For the past six months, the Maine Chapter of the IAT has been working with the developers of the premiere trail guide app, Guthook Guides, to create a digital hiker’s guide of the International Appalachian Trail in Maine and Canada. For those unfamiliar with Guthook Guides, they were first developed as an iPhone app in 2012 by AT thru-hiker Ryan Linn. The app allows hikers to download detailed, up-to-date maps and information on campsites, water sources, resupply opportunities and more to any smart phone. Additionally, users can share information about current trail conditions, hiker-friendly towns or places to get a good hamburger.
The guide app downloads everything to a hiker’s phone, so a cellphone signal is not required on the trail – unless a user wants to report that the Blue Moose Restaurant in Monticello, Maine is closed on Mondays.
The Maine and New Brunswick sections of the IAT were completed this past spring and have been undergoing testing over the summer. The Quebec section is nearly complete and will be reviewed over the winter. All three sections should be available to download from the Guthook website in the spring of 2020. The Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland section should be available by spring, 2021.
