As I make progress on overhauling the apps, sometimes I wonder if the things that I get excited about are really that exciting, or if it’s something that would look incomprehensible to most people. For instance, I got all excited when I figured out how to send delegate methods from one Objective-C class to another– I jump up and hug Yvonne, saying “I just did [so and so]!” And her eyes go a little glassy, she says, “great.” Of course I just spewed out some programming jargon, simple things that a programmer would understand, and I only just learned, but it’s not something you can see with the naked eye.
Once in a while, though, I make something work, something that seems really awesome, and I’m pretty sure it looks great, too. So, without further ado– Behold! Guthook’s Hiking Guides now have working elevation profiles!
Long distance hikers have gotten so used to elevation profiles on their maps that they practically don’t even use the overhead view on the maps. And with good reason– long distance hiking trails are generally one trail, and well marked, so what’s more useful for the hiker is knowing at a glance how steep and difficult the day’s hike may be.
I didn’t think I’d be able to make anything like this. All last year while PCT hikers were getting used to my apps, one of the two most common questions was “can you make an elevation profile?” and my response was always “I’ll look into it”, while thinking “not a chance.” It would have been easy to just put in a static image of the profile, but that would have been a cop-out. I wanted to make sure I had something that wasn’t just an afterthought.
So keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming app updates. The elevation profiles are probably going to be just as useful as the map, if not more. Here’s a list of features I’ve included so far on the profile:
- As you can see from the pictures, you can change the scale of the maps by pinching the screen, just like on a map.
- Tapping waypoints is just like on the map, too, where it shows you a bubble with the name and mileage, and allows you to bring up a detailed information screen with photos, trail register, a link to show the same waypoint on the map, and so on.
- You can enable the iPhone’s GPS so that if you’re within a hundred meters of the trail, your location will show up on the profile at the correct location.
Pretty cool, eh? I’m hoping to be done with most major updates by the beginning of next month, so the apps will be available soon enough, elevation profiles and all!
That is more than pretty cool, it’s way cool. Good job!
Thanks… and hopefully there will be more coolness to come.
Pretty cool? Nah, pretty awesome!!! Well done. Thank you
No, Thank YOU!
Hey Guthook,
Huge congratz on that. I got 15+ years in the software development world (SaaS, web, java, ios) and I can program for months and it just all feels like code monkey work. Than something comes along that makes me go “meh?” get up and out of my chair and go for a hike – to wrap my head around how to make whatever it is work. When I finally figure it out, like you, it is a moment of “ahhhh”.
As a long distance hiker, for me an elevation chart is something I might look at for no more than two or three seconds while laying in my sleeping bag each night getting read to go to sleep, to know what is coming tomorrow.
For me, what I find to be of the most important is a rock solid topo map with a clear marking of the trail. As you said, most trails these days are so well marked (exceptions of course) that I check a topo map just to make sure I am on the right trail, or if I get off-trail and need to find my way back, nothing beats a good quality topo map. And I gotta say, I am becoming a big fan of shaded relief topo maps.
Anyway Guthook – awesome to hear you pulled this off. iOS (Objective-C) is not the easiest mobile device software out there to program in. Done it myself and it made me want to shoot myself at times. The rewards are worth it though eh! Knowing you are helping out folks out on the trail.
John, I know exactly what you mean about the “aha moment”. Pretty much everything I’ve put into the apps has been the product of getting stumped while at the desk, then going for a hike and having that aha!
Honestly, I like elevation profiles more for the fun of showing other people how crazy a climb will be than for looking at it myself, but they’re both in the app now (hopefully I can improve the topo part in the future, too, but it works pretty well). I’ve been playing with the elevation profile since getting it to work, and I’m mostly excited about it just because it looks nice. I’m easily amused.
Glad to hear you think Objective-C is harder than other languages… that actually makes me feel a lot better about myself.
What’s the other most common question you get asked?
And, for what it’s worth, I live and die by the elevation profile.
Hey, when are you heading the the JMT again? I might have something for you
First most-asked question? “Is there an Android version?”
Elevation profilse are what this hiker lives for . The psychology of visualizing ups, downs, and flat sections is critical to my trip planning.
I thought you’d like this, Tom. Maybe I’ll have elevation profiles for the Camden Hills sooner or later…
Glad to see that you have kept the elevation scale as a fixed constant, and let the horizontal distance be the variable when scaling (pinching). I’ve always found that elevation scales which vary depending on the horizontal distance to be next to useless for giving me a feel for what’s ahead.
Well done !!
Ah yes, I’m glad you like that! I went through several versions of the elevation profile before deciding on which looked best. With the pinch-zooming enabled in both vertical and horizontal axes, it just looked ugly. So I decided to keep the vertical axis (elevation) constant, showing only 3500 feet at once (which is more than enough for most of the AT). I’ll tweak it a little for the PCT, which has a larger range of elevations, but either way, I’m pretty pleased with the result. And I’m glad you are, too