Trail Companion Guide

🚵 What is the Trail Companion?

The Trail Companion is a free, GPS-enabled trail tool for riders on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. It runs in your phone's browser and can be installed to your home screen for quick access; including limited offline use in areas without mobile signal.

🚵 Open Trail Companion

On a desktop or laptop, the Trail Companion displays inside a phone-shaped preview so you can explore the data and plan your route. It's designed to be used on a phone while riding.

📲 Install to Your Home Screen

Installing the Trail Companion to your home screen means you can launch it like a regular app; and it enables offline caching so the trail data is available even when you lose signal.

iPhone (Safari only)

1. Open robinridesthedivide.com/trail-companion/ in Safari
2. Tap the Share button (the square with an upward arrow)
3. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen
4. Tap Add

Android (Chrome)

1. Open the Trail Companion URL in Chrome
2. Chrome may show an "Install app" banner at the bottom; tap it
3. If no banner appears, tap the three-dot menu (⋮) and select Install app
4. Tap Install

Once installed, you'll see a "GDMBR Trail" icon on your home screen. Launching from there opens the Trail Companion in standalone mode; it looks and feels like a native app.

📡 Preparing for Offline Use

The Trail Companion caches trail data automatically the first time you open it. This means all resources; names, locations, services, phone numbers, rider tips; are stored on your device after a single load.

Map tiles are cached as you view them. Before you head out, we recommend:

1. Open the Trail Companion on WiFi
2. Zoom into each section of the route you plan to ride over the coming days
3. Pan around at the zoom level you'd normally use on the trail
4. Switch between Street, Topo, and Satellite layers if you want all three available offline

Every tile you view gets saved. The more you browse in advance, the more map coverage you'll have when signal drops.

When you come back online, the Trail Companion silently refreshes its data in the background. Any resources that have been added or updated since your last connection appear automatically.

📍 GPS & Position Tracking

When you first open the Trail Companion, it asks whether you'd like to enable GPS. We recommend saying yes; it transforms the experience from a static directory to a live, forward-looking dashboard.

With GPS active, a position banner shows your current mile marker, elevation, and state. The map zooms to a corridor view showing roughly 10 miles behind you and 50 miles ahead. Resources are sorted by distance, with the nearest at the top. Each card shows whether it's ahead or behind, and how far.

Auto-follow and manual browsing. The map follows your position as you ride. If you drag the map to explore elsewhere, auto-follow pauses. Tap the ⊕ button in the position banner to snap back to your location.

NOBO / SOBO. The Trail Companion defaults to southbound (SOBO). Tap the SOBO button in the top bar to switch to northbound (NOBO). This flips the meaning of "ahead" and "behind", re-sorts resources to show what's coming up in your direction of travel, and adjusts the corridor view on the map.

Accuracy. The position banner shows a ± accuracy figure in metres. In open terrain with clear sky, expect 3–10m. In canyons or dense forest, accuracy may drop to 30–100m. Mile marker estimates are derived from snapping your GPS position to the nearest point on the route polyline; they are approximate, not surveyed.

Battery. GPS tracking uses battery. On a long day, consider a power bank. You can tap the GPS button to stop tracking when you don't need it.

🗺️ The Map

The map shows the full GDMBR route as a coloured polyline; each state has its own colour so you can see borders at a glance. Resource markers use emoji icons based on their primary service.

Map controls (top right): the GPS button starts or stops position tracking; the layer button cycles between Street, Topo, and Satellite views; the 📷 button toggles trail photo markers on and off.

Trail photos. When enabled, photo markers appear along the route. Tap one to see a thumbnail preview with the photo title and mile marker. These are the same photos from the main site's gallery.

Where markers overlap (common in small towns with multiple resources), they're automatically fanned out in a small circle so you can tap each one individually.

🔍 Search, Filters & State Jump

Search. The search bar sits above the filter pills. Type any part of a resource name, category, state, or rider tip to filter the list in real time.

Category filters. The filter bar narrows resources by service type: Water, Food, Camping, Lodging, Bike Shop, Meals, or Shower. The active filter is shown as an amber badge above the resource list. Filters apply to both the list and the map markers.

State jump. When GPS is off, a state dropdown appears in the resource list header. Select a state to jump directly to that section of the route; the map pans to the state and the list filters accordingly. This is useful for planning: you can review all the resources in Wyoming before you get there. When GPS is active, the dropdown hides as the list is already sorted by distance.

⛰️ Elevation Profile

The elevation profile shows the full route's altitude in a compact strip chart. Each state is shaded in its own colour, and tiny dots along the bottom edge mark resource locations.

Interactive. Tap or drag your finger across the profile to see the mile, elevation, and state at any point. Tapping also pans the map to that location; useful for scouting climbs or planning where to stop. When GPS is active, an amber marker line shows your current position.

Segment Calculator

The elevation profile doubles as a climbing calculator. Tap once to set Point A, then tap again to set Point B. A highlighted segment appears between the two points, and a stats bar slides in showing the distance, total ascent ↑, and total descent ↓ along the route between them. This is cumulative climbing; not just the elevation difference, but every foot of up and down along the way.

This is especially useful for planning daily distances. Tap the ✕ to clear the segment, or tap a third time to reset. Resource dots along the bottom of the profile help you target specific locations.

📋 Resources & Detail Sheet

Each resource card shows a thumbnail (if available), name, category, state, service icons, distance (miles ahead ▼ or behind ▲ when GPS is active, or mile marker otherwise), and rider tip.

Tap any card to open the detail sheet, which slides up from the bottom, keeping the map visible behind it. The detail view shows the full description, stats grid (mile, elevation, state, off-route distance, season, hours, distance from you), rider tip, service labels, and action buttons.

Climbing to a resource. When GPS is active, the detail sheet shows total ascent and descent between your position and the resource. So if you're considering pushing on to a campground 15 miles ahead, you can see exactly how much climbing is involved; not just elevation difference, but the full up-and-down profile.

Actions. The phone number is shown most prominently; this is usually the most useful action on the trail. Tap to dial directly. You can also get turn-by-turn directions via Google Maps, or open the resource's website.

Next and previous. Navigation buttons at the bottom of the detail sheet let you step through resources in order without closing the sheet; handy for comparing options in a town.

📤 Share Your Position

When GPS is active, a 📤 button appears in the position banner. Tap it to share your current location with riding partners, family, or support crew. The shared message includes your mile marker, state, elevation, and a Google Maps link to your coordinates.

Units. Tap the MI / KM button in the top bar to switch between miles/feet and kilometres/metres. This affects all distances and elevations throughout the app.

🏕️ Tips for Using on the Trail

Before you leave town

Open the Trail Companion on WiFi and let it load fully. Browse and zoom into the next 2–3 days of route to cache map tiles. Check the resource list for your upcoming section; note phone numbers for places you might need.

While riding

Launch from your home screen; it opens instantly. Enable GPS to see what's nearby. The list is sorted by distance, so the most relevant resources are always at the top. Tap the phone number on a resource detail to call ahead; many remote businesses appreciate advance notice. Disable GPS when you don't need it to save battery.

In camp

Use the elevation profile to scout tomorrow's climbs. Use the state jump to review resources in the next state. Browse the map at the zoom level you'll use tomorrow to cache tiles for the day ahead.

⚠️ Important Disclaimers

Verify everything locally. Resource information; hours, seasons, phone numbers, services; can change without notice. A business listed as open may have closed; a water source listed as reliable may be dry. Always verify critical information by calling ahead or asking locally.

Carry proper navigation. The GDMBR requires dedicated navigation: ACA paper maps or section maps, a GPS device with the official GPX track, or both. The Trail Companion's mile markers are estimates derived from GPS snap-to-route calculations; they are approximate and may differ from ACA section maps.

GPS accuracy varies. Position accuracy depends on satellite visibility, terrain, tree cover, and your device. In canyons or dense forest, accuracy may be significantly reduced. Never make safety decisions based solely on GPS position.

Offline has limits. While the Trail Companion caches trail data and previously viewed map tiles, it cannot guarantee full offline coverage. Map areas you haven't browsed while online will appear blank. Always carry paper maps as backup.

Not safety advice. The Trail Companion does not provide safety, weather, wildlife, or route-condition information. Check current conditions with local ranger stations, ACA forums, and fellow riders before entering remote sections.

Community-sourced data. Resource information is compiled from rider reports and public sources. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee that any specific detail is current or correct. If you find an error, we'd love to hear about it; get in touch.

Your data stays on your device. The Trail Companion does not track your location or share your GPS data with us or anyone else. Position data is processed entirely on your device. The "Share position" feature only sends data when you explicitly choose to share.

Battery and device care. GPS tracking and screen-on use consume battery. In remote sections where recharging isn't possible for days, manage your battery carefully. Consider flight mode with GPS enabled (where supported by your device) to reduce drain.

⚙️ Technical Details

The Trail Companion is a Progressive Web App (PWA); a website that behaves like a native app when installed to your home screen. It uses Leaflet for maps (with OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap, and Esri satellite imagery), the Web Geolocation API for GPS, a service worker for offline caching, and HTML Canvas for the interactive elevation profile.

It requires no app store download, no account, and no personal information. It works on any modern smartphone browser (Safari 15+, Chrome 90+, Firefox 90+). The source data updates whenever the main site's resource database is updated; when you're online, the Trail Companion fetches the latest data automatically.