DIY wild plant guidebook on your smartphone

I've been playing around with photo apps on my iPhone to save and categorize photos of wild plants. This helps me memorize the plants and also remember how to use them in the field. Recently I've been using an app called "Over" that lets you type information directly on the image itself. Here's an example:

As you can see, I've typed in the plant name in large font. Then in smaller font I've listed that it goes by another name, "hollyberry," followed by common ways the plant can be used.

I shoot the photo in the field. Later I add in the useful info after consulting one or more guidebooks. This way, in the future, I won't have to tote various guidebooks in my pack, and I can include only info in the photo that's important to me.

The "Over" app costs $1.99, and it allows you to choose different fonts, sizes, move the fonts around, add graphics, and lots of other stuff. You can also change the font color, which may be helpful so the words stand out against the photo. There are similar free apps, and some are available for both iPhone and Android phones. For a review of several, click here.

I was never a big fan of bringing my phone along on hikes. But this kind of tool has made it worthwhile. Now I usually put the phone on "airplane mode" so nobody can bother me in the woods, and yet it's still with me in case of emergency.

I think these apps are worth a try to create a custom guidebook to your local plants and critters.

Why blog: Trains & hiking

I've been a hiker and backpacker for more than 30 years. That's a lot of trips. Every one of those trips began by getting into a car. Lately that is changing.

I've started looking for hikes accessible by train. Here are some reasons:

• The experience. The train follows a different route than the highways, and you see a lot more than pavement and other cars as a result. You can't stop whenever you want to rest or explore a detour. Yet the entire trip is restful, because you don't have to think about the traffic. And the entire trip is a sort of a detour, because the views are much better
• Self-sufficiency. While a car, on the surface, may seem the more self-sufficient path, in reality it becomes a crutch. You can always throw more equipment in the car just in case you might might need it on the trip. But traveling by train, you really have to rely only on what's in your pack, and on your skills and knowledge to adapt to conditions beyond that.
• It's greener. Short of walking or biking to the trailhead, the train is the greenest way to get there in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. 

There's no question preparing for these kinds of trips is more difficult. You are limited to train schedules and routes. That's a downside. But I've discovered an upside: The experience of stepping off the train with just a pack on your back, and quietly slipping into the woods just a few minutes later, is priceless.

I'll be sharing some of these trips in the weeks ahead so you can try it yourself. Maybe I'll even publish a guidebook eventually. For now, here's a teaser photo from one of these recent treks (details to come).

Train to trail

I'm starting a series on hiking trips reached by train rather than car. I've been a longtime hiker and backpacker, but as the world gets more crowded and polluted, I'm less inclined to want to drive to the trailhead. Still, getting outdoors, out of the city and away from the crowds are important to my sanity. I also enjoy traveling by train and rarely get to do it much. So, we have a convergence.

For me, enjoying the outdoors is about getting away from civilization, and when I begin such a trip by car, I feel a disconnect. The traffic is dispiriting and stressful. Parking at the trailhead is often fraught with anxiety and tension. There is also an inherent conflict in relying on an automobile to get outdoors, which should be about being more independent and self-sufficient, not less.

There are also the climate change implications, of course. Train travel is one of the lowest-impact means of travel where greenhouse gases are concerned. Seems to me if you enjoy the outdoors and want to continue doing so, reducing your carbon footprint on the way there is something important to consider.

One big limitation, obviously, is that are fewer trailheads reachable by train. But it may be a restriction worth accepting. And maybe, in the long run, it will be remedied with more train routes and better schedules as more people try this mode of travel.

I plan to document these trips on the blog. My goal is to eventually offer a "train-to-trail" guidebook. I think there will be value in this, as I am find out that getting to good hikes by train isn't always easy.

As a teaser, here's a photo from my first trip, which ended up being a fascinating kickoff and a great introduction to the issues and contradictions embodied in the concept.

The Shell Oil refinery in Martinez, Calif., shot from the window of the Amtrak Capitol Corridor train just before touching down for the first hike:

It's probably not the sort of photo you were expecting. But it does offer food for thought.