As far as backpacks go, the crew over at Gregory’s pretty into technology. Other than that, we mostly rely on the basics to get out and explore the woods. But, we have to say, we’re pretty into a little piece of technology you might have heard of called the iPhone.
Yeah, yeah, does Apple really need us calling out the iPhone too? Nope, and we wouldn’t, if it weren’t so dang cool. And not just cool, but useful even for the outdoors. As usual, it’s all about the apps.
Out of the 15,000 apps to choose from, the outdoor world claims more than just a few. Yes, this expensive-but-worth-it piece of technology could simplify your next backpacking ‘to bring’ list. There’s applications like AccuTerra, which won the ‘Best iPhone 3.0 Beta app’ and includes 3-D mapping content of the Bay Area and Yosemite National Park and a library of U.S. national state parks and forests for each state. You download the maps beforehand, and then you don’t rely on cell coverage to access them in the backcountry (battery life is a separate issue!).
The application also allows you to take photos and save them to the map with the elevation and location of where the photo was taken- your map, journal, and camera all in one.
And that’s just one of the many outdoor-specific applications. Not too long back, National Geographic Adventure West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro ran down the list of what he thought were the 25 Best Outdoor iPhone Apps on his blog, the Adventure Life. Definitely worth a read, if you haven’t already.
Course there’s also times when it’s good just to leave the tech at home - other than the tech in your backpack, of course. But for those who just can’t do that, the iPhone’s got it going.
