Walk The Distance makes exercise fun for those who’d rather be hiking

Walk The Distance is a type of app that motivates a very specific type of person to get off the couch and exercise. Instead of walking to escape zombies or catch Pokemon, you can effectively walk long-distance routes such as the Appalachian Trail (AT) and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Perfect for those of us who don’t mind the local promenade. But I want something a little more scenic.

For each mile of walking home, the photo moves along the map, displaying a small icon that moves between famous landmarks such as Springer Mountain in Georgia and Kennedy Meadows at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. And when you reach certain points, Walk The Distance will provide you with photos and facts about them.In a way, it’s a bit like playing Oregon trailExcept for exercising instead of sitting in front of the computer. (If you want to travel more historic, be aware that there are official Oregon Trail apps that actually do the same.)

While using it, I enjoyed going home from a walk, looking at the app, and seeing the virtually passed landmarks. The short, sweet explanations describe the weather and landscape of a particular location, the trail hike, etc., but for me it’s worth checking every time I take a picture. Also, looking at the map above, I noticed that I was planning the distance for my next walk. When you read Hawk Mountain Shelter’s description that the next stop is about 7 miles away, use AllTrails (another great app) to find an 8-mile hike nearby.

In theory, all my short walks would be thousands of miles, completing the Walk The Distance version of the AT. The app also offers a variety of short hikes through different national parks and cities if you want to start with a slightly intimidating goal.

Now that you’ve seen the screenshot, let’s get it out of the way right away. I don’t think WalkTheDistance is a great looking app. In fact, I honestly think it’s a little ugly. However, if you can see past that, the functionality of the app is fairly stable. You can see where you are on the trail and see how many miles you’ve recorded each day by looking at your walking history compared to other users virtually hiking. Please revisit the points of interest that you have already passed. There are also settings that correspond to the entire backpack, allowing you to customize many experiences.

Walk The Distance even has a social element, but I can’t say I played it much. In addition to all users who publish their progress, you can also add friends to walk along the trail with. The app has a mode that shows where you and your friends are on the trail. (If the developer is looking for free advice, it should be the “Tramilly” section after the trail and family portmanteau used by the hiking community, not the “Friends” section. Shown in the app. Set a little theme for the fact that you can choose “trail name” instead of name.)

I too — and I can’t believe I’m saying this — thanks to WalkTheDistance’s pricing structure. This gives you a lot of flexibility in how your app pays and whether you make a payment. You can do the first or two of the big hikes for free and then pay to unlock the rest. The entire AT unlocks $ 4.99 and the PCT unlocks $ 9.99. Some national parks and city walks are free, while others cost $ 0.99 each.

However, if you don’t want to pay little by little, you have a $ 2.99 / month / $ 29.99 / year subscription, you can run all walks for free, and you can unlock sync with Fitbit or Garmin. Syncing with Apple Health or Google Fit is free (and Walk The Distance gets that data right away because you’re using another app to sync your Fitbit data to Apple’s system).

So far, I haven’t reached the point where I need to start paying. For AT, it happens at about 155 miles. But when I do, I plan to buy at least that path. The outdoor supplier REI estimates that it actually costs about $ 6,000 to hike the Appalachian Trail, so I’m really ahead of the game by doing it for $ 5.

Of course, Walk The Distance’s motivation doesn’t help everyone, as not everyone is a huge hiking geek. But for us, where it works, getting to the next virtual shelter may just be the motivation needed to get off the couch and get out a bit. Personally, I’m really looking forward to making great strides on my virtual Appalachian trail journey as I hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail at the end of this summer. Because it’s something I find very interesting.

Walk The Distance is available for free on the App Store and Google Play Store.