You packed your backpack with snacks, socks, and a sleeping bag. Your pocket knife and fire-starter kit are in one pocket, and one of the best rugged Android phones is in the other. The sun is out, and you’re ready for adventure. But could you be forgetting something?
I’ve explored more than 30 countries, and having the right apps makes my hikes and trips less frustrating and more enjoyable. Summer adventures are about exploration and recreation, not about fiddling with your phone. However, some apps can be helpful when exploring the wild, visiting a foreign place, outside of cell phone coverage, or trying to wow the kids by starting a fire, Bear Grylls style. Let’s check them out.
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Apps to identify plants and animals
Google Lens works great, but check out the alternatives
My kid loves to pick flowers and give them to his mom. The prettier, the better. One day at the park, he collected a few that looked sketchy. Fortunately, they weren’t poisonous, as Google Lens correctly recognized them as Grape Hyacinths. Now, I use Google’s app to identify plants, bugs, and mushrooms to satisfy my curiosity or to keep the kids entertained while camping.
Google Lens is preinstalled on Android phones, as it’s a great app that makes our lives easier. However, the Play Store offers alternatives for identifying natural objects. There’s Picture This (pictured above), which recognizes wild and garden plants, and Rock Identifier: Stone ID for identifying cool rocks. There’s also the Merlin Bird ID app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which names a bird from a recording of its song.
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Organic Maps: Hike Bike Drive
With GPS, offline maps, and no ads
Google Maps offers useful features like navigation, public transport information, street view, and user reviews. However, Organic Maps could be of better use to hikers and travelers.
While Google Maps prioritizes (and advertises) businesses, Organic Maps emphasizes public services and places like toilets, drinking fountains, stadiums, and playgrounds. It includes hiking and biking trails and points of interest such as historical sites, peaks, caves, and waterfalls. Offline maps are also available, so you can use Organic Maps when cellular service is out or to avoid roaming fees.
Organic Maps is a useful alternative for adventurers. However, its database lags behind that of Google Maps or Waze. You’re more likely to run into outdated entries like stores and restaurants that don’t exist. On the bright side, you can become a volunteer and update the data to help others.
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Geocaching
Hidden secrets from the Geocaching community
“The game to have fun outside.” That’s how the community describes Geocaching. Think of it as modern-day treasure hunting that you do with your phone’s GPS. Caches are hidden containers with trinkets and a log for players to sign. Millions are hidden around the world. Chances are, there is one near you. Most caches are in populated areas, but many are at out-of-town spots worth exploring.
Some geocaches are more difficult to reach, find, and unlock than others. The official Geocaching app warns you if a cache is more challenging. When you find the container, you can keep an item you like, as long as you replace it with something of equal value.
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Gaia GPS: Offline Trail Maps
An app for finding hiking trails
Gaia GPS is for hikers and bikers who enjoy the outdoors. Signing up for the premium package gives you access to features like offline maps and additional overlays. I use the app’s free version to discover hiking trails and roads around me, which could be missing on Google Maps.
Exploring marked locations like caves, peaks, camping sites, and outlooks is fun. Another helpful feature is the ability to record a hike or plan one by tracing the route on the map.
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what3words: Navigation & Maps
An alternative way to share your location
I keep what3words on my phone, even though I hope I never have to use it. It allows easy location sharing in situations where web links or GPS coordinates won’t do. The app splits the world into a grid where each cell is 3 by 3 meters wide (10 by 10 feet). Every cell has a unique identifier, which is a three-word combination. For example, the Statue of Liberty is at ///ending.visit.neon.
The word combos don’t make sense, but they give you an alternative for sharing your (or any) location. For instance, if you’re in the middle of nowhere and can only make a phone call, you can verbally give your location to emergency services. The what3words app works offline and detects you over GPS.
While the idea behind the app is clever, it has its downsides. The identifiers are in English, so location sharing with someone in a non-English-speaking country could be tricky. Also, the recipient must know how to make sense of the app and the identifier to locate you. Still, this could be a useful alternative to a popular maps app in the right situation.
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Star Walk 2 Plus: Sky Map View
Explore the night sky
Being away from the big city is an ideal time for stargazing. Typically, light pollution prevents us from seeing the Milky Way and major constellations. In the wild, it can be dark enough to enjoy the view of the night sky in all its beauty, if the weather allows it.
When you have a star guide app like Star Walk 2, you can use your phone and its sensors to locate and identify objects in the night sky: stars, planets, and satellites. Point your phone upward, and the app tells you what it’s pointed at. Tap the compass button in the corner to allow accelerometer tracking. You can also search for an object of interest.
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SAS Survival Guide
Tips and guides from survival experts
This was one of the first apps I downloaded on my first Android phone. It’s a valuable collection of survival tips from experts in the field. While I’ve never used them in a life-threatening situation, I’ve had fun following the guides, such as the one on starting a fire. It’s a great resource with good-to-know information, even if you never put it into practice.
The Play Store only has the paid version of the app. A lite, ad-supported version is available on the Amazon Appstore.
Explore the world with confidence
The world is big, beautiful, and worth exploring. Having the right apps by your side makes it a safe, fun experience for you and your companions. They help you stay on track and better understand the natural world, as long as you have a full battery. Check out our list of the best power banks before heading out, and make sure you don’t buy a fake power bank.
