FarOut Guides

Guthook has been my go-to app for AT hiking since day one!!! I even carry the printed guide as backup for the phone. I opened the app for the first time in a while for my next hike and was very pleased to see such a useful feature update in an already amazing app. The only thing I would ask for is it would be nice to be able to display distances between waypoints with the starting waypoint set to zero. See, I use routes to plan the section and waypoints to break the section up into daily goals. It would be very useful to surface data on my progress through the day. I know I could create a whole new route for each day of the hike but this makes it more difficult to see the big picture of overall progress. It would be great to see the overall section broken down into easy to view daily goals in a similar way as the full route. Kinda like, mini or, sub-routes.

What a difference this app makes on a thru hike! Although it does take away a bit of the spontaneous adventure out of a hike, it’s more than necessary for the modern interpretation of a thru hike. Being able to plan out your day with accurate up to date information makes it possible to push all the way until dark and not worry about water or a flat spot to camp. The aspect of a community is also great with the ability to easily add your own input and look back on what previous generations of hikers had to say. You’ll see some sweet hidden gems along the trail because of this! I love the concept for the big trails, and I won’t ever attempt a thru hike without something like it. However, I give 4 stars because there is still a lot of room for improvement. Even in the couple years I’ve had the app they’ve made some good changes, but it still feels a bit awkward navigating through the app on occasion and some features feel a bit lazy. I’m sure as more and more folks start to flood the trails who are used to the constant influence of technology the app will feel pressure to change. Overall it serves the purpose great, and the GPS feature could literally be a life saver. Just don’t get too caught up in the constant updates on mileage.

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This app was written to support backcountry hikers going long distances with minimal contact with internet. The current developer seems focused on a money grab of section hikers. Updates to the app break more than they fix (and we’re talking basic stuff like crashes and inability to look at adjacent waypoints). This ignores the obvious API misuse of basic features (CoreLocation use is wrong: blue bar should not show on exit; MapKit use is wrong: app should indicate its drawing an opaque base tile rather than asking Apple to download its own map only to be covered up). Worse, the developer takes money for trails like the Te Araroa and doesn’t even bother to incorporate the freely available data in a way that’s actually navigable. As an example, the Trust notes (the basis for the trail) describe how to make it from on side of Rakaia River to the other. The gpx, however, does not include this because it’s not official. This, in turn, means Guthook/Atlas does not include a continuous footpath. The app is so stingy about providing base map data that there isn’t even enough detail to find it on your own, forcing you to use a third source of info (the Trust maps). It might very well be worth your money to buy a trail because when it does work it’s quite convenient, but the app quality is in a downward spiral.

I thru-hiked the AT in 2015 which turned out to be the most amazing experience of my life and I did it with the Guthook App. I cannot recommend it enough for anyone planning to thru, section, or simply car camp the Appalachian trail. In my opinion, this goes on the list of "Don't leave home without it." The AT, at least when I hiked it, was 2,189.2 miles from Springer to Katahdin. Frankly, if you get lost on the AT, you probably don't belong there. So the value of the Guthook App isn't navigation. The reasons I found it to be most useful was to alert me to the elevation that was ahead, distance to shelters and water sources, and road crossings that would take me into trail towns to resupply. I used the Guthook App daily, but I also took along the AWOL AT Guide. I used this to a lesser extent, but I found it equally important. The AWOL guide is an invaluable resource for services along the trail (e.g., shuttles) and in trail towns (e.g., Post Office hours, lodging, etc.) I hope this helps and best wishes on your hike. "Today I begin a new trail in my life. A fresh start. A new beginning. Today I step off the rock at Springer to be transformed because I trust that it is only impossible dreams of this magnitude that will give birth to the type of change I covet." (April 1, 2015) Tabasco

After using this for a while on the AT, it’s become apparent that there is a lot of data out there on the trails and towns that is not contained in this app. I’m not sure where the app pulls data from, but it’s lacking in that department. Other guides seem to list more, and more current, data about available resources, like hostiles, restaurants, stores, etc. on the trail. And while the maps are nice, there are important waypoints that are just not listed. However they exist in other guides. The app itself seems to run fine for the most part. I seem to experience an issue where the GPS stays enabled even though I turn it off in the app. The app shows the GPS off, but as soon as I move to the home screen (app in background) the little blue bubble in the upper left corner continues to indicate enabled. The only way to get it to stop is to force close the app.