Handy Smartphone Apps for Outdoor Adventurers via REI  by jessicadally

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jessicadally says: As most of you know I'm spending a ton of time in the great outdoors this year. Between hiking, biking and being stuck at campsites due to landslides I spend every other weekend away from home. I love finding good camping/hiking and outdoor apps and was particularly pleased to find this blog post from REI. So hey, here's more great camping/hiking/outdoor apps from the leader in outdoor recreation! (I should say that I still miss the old REI store in Seattle on Pike or was it Pine? Such a fun place to get lost as a kid!)
jessicadally's picks
  1. Survival Pocket Ref
    Survival Pocket Ref Let's hope you'll never need it but hey, having information on building makeshift shelters, first aid, building fires and more is nice to have in your pocket, aka on your phone.
  2. WeatherBug
    WeatherBug "live local weather through the largest network of U.S. weather stations." Personally I like Weather Alert USA for it's link to NOAA but I'll check this one out too. It's free!
  3. Flashlight.
    Flashlight. It's not going to pull you through the darkest trails but likely it'll get you to the john in the night. More importantly it'll help you find your shoes without waking up your tent mate and we'd all like to thank you for that!
  4. MyNature Tree Guide
    MyNature Tree Guide For someone who has lived in the Evergreen State (Washington) all my life I know a pathetic amount about trees. I want to learn more but let's face it, carrying guide books to identify birds, animal tracks, trees, trails, etc etc gets a bit cumbersome. And now there's an app for that!
  5. Audubon Birds
    Audubon Birds There are other apps out there, free and not that do this same thing but let's face it, Audubon is the authority here. Going to have to check this one out.
  6. Audubon Wildflowers
    Audubon Wildflowers Now if we'd just get to wildflower season here in the Northwest....
  7. TrailBehind: Find Adventures Nearby
    TrailBehind: Find Adventures Nearby Always excited to find more trail finding apps. So far the best thing for trail finding still seems to be the guidebook (bought at REI of course) but hopefully apps will take over so we're not carrying so many books. Maybe REI will make a few with the help of the Mountaineers!?
  8. Topo Maps
    Topo Maps I've got a free offline Topo map app which may work as well as this one. Hard to say.
  9. Moon Atlas
    Moon Atlas Cool way to explore the moon from your camping destination... often times the only place you can really get a good look at the sky.
  10. Starmap
    Starmap Again, having this sort of technology in our pockets in one little device makes the outdoors so much more enjoyable. Sure, I have books for this stuff and much of my research on campspots, trails and the like happens there, but when I'm out in the field I LOVE having this stuff on my phone. Easy to carry, easy to use and unlike a guidebook I'll never leave it at home on accident.
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