Favorite hiking apps
Your mobile phone may be the most important tool you have in the mountains, apart from common sense, maps, and compass. There are many smart apps for hiking. Here are my personal favorites.
1. TOPO GPS Norway.
This app I use to read GPS tracks (Gpx files) so I always know where I am going. It shows you where you are on the map and works perfectly with the Norwegian Map (which you purchase in the app). It can also log your trip so you can have your own GPS track. This feature is good for being able to follow the same way back to the start. The app is also perfect for showing GPS tracks that you download from our Hiking tips here on Utpåtur!
2. UT-no.
This is the official app of the Norwegian Trekking Association, and as a member of the Bergen Hiking Club, I have to promote it a bit. I use this app to find Hiking tips when I am on holiday in new places. Here I find both mountain, hiking, and ski trips. It also has a good overview of marked DNT trails. Some of the trip descriptions can be a bit varied, but the GPS track that can be downloaded for each trip makes the app a good tool.
3. Help 113
This is an emergency app released by the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation. By using the app when you need to contact emergency services, they receive GPS coordinates that show exactly where you are. When you download it the first time, you must enter your phone number and approve that you send data to the emergency services. You should do this in advance before you head out on a hiking trip, and you only need to do it once. If an accident happens while you are in the mountains, you open the app, select the emergency service, and call them.
A smart trick if you find yourself in an area without coverage when an accident occurs. Then you open the app, take a screenshot of the GPS coordinates. Then you run to a place where you get coverage and call. Read the GPS coordinates to the person you are speaking with.
4. Mountain Top Hunt
This is the perfect app for you who likes to collect mountain peaks. The app is developed by some smart people from Bergen. It contains a map of Norway with all the mountain peaks in Western Norway. When you are near the peak, you can open the app and check in. It uses GPS location to know that you are nearby. When you have checked in, it changes from a question mark to an approved sign. You also earn points and it is easy to keep track of which mountain peaks you have visited and not visited.
5. STRAVA
This is an app that most people are familiar with. If you like to jog, it is perfect for logging your workouts. You can also use it to log your mountain trips. It shows GPS tracks and other data. You can also synchronize the app with most new GPS watches.
Finally, I would recommend you to put all your hiking apps in a single folder on your phone. Then you have quick access to them. Always remember to charge your phone fully before you go on a trip.
Have a good trip!
