Maybe it’s spring fever, all those flowers blooming around town, or the fact that I am still hobbling around in a cast, but I find myself aching to get out in nature. And the very idea of this new app from Germany about hikes right in our own backyard is elevating my cabin fever to code red.
We heard about the app from one Cara Koehler, who created it with her boyfriend, Michael Neumann, after visiting California. It seems Michael was recording the trails for his geography thesis project at the University of Erlangen/Nuremberg, and since he also had a part-time job at a publishing house, the thesis (with Cara’s text) turned into a $4.99 offering on iTunes.
The aim, Cara says, is to help round out the experience on the trails and dash any idea that nature and tech enthusiasts can’t exist in harmony. Of the Nicholas Flat Trail at Leo Carrillo state park, for instance, the app declares after some instructional twists and turns, “It’s incredible how you’ll sense a quiet calmness about this spot; take a moment to enjoy it.”
A road map isn’t a bad idea when you’re out in the wild, even if it’s one dependent on man-made power. No wi-fi is necessary for the app; let’s just hope many of the trails stay in dead zones so doing a Foursquare check-in is impossible and you stay focused on the natural beauty.
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