Hello all,

Does anyone have suggestions on some backpacking trails near me for this weekend? I am in the Northeast Alabama region, Huntsville Alabama to be exact. My GF wants to go for her birthday, so I'm hoping to find something stellar to give her a good experience. She's never been but is very fit, and I have plenty of gear to accommodate.

I'm looking for a 3-day / 2-night trip. I'm okay with an easier hike as I'm more concerned with going somewhere pretty. I'm hoping to keep it within 3-4 hours of a drive from Huntsville, AL.

So far, I've been looking at going to Jacks River Falls trail. It's a 16-18 mile trail located in north Georgia.

I've spent a lot of time in the Bankhead area, Sipsey River, Firey Gizzard, and Walls of Jericho. So I was hoping to branch out a bit further.

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Any suggestions would be extremely appreciated!

Sometimes an app can be handy when following a track. For instance if the track is not marked clearly at all points, or if you might want to cross over from e.g. the one marked with blue markers to the one marked with red markers.

Well, I did not find an app I liked, so I made one myself: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.vanderplank.navigateanymap

Very interested if you like the app.

The app lets you take a picture of a map (e.g. a photo of the board with a map at the beginning of the track) and match it using openstreetmaps.org. Afterwards, the app lets you navigate using the photo, telling you at all times (using the GPS of your phone) where you are on the photographed map.
(see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvzE2Epjt6k&t=1s )

(There is an experimental feature in which you can share a ‘matched map’ in the form of a png or jpg file, so that someone with the app does not have to do the manual matching anymore)

Only an Android app for now (I do not have an iPhone, and the barrier to becoming an iOS developer is too high for me).

App is free (I do not see that changing in the near future), simple to use, and only needs the camera on your Android device (and off course the device needs to receive GPS signals).

Languages supported are English/American, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish and Swedish. But if anyone wants to have a version in their countries language and is willing to translate some 10-20 sentences (or proofread a Google Translate translation) that can be accomodated.

Kind regards,

Roel

Hi!

Now finishing a new hiking, adventure travel, and discovery app. You will find a load of useful features with many of them quite new or designed in a different way.

I would appreciate all comments and recommendations.

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Trail Explorer

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