Logging Hikes from your Smartphone

If you are like me, your smartphone is usually what you use to take photos on your hikes. My iPhone is my go-to camera when I'm hiking, mainly because it's always with me.

When it comes time to log my hikes, I have two options:

1. Send the photos from my phone to my laptop, and log the hikes from the website. Or…
2. Login to the mobile website on my phone, and log my hike from there.

There are pros and cons to both. The first option is easier for writing a long trip report. It's always easier (for me, anyway) to type on my laptop keyboard rather than my iPhone.

The second option makes it easier to share your photos (assuming you used your phone to take them). So most of the time, this makes the most sense.

Here's a walk-through of the process on your mobile phone

1. On your phone, open your browser and go to https://socialhiker.net.
   
   If you're not already logged in, you'll get a screen that looks like the one below.
   
   Click the menu icon–the three horizontal lines to the left of the Social Hiker logo–then click the Sign in button.

2. Enter your login information. Since it's on my own phone, I usually check the Remember Me box so I don't have to log-in again next time.

Once you are logged in, you are show your member dashboard.

To log your hike, click the Log a Hike action, then select the challenge you are in and fill out the hike log form. The process from there is the same as logging a hike on your computer, except you'll pick photos from your phone's photo library.

A note about the Social Hiker App

The Social Hiker app is a great way to stay connected with the community. You can participate in forum discussions, view and comment on the latest activity and updates, share photos and browse hike logs. You'll get notifications when someone comments or replies to one of your own hike logs or forum discussions, making it easy to reply wherever you are.

The app is a great complement to the website, but it doesn't replace the website. Its main purpose is helping you stay connected to the community.

To log your hikes, view your earned badges, and to see your member dashboard, you'll still need to use the Social Hiker website, either on your phone, tablet or computer.

We are working on expanding the functionality of the app to include badges, logging hikes and the dashboard sometime in 2022.