A summer vacation doesn’t have to mean just lounging by the pool. If you’re eager to explore the mountains on a bike, go hiking along the ridges, and pick up a geocache or two along the way, we have good news for you: you can plan your entire active vacation in a single app.

One app for your entire vacation

Imagine a typical active vacation: a few days cycling along a river, interspersed with a challenging hike in the mountains, and the occasional geocache to spice things up. Until recently, that meant juggling several websites, paper maps, and notes on your phone. With Locus Map, you can handle everything in one place.

You can plan your trip at your leisure at home on your computer, send the planned routes to everyone in your group, and then Locus will reliably guide you on your phone—even in places where there’s no signal. Let’s go through how to do it step by step.

Map selection – biking and hiking maps

A good map is the foundation of every trip. And this is where Locus Map has one of its biggest advantages—it offers a wide selection of map data, so you can choose the one that best suits your plans.

At the heart of the app are LoMaps—our own maps based on data from OpenStreetMap. They include marked hiking and biking trails, terrain shading, and contour lines, so you can see at a glance where a steep climb awaits you. They work great offline, and we update them regularly.

If you’re planning a trip around Europe, you’ll also find specialized online resources helpful. You’ll find the right ones for every activity and region—for example, detailed IGN maps in France, Outdooractive in German-speaking countries, or Swisstopo in Switzerland. 

Tip: Before you set out, download an offline map of the entire region. With Premium Gold, you can download all LoMaps offline for free, so you won't be caught off guard by a loss of signal in the mountains.

Route planning – from the comfort of your home

Locus Map for Android offers the most advanced route planner, but it’s closely followed by the web planner at web.locusmap.app—which now also lets you edit waypoints, their icons, and labels, and displays them on the map. Planning on a large computer screen simply has its own charm: you can comfortably put together a multi-stage route, add any number of waypoints, and select the appropriate LoRouter profile (bike, walking, and more) for each activity. You can also fine-tune the route calculation parameters for each profile exactly to your liking.

And the best part is that the online LoRouter is free. It’s more than enough to help you plan your vacation from the comfort of your own home. You’ll really appreciate the paid offline LoRouter (Gold) when you’re out in the field with no signal.

If you're not an expert at fine-tuning routing profiles or dealing with complex waypoints, you can easily plan your route in Locus Map Lite on your iPhone or iPad—you'll find a simplified route planner there as well.

All set? Share your route with the whole group

When you’re heading out on vacation with a group, not everyone has to plan the route from scratch. You can simply share the route via a link (URL)—send it to a group chat, and every member of the group can open it on their device with a single click—even those who don’t have Locus Map. The route will open in their web browser. That way, everyone has exactly the same itinerary on their phone, and no one will get lost along the way.

A place to stay straight from the map

Planning your route is one thing, but where will you lay your head each night? Locus Map can help with that, too. For all points of interest (POIs) in the “Accommodations” category, you’ll find a Booking.com button that will redirect you to this popular accommodation portal.

How does it work? The link does not open a specific accommodation listing directly, but launches the Booking.com website or app and enters the name of the POI into the search bar. All you have to do is check availability and prices, then make a reservation.

Geocaching along the way

Geocaching is the perfect way to spice up an active vacation. Locus Map is an official partner of Geocaching.com, so it offers plenty of useful tools for geocachers. You can easily search for caches along your route, download them, let the app navigate you to them, and log your finds both online and offline. Support for waypoints and Pocket Queries is, of course, included.

Think of geocaching as a fun way to spice up your trip—a few caches along the way to the summit or at a rest stop will bring joy and give you the motivation to pedal on, especially for kids.

Offline in the field

Once everything is planned and shared, there’s just one last step: preparing the app for a trip without a signal. Download offline maps, routing data, and planned routes in advance, and Locus Map will guide you seamlessly through even the most remote corners of the countryside. This is where the offline LoRouter from the Premium Gold package comes in handy, as it recalculates your route even without a connection.

Voice-guided navigation along the route is a given, so you don’t even have to take your phone out of your pocket. When cycling with your phone mounted on the handlebars, it’s also handy that the screen turns on automatically at turns so you don’t miss any. Discovering new hidden paths can be an adventure, but you definitely don’t want to end up somewhere in the nettles and swamps—especially with small children. 

While you're out riding, turn on track recording with real-time statistics on speed, elevation, and distance traveled, so you'll have a keepsake of your adventures. And don't forget to take photos! Locus Map can display your photos over the map or in the track details of your trips.

Set out on your active vacation

From the initial inspiration, through route planning and booking accommodations, to navigation on the trail—Locus Map will guide you through your entire active vacation. So what are you waiting for? Open the web planner, plan your next trip by bike or on foot, and set out to explore. Adventures await.

Článek Active Vacations with Locus Map: Biking, Hiking, and Geocaching se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by Tim Parks

I came to Locus Map to solve a problem. How to walk 400 miles through Italy, crossing many areas that are hardly popular for tourism or trekking. Italy is not famous for its detailed walking maps.

Why did we want to do this? In 1849, the revolutionary hero Giuseppe Garibaldi, abandoned the defence of Rome which was besieged by 30,000 French soldiers, left the city at night with 4000 men, and tried to march them hundreds of miles north to Venice where another group of rebels had declared Italian independence. They zigzagged back and forth through the Italian Apennines, Lazio, Umbria, Tuscany and the Marches, pursued by French and Austrian armies.

Always a fan of Garibaldi, in 2019 I came across a diary of his aide de camp, Gustav Hofstetter, a Swiss soldier, who describes in great detail the route they took and all the hardships on the way. Suddenly I knew I had to walk the same walk, to get a sense of the epic thing they did, and, since I’m a writer, to write a book comparing Italy then and Italy now.

But nobody walks from city to city today. The only well-marked paths are in the prettiest places, where the tourists go. Google’s route-finder offers only roads and walking along Italian roads out of town is perhaps more dangerous than being hunted by an army. Even when I did find paper maps with paths, they were out of date, and you would need so many they would fill your whole backpack.

Enter Locus Map. My partner, Eleonora, and I downloaded the app, set the algorithm for backpacking and began to plan our route.

I’m not going to pretend it was all plain sailing. The app does everything it can to keep a walker away from busy roads but even Locus Map had trouble figuring out a safe way to walk from the centre of Rome to Tivoli, 30 km to the east. Amazingly, it would know of tiny passages through brambles beneath elevated highways, but then bring you smack up against a huge four lane intersection where you were walking right alongside racing trucks…

… or sometimes it will take you half a mile out of your way to avoid a few hundred yards of road, unaware that you’ll be walking this route at dawn on a Sunday in August and there’s really no problem. There are times when what matters is to get where you’re going before the day is too hot. We were doing the walk at the same time of the year they did: July.

But these are quibbles. Day after day, Locus Map found a way: north up the Tiber river, through the wild landscapes of Sabina, to Terni and Todi…

… across windy plateaus and through deep gorges, up over the high Apennine passes to San Marino and the Adriatic coast.

The facility that allows you to record your movements as you walk with a strong red line is crucial for orientation. You see pretty quickly when you’ve missed a turn, which is all too easy in this kind of terrain where very few of the paths are signed. And it’s great that you can reorganize your route fast when you realize that a path or road isn’t going to work, or that you haven’t the energy to get as far as expected. The profile graph that tells you how much climbing you’ll have to do and, even more crucially, how steep the path is going to be, both up and down, is essential when it comes to figuring out your day and getting in the right mindset.

Garibaldi’s men were poorly supplied, their shoes falling apart, weighed down with rifles and gear; at night they slept on the ground without tents or shelter. We had good light trekking shoes and walking poles, carried only about 7kg in our packs, and managed to find a bed for ourselves every night, even in the most remote villages. Still, we struggled to do the 400 miles in the time they did: 28 days including two days rest. And we didn’t have to do any fighting or shooting on the way. To avoid the armies following him, Garibaldi often took the most arduous routes, through the most empty and magnificent terrain. We’d never have managed to follow him without the help we got from Locus Map. And if we hadn’t managed it, the book would not have been written.

More about the author:

• www.timparks.com
• Facebook
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Článek Locus Map and The Hero’s Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Locus Map provides a solid map base in offline LoMaps, drawn from OSM data, but let's face it - there are places that OSM mappers don't visit much. There, quality hiking and cycling maps produced by local publishers or authorities can help us significantly. These belong to the basic things that everyone packs for a proper outdoor vacation.

We recently added brand new maps of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service HGSS to the Locus store, and updated a number of map packages of the Polish Compass and the Hungarian Cartographia.

To Croatia not only to the sea

We mostly go to Croatia to spend the vacation at the seaside, however, the whole country abounds in many natural beauties, which we can fully admire on hiking or biking trips. Local maps are provided by the Mountain Rescue Service (HGSS - Hrvatska gorska služba spašavanja). As part of its numerous activities, it publishes high-quality, detailed, up-to-date and clear maps.

Maps of all Croatian national parks, islands and mountains are now available in Locus. Maps are available in several scales, include marked hiking trails, bike paths, mountain huts and shelters, pubs, views and other natural and architectural attractions, camps, and other tourist amenities.

To Poland and Slovakia with Compass maps

Compass, a traditional leading manufacturer of tourist maps of Poland, Slovakia and eastern Ukraine, recently released updates to a number of its products. Maps of the Sącz, Silesian and Żywiec Beskids, Bieszczady, Bystrzycky and Orlické Mountains, the city map of Kraków with cycling routes in the vicinity, Sanok and its surroundings, Podhale, Tatras, Orava, Spiš, Zawoja, Babia Góra and the Kłodzko region have received new data.

Hungary is not just Balaton

This can be confirmed by many fans of the picturesque landscape of the Bukovské Mountains, the fertile Danube plains or the highest mountains Mátra. The established cartographic publishing house Cartographia has recently published a number of updates to its tourist maps. In the Locus store you will find new versions of maps Bakony, Buda mountains, Göcsej, Kemeneshát, Keszthely mountains, Őrség, Somló hill, Velencei mountains and Velencei lake, Vértes and Zselic.

All maps are now available in the Locus store. Enjoy your holiday!

Článek Get maps ready for your vacation in Croatia, Poland or Hungary se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by Andreas Woithon, Matsch&Piste

There are a few demanding terrains for navigation on this planet. Deserts belong to them. Deserts are regions of our planet with poor or no vegetation. They have a few things in common: the lack of clearly identifiable marks we can use for orientation. At least for people who don't need to navigate and move around there daily, for us, the untrained. In the worst cases, the desert changes over time. All that doesn't help to make navigation easier.

[caption id="attachment_12127" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Where to go?[/caption]

However, people cross these life-threatening places on Earth for centuries. So as not to fail, one needs some special knowledge and skills. Regarding navigation, these are the knowledge of the place you are in and you want to go, where the tracks (earth roads), the oases and water wells are and the skill to orientate oneself among less obvious structures. Pros with pro-equipment are better suited than most of us. The natives, who are used to move in deserts often use invariable natural features, like special dunes or mesas that we don't recognize.

As most of us stay in deserts for a too short time, we can't train these skills nor buy pro-equipment. We need different tools to aid us. Thanks to satellite navigation and digital global maps it has become easy for everyone to find our way through the desert. However, that doesn't mean that we can move around actually as easily as we can navigate with these modern systems. But we know where we are and in which direction to go, after all. But only as long as the satellite systems and our gear works. That is important to respect, as this is not self-evident.

[caption id="attachment_12122" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Even from higher points structures for orientation are not easy to recognize.[/caption]

It's a fact that there always have been ways to navigate in deserts. Since at least the Second World War it became important for a larger group of people without love or interest for deserts, to find their way through. The classic way to achieve this was a compass and a map. But the compass meant limitations and difficulties the user needed to know about and to handle that correctly. Because of the missing orientation marks you could keep direction to you have to control your direction otherwise. The need to controlling your direction with a magnetic compass meant to stop the vehicle, leave all metal behind, move away from it far enough, coming back, continue to drive every few meters. That was impractical and a waste of time. In flat deserts, you could do that for quite some distance, but in the middle of dunes, where you can see only a few hundred meters ahead and you change your direction very often, that was even harder, if not impossible.

A guy from Switzerland, Mr. Bagnold, invented the sun compass for the British Army. This was used in conjunction with tables for times and places to allow navigation while driving. But only by day. During the night it was useless. What a relieve satellite navigation systems are!

Satellite navigation and you're done?

Is it enough to have your GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) equipment and a few maps with you while crossing a desert? Yes and no. The App should be capable of a few functions which really support you and it should provide selected maps. However, regardless of your equipment, finding the best path through in the desert will only work by looking and checking when you are driving. Depending on the surface and its condition you need a lot of experience to complete a noteworthy distance. Without that experience, your daily legs will be short and your effort huge. Without the skills to "read the sand" you'll get stuck often, resulting in digging and recovery operations.

[caption id="attachment_12130" align="aligncenter" width="800"]Not understanding the surface means you often have to dig. Or you just had bad luck.[/caption]

Most of the time you can't follow the line-of-sight. That only works in large, obstacle-free areas, like the Jebel National Park in Tunisia. And even there you have to be aware of nearly invisible brims of a wady or other harmful obstacles. You don't want to turn your car into a crashing plane or to get stuck in a chott. A chott is a large sediment plain, with only a thin crust. Below that is deep, wet, salty sand without any capability to carry load. If you get stuck there you're in trouble. Fech-Fech is another surface you better not try to drive on. This is very, very fine sand (like powdered pepper), also with no capability to carry load and which heavily dusts. A car will sink down to its chassis very quickly.

[caption id="attachment_12124" align="aligncenter" width="800"]Even in flat areas without dunes there are no remarkable structures.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_12129" align="aligncenter" width="800"]Overlooking a Ghazi, no real points for orientation.[/caption]

Maps

Let's return to digital navigation and what an App needs to provide if you want to cross a desert. The first thing which comes to my mind is maps. In general, you need two kinds of maps. A good topographical vector map, which shows all streets, tracks, oases, villages and all that stuff. Second, an up-to-date satellite map.

I prefer to use the OpenAndroMaps topographical vector maps, as their themes are detailed and very granular. Height data for these maps can be downloaded from the Locus Map store or at http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/Coverage%20map%20viewfinderpanoramas_org3.htm. You need to select the appropriate section, download it, unzip the ZIP-file and copy the .HGT files to "/Locus/data/srtm".

For satellite images, I like the ESRI hybrid maps, which you can use with Locus Map. Who used the already gone Locus Map Tweak in the past should have listed this map server in the Online section of the map manager.

It should be noticed here that maps that are based on OpenStreetMap (OSM) not necessarily show all existing tracks in deserts. Some can only be found on old military maps or maps from professional map providers. They usually have access to other map and geographical sources that don't rely on contributions from a community (like OSM). That's why paper maps, like the Michelin 953 North Africa or digitized paper maps like the ones from mapstor.com, are a meaningful addition. Besides an unfolded paper map can be studied and discussed much better in the sunlight with a group of people, than doing this around a 10" display.

The topographical maps show me the details, tracks and paths and the remarkable waypoints, POI's, etc. The satellite maps are fine for locating and estimating dunes. At least for me, the presentation of dunes on OSM maps is something I don't really get used to.

[caption id="attachment_12131" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Area of Lac Ereched Houidhat, Tunisia, as a satellite and topographical representation[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_12133" align="aligncenter" width="800"]Area East of Afassa, Niger, as a satellite and topographical representation[/caption]

That is one of the important functions an App should be capable of: provide several map types and maps from different sources, vector, and image-based.

Offroad navigation functions useful in deserts

Regarding the navigation itself, many people are satisfied with seeing where they actually are. Ok, that is nothing special, any navigation App will do that. However, I prefer to have a supporting visual reference to the destination which can be captured by one glimpse. Especially if you're sitting alone in your car as the driver. This is a great help because most of the time your eyes should be focused on the way in front of your car than on your navigation device. At this point, many Apps fall behind. Locus Map provides this by offering two functions: "Guide on" and the "Route planner". Both provide a very good visual reference while you are concentrating on driving.

But why are these functions so helpful? There are two main reasons. First, the visualized line of sight between you and your destination guides you, even if the destination is not visible on the map because you have to travel over a longer distance and the landscape lacks visual reference structures or landmarks you could use for guidance. Second, you have no visual contact with your destination most of the time while driving in dune fields.

[caption id="attachment_12125" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Locus Map Pro in action.[/caption]

Offroad navigation with Locus Map function "Guidance"

While you're driving over plain tracks you could mark the destination and start the guidance (Guide on). You'll receive information about the line-of-sight distance and direction immediately. While you're driving you can roughly estimate if you're still driving in the right direction, even if the target is not visible on the map. That's good for routes that do not have many turnoffs, junctions, etc. and where the route is mainly straight (but doesn't have to).

[caption id="attachment_12137" align="aligncenter" width="800"]"Guide on" while driving a track (the track is below the guidance line).[/caption]

Offroad navigation with the Locus Map Route Planner

If your way has many junctions or runs over longer distances or which is far from being straight, you can use the Locus Map route planner and the "Guide on"-function while following your planned route. Draw your route into the map. You can decide on how detailed you plan it and how close you stick to the actual tracks visible on the map. You should set a route waypoint at least where you have to decide about where to drive (like junctions and turnoffs). By doing that you receive detailed information about your route right while you're planning it. While driving, you can easily follow your planned route without the need for continually zooming in and out or moving the map around. That lets you concentrate on your way and driving, especially when it becomes somewhat harder or you have to focus on not losing the momentum. Despite the increased effort, the route planner is very helpful. At that point, only a very small number of Apps are left.

Within dune fields, this function is even more helpful. The condition of the sand dictates where you can actually go in your car. Using the "Guide on" and Route planner" allows you to stick to the route or the guidance line, while you meander around, always looking for the best way to cross a dome or to drive around a gap. Or while you're following the skid marks of some local experienced guys, who know how to read the sand, while at the same time you try to keep the general direction.

The route planner and the guidance function become even more important if you're driving without native experts. The problem is the lack of landmarks you can easily recognize, like a mesa or very high dune. Even if you find one, just by changing the position with a different view, that landmark can make itself unrecognizable to you, as its look can change very much. If you're standing on a summit looking at a high dune in the far, you can very easily lose that mark while driving around in the dune fields. You constantly dive into gaps and holes, cross summits, dig a car out, etc. and when you're back on the top after a few hundred or thousand meters it seems to be gone. That's where the visual guidance line of Locus Map is a great help. It's still pointing to your destination.

[caption id="attachment_12126" align="aligncenter" width="800"] A mesa can be a landmark.[/caption]

The same applies if you see high mountains or a mountain chain in the far, something you really can't miss. Again, the guidance line is a perfect help, while moving through dune fields. You can't keep the mountains in your eye all the time while driving because you're below the summits of the dunes you're in and you change your direction very often while following possible ways. And when you get a sight to the mountain again, you suddenly realize that you have moved away from it instead of towards it. That wastes fuel, water and time. The Locus Map guidance always shows you the right general direction, so you can easily detect if your general direction leads you to that mountain.

[caption id="attachment_12128" align="aligncenter" width="800"] In between the dunes you can't see far.[/caption]

If you want to drive around dune fields, the planner is your friend, again. Using it together with the satellite maps you can find flat areas to circumvent higher dunes. Draw your route and simply follow it as general guidance. If you have to drive around smaller obstacles, the guidance line to the next waypoint will always guide you back to your route. If it takes you too far from the next waypoint, just skip it and head to the next one.

[caption id="attachment_12135" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Choosing more leveled areas for your way.[/caption]

After planning the route you can switch the map to a higher zoom level to get more details and follow your route. Where and how to cross these fields exactly is always a matter of checking out the actual conditions while driving.

[caption id="attachment_12136" align="aligncenter" width="800"] A more detailed view of your way.[/caption]

Scared by handling the App or the technical stuff? Matsch&Piste guides you!

Most offroad navigation Apps don't provide all these options and functions discussed here. However, some users are satisfied with that, as they don't want to cope with all that stuff. Besides other things I appreciate Locus Map because of the possibility to get rid of all the things you don't need and to focus on the few important functions I need and which are easy to learn. But some people either don't have the time or the will to dive deeper into these things. Or they are scared of technology in general.

If you want to get quickly and easily your hands on Locus Map you can book our live Webinar-Sessions about offroad navigation with Locus Map Pro. If you plan to visit really far-away places, where navigation is no fun anymore but essential, our weekend workshop about classic and digital navigation is exactly suited to you. You learn how to handle maps, compass, digital navigation (with Locus Map) and how that all fits and works together. Knowing how to handle paper maps and compass is vital in really offsite places. You should acknowledge that all this comfort of digital navigation can end immediately. Just think about the accident, where your gear is destroyed or if you have to leave the vehicle behind. At our weekend workshop, you also have a practical session with your car, where you can practice what was learned before.

All webinars and trainings are in German.

Find more information about our trainings here: https://www.matsch-und-piste.de/shop

Here's a short video of our desert driving in 2017:

Článek Offroad-Navigation in Deserts with Locus Map Pro se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Obviously, many of you, hikers, mountain bikers, crosscountry skiers or other outdoor sports fans have already encountered a situation when you got a tip on a mesmerizingly beautiful crowd-less land. Immediately you decided to make a trip there, at least for one day, at best for a few days expedition. Alas, you couldn't find a decent map! Either the area was badly covered by hiking maps or you found just topo maps without trails, shelters, and other tourist facilities.

Locus Map offers a solution - you can create your own map with it

With Locus Map you can:

• select a background map that suits your needs best
• add routes - draw them on your own or import them from other sources
• add interesting places, campsites, shelters, whatever - again, on your own or imported from many available POI databases

1. Background map

The base of your map project is created by a background map, describing the landscape you're going to hike in. Usually it's a topographic map that should be:

• offline - that's a must in deserted areas without internet connection
• detailed - as much as possible but it's not always easy to fetch one
• easy to read on daily sunshine-lit screen

Good offline map is an elementary premise of your successful trip. Locus Map portfolio contains a lot of good offline maps from which you should choose the best one. Consider a few aspects of them before you start downloading:

OSM based maps - maps containing OpenStreetMaps data are great to use in developed countries, especially in Europe - they are detailed, very accurate, continuously updated. Elsewhere in the world, better use OSM maps in populated places only.

Downloaded online maps - many great online maps can be downloaded to your mobile for free but be aware that not all of them are optimized for displaying on mobile phone screens - they are badly readable with tiny texts and other details:

Maps of local cartography publishers - usually very detailed and accurate but also quite pricy:

Satellite and aerial imagery - very convenient for planning routes but not all paths and roads are visible in forests, some parts can be covered by clouds. And one more thing - Locus Map is not built on Google Map API so it doesn't contain Google satellite maps (it would be against Google terms of use). So satellite/aerial maps are available only in some parts of the world.

2. Trip route

Okay, you've selected and downloaded the right map. The map, however, doesn't contain all paths and trails you need to go along. You've got two options:

• draw the route using Route planner - if you are experienced in reading maps plus you can use aerial images, you can draw the route manually
• import the route - you can browse Locus-integrated route database GPSies.com or import the route from outside of Locus as GPX file. There are many databases, e.g. Wikiloc or Wandermap

3. Points of interest

We have the map, we know where to start hiking and what trails to follow. Now we need some more information - about accomodation, tourist facilities, interesting places etc.

Locus Map can offer two solutions:

• OSM points of interest - they are part of LoMaps. Again, as all other OSM data, the database is very rich in Western Europe or other densely populated parts of the world but in some deserted backcountry areas you have to find some other POI databases.
• external POI databases - we've recommended some of them here, e.g. POIPlaza, US Campgrounds, POI-factory or database of cabins and bivouacs at Boudy.info. All of these support export to a GPX file through which you can import the desired POIs into Locus.

Lets go to Alaska!

For example, we decided to visit Kenai peninsula in Southern Alaska and we want to see inland lakes.

Maps - we decided for scanned USGS Topo Maps:

OSM-based maps in this area are very poorly detailed and other online maps are badly readable. Unfortunately, USGS allows only 10000 map tiles a day to be downloaded. Therefore, later we can download only the area where our trip will take place.

Route - before we search other databases we tried luck on GPSies.com. And hurray, we found a nice two day round trip starting on the lake Kenai shore:

POIs - despite the USGS map is quite detailed regarding land and terrain, we'd like to have some more info at hand. LoMaps POIs at least, display peaks and some viewpoints around plus facilities in a nearby town of Seward. We also downloaded campsites from UScampgrounds.info and found out that one campground lie right at the head of our route.

All is downloaded and imported and our map looks like this:

Before we start though, let's make it clear that you should always go into the backcountry with a paper map, compass and knowledge of how to use them. Smartphones can and do run out of power, may not be water resistant, be broken in falls etc. That is, don't rely on them as the only one means of navigation and orientation. And pack also an extra powerbank or a solar charger. You never know if you'll need it.

Enjoy your trip!

Photo by Austin Neill and Teddy Kelley at Unsplash.com.

Článek How to make your own perfect backcountry map se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by Josef Žajdlík

This year's bike pilgrimage organized by Orel Uherský Brod lead to Fátima in Portugal, starting in Vega de Valcarce with a break in Santiago de Compostela. 120 pilgrims in total, aged from 12 to 80 traveled 750 km and gained over 10 000 m of elevation. In this article, I'm summing up my experience with creating pilgrimage routes for a diversified group of cyclists and traveling in foreign environment with Locus application.

Route preparation

After last year's experience with planning the route to Krakow I resolved to use the routing service Brouter again. Of course it's possible to prepare routes in Locus too but the large PC screen makes the planning much more comfortable. What's more, BRouter web enables direct editing of the routing profile and the calculating algorithm can be fine tuned almost to perfection. Finally, anyone who has already planned a route for a group of a hundred people including kids and seniors riding all possible kinds of bikes can imagine how difficult it is to find routes avoiding traffic as much as possible along with compacted surface at the same time.

The result of BRouter planning usually needs some more adjusting. Not only because you need turns to some interesting places but also in order to make the route straighter when the router tries to avoid traffic too eagerly.  The best tool I used to tackle this was MyGpsFiles. It can edit ready made GPX files easily and, furthermore, display it in Google Earth 3D, which is very convenient for route planning in a completely unknown areas. Last web tool I used for planning is Ride With Gps. It can render the route on a map in the most printer-friendly way. The print has decent contrast and mileage is added to  the route which is very practical.

Locus Map settings

Finalized GPX files were imported to an individual route folder in Locus. Next step was to pinpoint landmarks along the route as points of interest. I'm not going to describe overall Locus setting but I can recommend one thing - set autozoom levels in a smaller range, e.g. 15-17. When you need an overview map on the road, just tap the zoom lock button and enjoy any zoom you like.

I don't use navigation along the route, I just display the route on map and from time to time check we are still on it. Navigation consumes too much energy and as we made deviations from the original route all the time, there was no need of it. Traveling abroad I always use Locus vector maps - LoMaps. They are clear to read and contain a great POI database which I searched very often for nearest restaurants of swimming pools. There's a very comfy feature "Nearest points" for this occasion. It's much better to have such an offline database than rely on online information along the route - it saves battery and the internet connection is not always available.

It may seem strange for somebody but I had better experience with landscape screen orientation. I switched the map to the highest contrast in an external theme called paws_cyclist that can be downloaded here >>. This can be quite an individual approach and everybody can choose display and theme settings best suitable for their style of riding. I have automatic function panel hiding on because the buttons just decrease the map space during the ride and they can be easily turned on by double tapping the screen. I also use a simple dashboard with basic parameters like distance, time of ride, clock, battery status, elevation, steepness % and track recording pause button. It's very handy e.g. for quick coffee breaks. If you don't pause the recording Locus and GPS keeps looking for the signal and wastes the precious energy (and also records nonsens trackpoints if you haven't "movement only" turned on). During the ride a very useful tool is to tap the route on screen and read the remaining distance to the finish in the popup box.

After my experience from the previous events I decided to use Locus on a different device than I use for calling/texting etc. It's quite impractical to remove the phone from the holder every time I make a call and also the device quite suffers from being at mercy of the weather. That's why this time I launched an older spare phone, uninstalled everything from it, left only Locus + BRouter. Turning it to the "aircraft" mode with wifi off the phone was holding charge for an incredible time - it was no problem to ride over 100 km without need to plug it in a powerbank. Despite this I recommend to take it with you for the case the battery runs out just in time you need to find accommodation at night.

My experiences from previous cycling events also inspired me to build a special mobile holder on a handlebar bag. A phone packed in a common closed holder often suffers overheating on sunny days, restarts itself or stops working at all. It's also handy to place the paper map next to the mobile so you don't have to switch the screen on so often. The handlebar bag has more advantages - you can place all valuables in it - camera, money, passport etc. When you have a break, just unhook the bag and go for the coffee - nothing precious stays on your bike.

Bike pigrimage

This year's pilgrimage of our team was aimed at Fátima in Portugal, honoring the 100th anniversary of the Virgin Mary's revelation to a few kid shepherds in this now well known place. The starting point was in a Spanish village Vega de Valcarce, placed on another pilgrim route leading to Santiago de Compostela.

An ordinary day on such a biking pilgrimage looks approximately like this: getting up at 6-7 a.m., morning routine, Holy Mass served in a nearby church or right in the place of the overnight stay (usually a gym or a similar big hall). A breakfast after the mass, prepared early in the morning by our magician cook and her assistant. Eating usually standing up in front of the hall, then getting on bikes and leaving in groups of 3-10 cyclists. The route is not planned rigidly, it's just recommended so that the groups adjust the route as they need - visiting places of interest, landmarks, cafés and restaurants along the route is individual. Food is also individual - some have supplies from home, some eat in bistros or fastfood along the way. The only condition is to get safe and sound to the place of another overnight stay where there is the dinner ready, again prepared by our great cook (imagine you prepare meal for 120 people on a single cooker). After the dinner we share our daily experiences and shortly after that we go to sleep to gain strength for another day on a bike.

This year we slept in Vega de Valcarce, Portomarino, Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra, Ponte de Lima, Porto, Aveira, Coimbra and Fátima. We had loads of new experiences: bike crashes, wild fires in Portugal and also incredibly beautiful views of the landscape, lots of very nice and hospitable people, and of course the spiritual atmosphere in Santiago and Fátima. See attached photos.

Greetings to all of you from a bike pilgrim

Josef Žajdlík

Článek Fátima pilgrimage with Locus se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by Christian Bischof

Bikepacking means to me to travel with little baggage on almost all kinds of roads/trails and to spontaneously choose my route and the location to stay overnight. It is a wonderful way to travel and explore the nature and culture of a country, to meet interesting people, and to get to the borders of your comfort zone (i.e. getting to know yourself again and again…).

Bike and Baggage

Well, I used a Bombtrack Hook 1 bike which gave me a very robust CroMo steel frame, nice Clément cyclocross tires that run excellent on both tar and gravel roads, robust SRAM front (50/34) and rear (11-32) gearing, and a very comfortable but still race-like frame geometry. My goal was to find as many gravel roads as possible, but also use many tar roads for convenience and for making some more distance in shorter time.

In order to have an independent power supply I carried a solar panel. With it I charged a battery pack, which in turn I used to charge my Fairphone. I could adaptively attach it to the handle bar pack or to the saddle pack, depending on my orientation with respect to the sun. On the Fairphone I ran Locus Map, which was my only means of navigation.

The five Apidura bags and the one Rixen&Kaul stem bag held all my baggage so I didn't carry a backpack.  All my stuff is depicted here:

Weight of this set (excluding food and water) was about 11 kg, which was about the same as weight of the bike. As the bags were tied very close to the frame and carried relatively little weight, it resulted in very comfortable riding experience with great maneuverability and versatility (which is the main ingredient of bikepacking, really).

As it was my first bike trip at all. I bought the bike and all the bags only shortly before the trip, having been unsure about its interplay and comfort. At the end of the trip, I must say, all the decisions I had made worked out well. The bike ran so nicely, the geometry was very nice and the bags served me well and kept the stuff dry (the waterproof bags at least).

The Route taken

I've lived in Hannover (Germany) for the past five years and Marseille sounded like a great place to ride to with both the sea and warm temperatures waiting. The route therefore was relatively moderate regarding mountains and steep ascends as there are many big rivers along the route such as the Rhein, the Mosel or the Rhone. It gave me enough confidence to find a good route on the fly and plan the targets for the day on a day-to-day basis by consulting the offline “LoMaps” within the Locus Map app.

Choosing roads and trails

All the way long I used LoMaps which proved as excellent solution for my purpose:

• they contain very large amount of marked official bike tracks even with different categories (local, regional, national - see the map legend)
• very nice map look with clear and well-sized text and map signs
• map are displayed relatively fast when zooming despite their vector origin
• they contain enormous amount of details of the OpenStreetMaps project and are very useful (all sorts of trails/tracks/roads, type of forest/trees, power lines, all sorts of water types, building contours, and all the different POI’s)
• elevation contour lines make the map perfect for spontaneous route planning by estimating the steepness and thus the physical effort related to the route

Locus Map gave me the option to easily customize the panel on the map screen for fast access of the most used tools. I used ones shown in the screenshot of Locus Map above. I often shared my actual location with friends and family. I tagged all my overnight places along the route with some additional comments. As I wanted to save power when riding and thus not recording my tracks by GPS positions, I drawn the daily tracks manually on the train back to Hannover. A possibility to avoid power supply problems would be to install a hub dynamo USB charger.

Choosing overnight places

My goal was to sleep mainly in my hammock as it is flexible, maximally cheap and is the most legal way for free camping (see info in German >>). Some cities even have camp grounds close to the city where it is possible to stay overnight spontaneously and legally for little money. Mostly I was looking for some optimal forests in the area on Locus Map. This worked out very well.

Exploring nature and culture

On a bicycle one can reach places relatively fast but it still gives the possibility to feel the nature by smelling, stopping fast (grab some nice bread from a “boulangerie”), making flexible detours into the woods/grasslands or explore the small alleys within a city.

Meeting interesting people

Cyclists usually like to help other cyclists (especially in France). I got three free nights from randomly met cyclists that took me to their home and showed me their city and family. We also had very nice conversations about my or their cycling experiences, including the cyclist social platform warmshowers.

Borders of personal comfort zone

I once found a perfect forest for my hammock, but after looking around a little, I found some turned around boxed on the forest floor. I lifted the boxes and discovered little dead boars, which in turn let me rethink the perfectness of this forest and I decided I had better choose another one.

I started my trip with full joy, full motivation, and also full strength. These were the ingredients of fast riding, which I joyfully did for about four days, before I had to discover a slight and steadily growing pain in my knee. This was the point where I learned to pedal with a pace that suited better to my fitness and to listen to my body.

I discovered quite painfully on the 4th day of my trip that my Clément tires were no marvel either, as they slipped on wet ground with too much speed. Thereafter, I struggled  with myself to get optimal healing conditions to all my wounds and  also optimal riding condition.

Conclusion

This type of travel gave me really a lot of freedom. Of course, I had to obey the rules of my body, my bike, and the nature (and mostly of the law). But it gives you so much possibility to discover nice places, meet interesting people, and to just be with yourself and enjoy riding the bike. And Locus Map perfectly assisted me in all of my little adventures.

Článek Bikepacking with Locus on the road from Hannover to Marseille se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by Ted Thomas

Camping is one of those activities of America that everyone can do. If you are the person who prefers to stay luxuriously in hotel or inn while visiting the US, then you are surely going to miss the essence of camping if you don’t try it once at least.

Here are some of the best camping destinations and camping tips in the famous hiking spots in the US.

Best Camping Tips for Hiking Spots in US

1. Shelter

• It would be better to do a fast campground audit after the end of every trip for making notes about your used campsite. You will have to list the valuable things for your next adventure
• An old area rug would be a good way to make your tent little bit comfortable. It will help in managing the dirt as well as make your feet feel good during bedtime
• Your tent would have to be spiced up with rope lights. You would be wrapping it through the outside pole but below the fly. A power pack smaller in size could do the work, and ambient lighting would be ideal to put the children down before commencing of adult time.
• Compression bags would be the perfect friend of camping. They will work perfectly for clothing, sleeping bags, and pillows.

2. Water

• Hot or cold water bottles would be a good way for boosting comfort in the sleeping bag
• If you are going for solo camping, and so employing a small backpack tent, it would be better to take a cot in any way
• You would have to carry water enhancers. The electrolyte powder and tablets would help in rehydration and even offer flavor to the water
• You could employ mesh laundry drawstring bags for holding drinks in water by tying it up to the bank. The drinks would match the running water’s temperature.

3. Food

• You would have to use storage containers for holding all the camping gear. You could label these containers or employ different colors for differentiating them
• Meals that could be prepared using little ingredients will be better for camping. Then you won’t have to carry many elements to your camp
• You would first have to organize the kitchen of your camp and then start cooking. Keeping the cooking ware, utensils, and all ingredients in proper order or way would help you in the process smoothly.

Best Camping Spots in the US

1. Ludington State Park, Michigan

Ludington State Park is the place that would suit people of all tastes. It could even be a good place to experience a wholesome outing with your family.

You can enjoy swimming in the Lakes Michigan as well as Hamlin; go for beach walks, jet skiing, kayak rentals, sand dunes and even nature hike in forests.

2. Lake McConaughy, Nebraska

Lake McConaughy would be the ideal camping place to enjoy all sorts of water sports without any interference of crowd.

This is the place to explore white sand beaches, water skiing, boating, and casting scopes. This lake is simply a piece of paradise developed in the American style.

3. Bowman Lake

Bowman Lake is situated at the northern side of Montana and near to the Glacier National Park. The park is the World Heritage Site of UNESCO. This is known to be the remotest campgrounds of US present within the park.

The lofty mountains and the beautiful lake would surely make you stunned by its rustic beauty. This would be a perfect spot for experiencing an excellent outdoor camping.

4. Point Reyes National Seashore

You would be able to explore four hiking campgrounds in Point Reyes National Seashore.

There is one interesting thing to explore while camping in this national seashore and that would be when you reach the right time for harbor seals 7,000 in numbers, hauling out at Point Reyes National Seashore.

5. Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake has formed as a result of the vehement volcanic explosion about 7,700 years ago. It is a crystal clear 1,943ft deep lake that is surrounded by old ponderosa pine and sheer cliffs. The lake would provide various scopes to enjoy outdoor activities.

You would feel like to only gaze at the 6-mile wide crater as well as explore Wizard Island. You could enjoy swimming, hiking and many other things in this place.

6. White River Campground

The US is the place to explore some of the best-wet landscapes which even include Mount Rainier. It is an active volcano glacial place. White River Campground is situated within the Mount Rainier National Park.

The place provides serene campsites along with burbling streams and adjoining the White River. The White River is a glacier river that is fulfilled with trout and salmon. You can Catch Trout or Salmon here. It would be the ideal campground for fly anglers and those who want a scenic base camp.

7. Adirondack Lake Region

A convoluted network of freshwater lakes is located among the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. The lakes are of different sizes, and you would be able to explore many private islands within many of these lakes.

Like for example, Saranac Lake mainly provides numerous islands in between three clear lakes.

You would get about 87 campsites for observing the nature, out of which some of the areas will have to be reached strictly by canoe or kayak.

8. Assateague Island National Seashore

If you desire to camp on an island using wild horses, then Assateague Island National Seashore would be a perfect place.

The location provides the scope of camping among the wild horses on the barrier island’s sandy shores off the coast of Atlantic Ocean. This would be the best horse-friendly camping zone.

Conclusion

Camping would always be exciting, adventurous and memorable, especially if you are planning to do it in the US. There is numerous beautiful site of camping that can really make some of your days. The above list of some perfect camping sites will help you to select the right place for your purpose and the camping tips mentioned above will definitely help you experience the best camping days.

Ted Thomas

Hi there, I'm Ted Thomas from GrayWolfLife, an ardent adventure writer. I write for readers with a genuine interest in enjoying the great outdoors. By sharing my experiences camping, hunting and fishing, I hope to inspire others to fully explore the depths of their passion.

Článek Camping Tips In the US That Will Stu You se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by Manish Chandra Singh

Mountain biking is a great idea for adventure and sport junkies all over. A holiday that covers MTB trails is an ideal combination of fun and nature that can sometime lead you to really exotic locales that regular tourists do not go to. Cycling enthusiasts are forever looking for newer, more adventurous and even riskier biking trails that can calm the adrenalin junkie in them. And while there are some great trails all over the world, the MTB trails of South Africa stand out. That’s primarily because of the mountains and vineyards around its capital, Cape Town and also around other popular destinations like Port Elizabeth and Durban.

1) Bottelary Hills

Very close to Stellenbosch, a University town about 35 kilometers from Cape Town’s International Airport, the Bottelary Hills offer numerous route options to fit all expert levels. Covering a total area of 76 kilometers with four route options and seven entry points, the trail crosses over enchanting wine yards, Table Mountains and False Bay. The routes here are designed to suit all kinds of bikers, from beginners to pros.

Image source: www.yellow.place

2) Eselfontein MTB Track, Ceres, Western Cape

Don’t let the flat orchard tracks at the start fool you as what you will eventually witness is over 65 kilometers of rugged single track road with a couple of sharp loops and rocky river crossings. The view along the trail is breathtaking and stopping for a bit to gaze at the splendor is advisable. Located about 150 kilometers from Cape Town in the Western Cape Province, the Eselfontein MTB Track is closest to the town of Ceres.

3) Giba Gorge MTBike Park

The bike trail here is a free flowing single track surrounded by lush forests. The trail which is also pretty fast but neatly kept in offers bridges, switchbacks, roots, rocks and off drops. The downhill sections of the Giba Gorge MTBike Park are challenging and at times require real pro handling. But it’s an intermediate track located in the Giba Gorge and closest to the town of Pinewood, 16 kilometers from Durban city.

Image source: www.roomsforafrica.com

4) Norm - Hudlin MTB Trails

The 20 kilometers long trail will take you about two hours to complete with coastal slopes and sand forest vegetation forming a backdrop for the routes. Meant for all types of bikers, the trails are clearly marked and offer a safe environment for the bikers as the trails are maintained by the brothers Ian and Stuart Pearson. It’s perhaps one of the very few trails that can be part of a family trip as there is something for everyone. What makes Norm - Hudlin MTB Trails more enthralling is that after the biking you can head to one of the many gorgeous beaches of Port Elizabeth that’s close by.

5) Helderberg

The routes are friendly and divided into four categories, green, (2 km), blue (3 km), red (10 km) and black (12 km). This is also a trail where there is a route for everyone in the family but what sells it to almost everyone are the stunning views it offers from the many vantage points throughout the trail. The rides get a lot of fun here with a large number of Downhill and Enduro events being organized here. The park is located about 50 km from Somerset West in Western Cape and offers refreshment joints for food and drinks as well as a zoo for kids.

Image source: www.pinkbike.com

About the author:
Manish Chandra Singh handles content and marketing at Untravel (www.untravel.com), a travel company devoted to customizable travel trips.

Článek Locus tip: 5 offbeat biking trails in Africa se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

by Peter Hanson

If you have plans to travel to Southeast Asia, or if you're just thinking about it, you're probably excited and full of questions. Part of the fun of travel is planning and looking forward to it. No doubt you have lots of questions as you plan the trip of a lifetime.

It’s important to keep yourself safe when you travel. It’s true that bad things can happen anywhere, but there are things that you can do to minimize your risks. When you travel to Southeast Asia, here are some things that you can do to stay safe on your adventure:

Avoid ethnic and political hotbeds

[caption id="attachment_10553" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Choose the safe destinations[/caption]

Most countries in the world have areas of political unrest and civil disobedience. Southeast Asia is no exception, so this is something to watch out for. Your country’s State Department or similar agency might publish warnings about certain areas to avoid. You can also research current events in the places that you're thinking about visiting.
If you purchase travel insurance, political unrest is something to keep in mind, both before and after you make your purchase. Some policies refund your trip in the event that political clashes make the travel impractical. It just depends on what you purchase, so make sure that you read carefully when you make your selection.
If you find yourself in an area of civil unrest, stay out of it. Just because you're in the same city or geographic area doesn’t mean that you have to join the fray. Contact your country’s embassy for more information about what to do if this happens during your trip.

Make plans and use maps

One of the biggest dangers when you travel is simply getting lost. While Southeast Asia is on the best places in the world to ride a motorbike, you can't always count on being able to wing it with directions, especially if the signs aren’t in your primary language. If you plan to ride a motorcycle on your trip, it’s important to use maps and guides.
You should consider using a map app so that you can navigate your way through the region with ease. Even though you can always change your plans later, using an app can help you get a general idea of the landscape. That way, you can spend your time having fun, instead of worrying about finding your way.

Know the laws

You’re traveling to a place where the laws might be very different from what you're used to. Sometimes travelers take laws for granted if they consider them to be common sense in their home country. That includes the concept of innocent until proven guilty and the right to an attorney. These laws might exist in the country you're traveling to, and they might not.
It’s important to study up on the local laws. Research what other travelers say you need to know. If you can avoid a problem before it starts, your trip can be hassle free.

Traffic laws are important, too

This is especially true if you plan to travel by motorcycle. Motorbikes are a popular form of transportation in Southeast Asia, and that means traffic can be a little bit chaotic. Staying safe means knowing the traffic laws so that you can follow them. Traffic laws are made for a reason, and following them can mean the difference between staying safe and finding yourself in an accident.
You should also research whether you need a motorcycle license. The answer is almost always yes, but in some cases, a motorcycle license from home is enough. Safety gear for motorbikes is another important thing to consider. You want to make sure that you're wearing a helmet and that the helmet is appropriate to protect you in case of a problem.

Eating and drinking

Another worry when you travel to any country is food safety. The foods are different and they’re prepared differently. You can keep yourself safe by eating only foods that are boiled, baked or that come with a peel. Buffets and street food are things to avoid.

Adventure trips and group tours

When you set out for adventure on your trip, choose only guided tours that are run by established companies. Going on a solo adventure with someone you've just met is risky, and this kind of tour guide is less likely to comply with safety regulations. It’s always best not to travel alone, if you can help it, and stay in well-lit areas on the beaten path after dark.

What to do if you're in trouble

Even if you take the best precautions, accidents can still happen. If you find yourself in a tough spot, contact your country’s consulate or embassy for more information. Keep a copy of your passport on hand in case you need to ask for a replacement. Follow instructions from first responders, if that applies, or talk to the hotel staff.

Enjoy your trip

It’s important to look out for danger while you travel, but there are steps that you can take to minimize these risks. Learn the local laws, create a travel plan and use a map app to plan and follow your route. If you do run into trouble, contact your country’s embassy or consulate and ask for help. Enjoy your travels.

Peter Hanson is a motorcycle enthusiast and expert on motorcycle travel. He loves to travel and has covered a lot of countries over the past eight years. In each country, he takes the time to record his impressions.

Visit his blog to read more articles about motorcycle travelling and helpful tips!

Článek How to travel safely in Southeast Asia se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.