01
Problem Statement
In Israel, hikers' facilities need to be better maintained, and with a warm climate during most of the year, planning a 1000km hike takes work. Staying flexible during the walk is even more challenging. Important information is divided into multiple sources and is sometimes hard to find.
A hiker's app for the 1000km Challenge
When I started hiking the Israeli National Trail, I knew this challenge would not be only physical. It took me a week to finally understand how to plan ahead. I have used 3 different apps constantly to get most of the needed information.
This was the main trigger for this project, along with my love for maps, hikes, and the outdoors.
2020
Israel
National Trail
02
Personas and Thoughts
Location
Water and Food
Accommodation
Equipment
Progress and Planning
Experience
Eran
21, Israel
recently discharged from the military.
fit
I can see the village where I’ll spend the night, I wonder how far is it.
My water is about to finish, where can I refill?
It’s getting late, I should probably think of a place to spend the night.
My extra battery is flat, I have to charge it tonight.
Should I refill water?
how much should
I carry now?
Tomorrow will be warm; I better start with dawn.
There is a spring nearby! I should
dip my toes.
I think I'll have a beer at the local Pub tonight.
Hansel and Gretel
54, 50 Germany
a couple who love to hike in their vacation.
relatively fit
Wow, this mountain looks really high, how much are we going to climb now?
We should probably buy groceries soon, where can
we do that?
Should we book this campsite in advance? What facilities does this campsite has? are they in good condition?
We have run out of clean underwear; We better do laundry.
Our flight back home is in a week, we need to walk an average of 21 km a day, even if it means that the days will be longer.
Apps are only in Hebrew, we don’t understand.
Why is everything closed and there is no traffic?
This ‘Angels’ idea seems crazy; we should try it.
Guya and Netta
31, 30 Israel
friends who stopped
working due to Covid
not fit at all
We haven’t seen the mark in a while now, are we lost?
Girls, I am hungry, we should find a place for a lunch break.
I wonder if there are trail angels that can host me nearby that can host all of us.
One of he poles of our tent is broken, we should buy another one.
Look at our progress!
This week we doubled our daily mileage!
Prepare yourself, tomorrow starts with a massive climb!
There is a lookout point with shade half way to the top, we should have a short break over there.
Morning Routine
pack equipment, check groceries and water status
open the app to review the upcoming day
walk the trail
navigate back to the trail
occasionally check the app for locations like a place to have a break, refill water and more..
03
Daily Hiker Routine
Based on personas' needs
arrive to the desired spot
navigate to the desired spot
arriving to the campsite / trail angels
Evening Routine
unpack equipment, refill water, check groceries status
plan the next days' water sources, groceries if needed, and places to sleep
review my progress with satisfaction, learning my fitness
watch sunset and go to sleep
04
High Level User Flow
Based on routine's actions and frequency
National Israel Trail
Loading Screen
menu
Planner | Progress | Add A Location
Main
Map, Trail, Indicator, Locations
main page's actions
Measure Distance
Check
Elevation
Filter
Location Types
View
Location's Info
05
Wireframe Sketches
In this case, the significant component is the background. Therefore, other elements' locations and sizes should be well calculated so they won't hide the most critical and valuable feature.
06
Visual Language
Probably every Israeli is familiar with the White-Blue-Orange stripes, the mark of the trail. More iconic than every mountain, valley or sea, these stripes and their colours are the most recognizable symbol, even without a title.
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Top Layer
Freeform
Base Layer
Linear
Aa
Montserrat Medium
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Aa
Montserrat Regular
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Montserrat Light
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
07
Home Screen
Find essential locations, measure distance quickly and check the points' elevation.
Drawing a line between two points on the trail will measure their walking distance
Tapping and holding anywhere on the trail will show the point’s elevation
Toggle between an easy-to-read satellite picture to an easy-to-navigate topographic map
08
Types of Locations
Toggle between types of services and facilities a hiker needs in a
well-organized library.
Some locations contain more helpful information than others. Usually, a hiker just wonders whether the place is open or active
09
Location's Information
Everything you need to
know before arriving at a place.
Receiving updated information about a place is crucial when planning ahead. Imagine running out of water and arriving at a dry tap or getting stuck when it's dark because you didn't book a place in advance.
When 'Live Tracker' mode is on, the progress data will be inserted automatically, but the app will use more battery.
Luckily, you can add data manually and save battery life
10
Progress
Knowing your pace is essential,
but watching everything
you've walked is just satisfying.
A visual summary of your
progress is presented in two types of lines. The solid line represents
the part of the trail the hiker has
walked, and the dashed line is the
part of the trail that is still uncovered.
Knowing average daily statistics like pace and mileage is critical for future planning and improving fitness
11
Plan Ahead
Don't overthink the future,
you can be as flexible as you want to be.
When you know where to refill water and buy groceries, you can carry less and enjoy more. Calculate your future path according to distance, elevation and weather conditions.
Drag the blue indicator along the map's and graph's lines to better understand the difficulty. The orange point is the mark of your current position
Measure longer or shorter sections by dragging the edge points on the map or scrolling the wheel
Weekends are highlighted to avoid grocery shopping on Fridays and Saturdays
To keep the view clean, only locations related to alerts, water, food and accommodation
will be shown
Expand the tabs for more information about your stats, sunrise and sunset times and weather forecast
