the Livermore trail based on the rules listed http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/whitemountain/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=74405&actid=34 - at least this is what I generally follow when I used to go up there and I don't see anything in the subsequent text that states anything about the Livermore trail.


----------



## wtcobb (Dec 20, 2016)

USFS & WMNF camping rules:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5363715.pdf

Backpacking Light forums contains many lists of stealth sites, however many of these are well within 200' of the trail (some within 20' feet... and more like 2').


----------



## djmill (Dec 20, 2016)

Yep that's a really handy page for the Whites. I should add additional links to the Parks page for subsequent dispersed camping info.. site link and map link are nice, but quick links to things like that one could be really helpful too.

Thanks for the help and feedback, it's much appreciated!


----------



## wtcobb (Dec 20, 2016)

djmill said:


> Yep I totally agree. I work with the guy that added this trail and he only camps off of public trails that allow camping. He may mean something different by 'bootleg' than what others may think. I'll update this comment as well because it looks like you can camp off of the Livermore trail based on the rules listed http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/whitemountain/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=74405&actid=34 - at least this is what I generally follow when I used to go up there and I don't see anything in the subsequent text that states anything about the Livermore trail.



Cool - thanks for understanding and the updates. TBH I'm not certain of that particular location along the Livermore Trail.

Not trying to knock the site/effort - as I said there's definitely a good niche here for planning, and having one source to encompass a variety of camping locations along with the trails to hike would certainly be useful. The first trail I looked at happened to recommend camping in an illegal spot, so some ongoing cleanup/policing might be needed to ensure you're not promoting these locations.


----------



## wtcobb (Dec 20, 2016)

Along with the AMC huts and USFS shelters, here's another list of the RMC shelters:
http://www.randolphmountainclub.org/sheltersinfo/aboutourshelters.html

Having these combined in one visual view with hiking trails (and route descriptions) would be cool. 

Good luck!


----------



## djmill (Dec 20, 2016)

wtcobb said:


> Cool - thanks for understanding and the updates. TBH I'm not certain of that particular location along the Livermore Trail.


Yeah neither am I unfortunately. At least according to the dispersed camping rules, it doesn't rule out camping along that trail and there may be a sketchy designated site on the trail already. I can followup with the guy who added it, but I know he always tells me he stays off of private land and always follows the trail rules, so I do trust his judgement.



wtcobb said:


> Not trying to knock the site/effort - as I said there's definitely a good niche here for planning, and having one source to encompass a variety of camping locations along with the trails to hike would certainly be useful. The first trail I looked at happened to recommend camping in an illegal spot, so some ongoing cleanup/policing might be needed to ensure you're not promoting these locations.



I agree, but luckily the user base is pretty small right now so I can stay on top of new trail data. It's also excellent to get user feedback, this is why I'm trying to promote it a bit to see if other people are interested. So far my user count has tripled and I've already got 20 more trails than I had last week, so it's fun to watch it progress. Worst case scenario, I'm using it as a basis for my professional work to show off my skills and to practice new technologies with... and it serves well as a personal trail journal too. I'm interested to see how many trails I can knock out over the next 10 years or so.


----------



## djmill (Dec 20, 2016)

wtcobb said:


> Along with the AMC huts and USFS shelters, here's another list of the RMC shelters:
> http://www.randolphmountainclub.org/sheltersinfo/aboutourshelters.html
> 
> Having these combined in one visual view with hiking trails (and route descriptions) would be cool.
> ...



Oh yeah that's great idea. I'll think about building in support to add in hut/shelter locations, thanks a lot!


----------



## dlague (Dec 20, 2016)

Should add a location feature so it can zoom the map to your location.

Sent from my SM-G930P using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## djmill (Dec 20, 2016)

dlague said:


> Should add a location feature so it can zoom the map to your location.



Thanks a lot for the suggestion and I've actually been working on that feature, but it's on the back burner for the moment. Since I started promoting the site, I started fixing up more bugs and trying to cover my bases... BUT I should have that feature ready before the Spring.

Edit: I was mostly talking about finding your location while creating a trail... but adding a zoom feature to the map for your location could be really handy for both the main 'Map' page and the individual trail's pages!

It won't be perfect though - HTML5 and geolocation can only work so well without using the native phone libraries (i.e. it doesn't have the same capabilities as an app), but it should make creating trails from the trail head easier or roughly finding your location out on a trail easier too. I'm also looking into seeing how reliable the location tracking could be, but I can say that I don't think it will be reliable enough compared to using one of the apps I suggest on the site.


----------



## dlague (Dec 21, 2016)

djmill said:


> Thanks a lot for the suggestion and I've actually been working on that feature, but it's on the back burner for the moment. Since I started promoting the site, I started fixing up more bugs and trying to cover my bases... BUT I should have that feature ready before the Spring.
> 
> Edit: I was mostly talking about finding your location while creating a trail... but adding a zoom feature to the map for your location could be really handy for both the main 'Map' page and the individual trail's pages!
> 
> It won't be perfect though - HTML5 and geolocation can only work so well without using the native phone libraries (i.e. it doesn't have the same capabilities as an app), but it should make creating trails from the trail head easier or roughly finding your location out on a trail easier too. I'm also looking into seeing how reliable the location tracking could be, but I can say that I don't think it will be reliable enough compared to using one of the apps I suggest on the site.


Are you considering making this an app?  Especially, when hiking and being able to track where you are especially when the trails are not obvious being mobile helps.

Sent from my SM-G930P using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## djmill (Dec 21, 2016)

dlague said:


> Are you considering making this an app?  Especially, when hiking and being able to track where you are especially when the trails are not obvious being mobile helps.



I would love to, but I have a lot of limitations:

 Cost - apple store ~$100/year, Android  app store is a one time fee < $50 I think.. and I would also need to buy my own Mac to build the iPhone app -- I can't use my work machine, otherwise my work could technically own my products. So throw in a MBP - $1500+ :-?
 Time - I currently put a lot of time into the site itself, building new features, and fixing bugs... it takes up a lot of time.

I won't say that we won't ever have apps, I just don't know when it'll happen. If the site started getting donations, I may be able to justify buying a Mac and building an iPhone app and then building an Android app too, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

The flip-side to it though, is that you can use a free app and then port your trails over to MyHikes - I've listed both apps on the FAQs page. They get the job done, but the integration piece is missing. So for Android (and Windows phone) users, you can create trails right from your phone by using the Android 'My Tracks' app by Google. Or on iPhone you can use the 'Trails' app to record and export your trails over to MyHikes. But I agree, I really wish I had apps... there are just a few limitations for the time being.

Edit: with that thought, I may be able to bake in some logic for users to export their trails to an email address like: <username>@myhikes.org - and then the system could create a trail based on the GPX file that you send it - as long as your username is in our system... the only downside to this is authentication and making sure that the user is coming from the same device - since the 3rd party app would not know who actually is sending the data... see, so many problems! haha


----------



## djmill (Dec 22, 2016)

Quick update: new feature added for users with accounts - you can now track your position on any trail by using just your browser.

Currently working on trail creation, with GPS data, from just the browser as well!


----------

