What's new in version 2.0 (Learn More)

• Now uses "data persistence" - you won't lose a track accidentally
• Can preload maps for use offline - tap "Current cache size" in Preferences to get started
• Improves handling of elevation gain and loss calculations
• Improves waypoint facility
• The X button on the Map Scene has changed to a bullseye ◎ and has added functions
• Changed the "Settings" button to "Preferences" to reduce confusion with Settings app
• Considerable improvements in stability and data persistence
• A whole lot of little tweaks and fixes

Why You Want This App

This little app is intended primarily for hikers and walkers. Its main job is to follow along with a person and:

1. Make an accurate report of the distance traveled and other data
2. Create a record of the trip in a GPX file that can be saved for later use and/or shared with other mapping apps and websites

Wait - Don't They All?

Most mapping / tracking apps try to cover a wide range of activities. But hiking presents some very special problems to a GPS, namely:

1. dealing often with conditions that degrade GPS signals - hills and mountains that block the sky, tree cover and rain that absorb the radio waves, etc.
2. and, most importantly, covering ground at a slow pace

HikeTracker will also work well for running, cycling, and even driving, but those activities do not require all of its error-compensation strategies.

Acknowledgement & Licensing

• I want to give special thanks to Vincent Neo and Juan Merlos for the help they gave me early on. I started this project by attempting to modify their fine open source app named Open GPX Tracker. I quit that and set off on my own mainly because I was spending too much time on the mechanics of collaboration and the fact that I had a much narrower focus.
• I am also using two of their software packages that have made a huge difference: CoreGPX by Vincent Neo and MapCache by Juan Merlos
• The app gets its maps from Apple Maps, of course, plus three public domain sources: Open TOPO Map, Carto DB and Open Street Map

About the Author

I am a retired mathematician and computer educator with about 60 years of programming experience but very new to iOS. The COVID-19 shutdowns gave me the time to learn some iOS programming and attempt to put an end to the interminable disputes about hike distances now that everyone's pocket contains a sensitive GPS receiver and a powerful computer but no two of them can ever agree on something as basic as the distance traveled.

• "I got 8.3 miles, how about you?"
• "I got 7.2"
• "I got 7.9"
• "OK, let's call it 9"

My grand long-term goal is to infiltrate these strategies into other apps and help them live up to their promise, of which most currently fall short. I plan to publish the source code as soon as I get it dressed for company.