App: Hiking

https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/39d3b5e8-67db-4517-93a8-5ec485269635

For the vivoactive, FR230, FR235, and FR630 (I don't plan support for other devices)

Please use this thread for questions, etc!

"Hike" records an activity as a hike or walk in Garmin Connect. It also allows you to mark "waypoints" (they show up as lap marks in Garmin connect, so you can see them on that map).

When hike starts, it waits for GPS, and looks for an available HRM and Tempe. At this point, with the up/down key or a screen swipe, you can switch between "hike" and "walk". Then, press "start" to start recording.

The current time, HR and temp (if the sensors are available) is displayed on all screens. While recording, pressing "back" marks a waypoint. To pause or end, press "start again", and you are given the options of "resume", "save", and "discard".

When you hit the start button and get the resume/save/discard menu, you can hit the back button. The menu goes away, and the recording remains paused (it's indicated next to the clock time on all pages). But you can scroll trough the data pages at the time. That way, if you're taking a break, you can sit and look at the current data.

When "paused" is displayed with the time, pressing start again resumes the recording.

There are 5 data screens that you can see when recording (up/down button, or swipe right/left on touch devices) (some not shown here due to forum limits)

The first screen is basic recording info: The time for the activity, the time that recording was active (when paused, this doesn't increase), the distance, and the number of waypoints marked

The second screen shows pace, avg pace, speed, and avg speed.

The third page shows the waypoints you marked. They are shown 5 at a time, and rotate every 7 seconds. They closest waypoint is shown in green.

The fourth page shows elevation data. This is GPS based, and sometime may be off. Elevation, total Ascent, and total Descent is shown.

The fifth page is location information. Your current lat/lon and heading, as well as your starting location lat/lon and the direction and distance back to start. GPS quality is also show, both in text and colors (green is usable or better)

Changes in version 0.12: see https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?335082-App-Hiking&p=765691#post765691

Top Replies

All Replies

bhavnesh over 7 years ago

Can Hike App control % time GPS is on to extend battery life

Hi,
I just used the app on a 17mi hike and at 8 hrs the battery died.
Is there a way you can add an option to control how often it looks for GPS instead of 100% to extend battery life

thanks,
BP

jim_m_58 over 7 years ago

There's no way to turn off/on GPS while recording, but 8 hrs isn't bad. What I do, is I have a battery based cell phone charger I can take with me as well as a charging cable, and when I'm stopped for a bit I hook it up. (you can pause the recording, but the recording will continue). I've tested this and with charging this way every couple hours for 10-15 minutes, I ran for about 20 hours and still had over 70% battery left on the watch.

With the forerunners, you don't have to do anything special, but with the vivoactive, in settings on the watch, make sure you have USB Mode set to "Garmin" and not "Mass Store".

chribonn over 7 years ago

Alan - you may want to check out my Simple Walk.

It's a scaled down version of Hike (it only will record walking and not hiking, doesn't have a "waypoint" ability, and has fewer data screens.). The reason being, it that Hike is getting tight on memory, and adding a screen like you want would be easier in Simple Walk. The main screen looks like a watchface(with the typical things), but does also have time and distance (but it's still not that large). The next screen has more data, but is getting a bit crowded on some watches, so I've been thinking of splitting that into 2 or more screens. Like Hike, it's got the "chart" screen so you can see the route you've taken (also where laps are marked), and the 3rd screen, your lat/lon, and distance and direction to where you started.

As far as waiting for GPS before a user can start recording, that's something I've always done in GPS apps, as in my own testing things could look off if you got a ways into a walk/hike before getting good GPS data. :) (it could really mess up direction and distance to start and the chart of your route for example)

Jim,

I'll give simple walk a try. Most of my activities are cycling (yesterday's bike ride: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1461629314) and walking.

WRT to GPS a minor suggestion would be to automatically start the recording when the GPS lock has taken place. Today I perform the follow steps (Hike app):

1. Call up the app
2. Press to have it start
3. Press again after GPS lock

If you can have a situation where step (3) does not be necessary it would, in my opinion, be an efficiency improvement. Others might want to be sure that they do not move until their first step it recorded -- that does not apply to me.

Regards,
Alan

jim_m_58 over 7 years ago

Alan - version 0.16 of simple walk will be in the store in the next day or two, with a new screen with Time and Distance quite large (on it's own screen).

As far as the auto-start when there is a GPS lock, that's not something I'd want to do. There are times you get the GPS lock quickly, and other times it can take a couple minutes, so generally I'll start the app as I'm getting ready, and then press stat when I'm ready to go. Also, in the case of something like a 5k (I walk them), I'll start the app, get a GPS fix, and then press start when crossing the starting line so I can time the event.

It's the same thing I do with a native app. Get a GPS fix while waiting, and start recording when crossing the start line.

Also, with Hike and Hike2, before pressing start is when you can switch between Walking and Hiking, With Hike2, you can also set if your saved waypoints should be used, and you can set either a black or white background on the screens. Except for the colors, these are things that can only be done before recording starts.

chribonn over 7 years ago

Alan - version 0.16 of simple walk will be in the store in the next day or two, with a new screen with Time and Distance quite large (on it's own screen).

As far as the auto-start when there is a GPS lock, that's not something I'd want to do. There are times you get the GPS lock quickly, and other times it can take a couple minutes, so generally I'll start the app as I'm getting ready, and then press stat when I'm ready to go. Also, in the case of something like a 5k (I walk them), I'll start the app, get a GPS fix, and then press start when crossing the starting line so I can time the event.

It's the same thing I do with a native app. Get a GPS fix while waiting, and start recording when crossing the start line.

Also, with Hike and Hike2, before pressing start is when you can switch between Walking and Hiking, With Hike2, you can also set if your saved waypoints should be used, and you can set either a black or white background on the screens. Except for the colors, these are things that can only be done before recording starts.

Hi Jim,

The Walking app suits my purpose well and I will be using it rather than this one. I will post in that forum.

Thanks
Alan

Nicogz83 over 7 years ago

hello, when I save after using the app, and I'm going to see her again on the 235 I can see the total ascent and descent? I'm Italian sorry for my English.
thank you.

Nicogz83 over 7 years ago

hello, when I save after using the app, and I'm going to see her again on the 235 I can see the total ascent and descent?
I'm Italian sorry for my English.
thank you.

Nicogz83 over 7 years ago

Hello, When I save the data after use of the app, and I'm going to review the results from my 235 I can see the total will rise and fall?
I'm Italian sorry for my English.
Thank you.
Nico

jim_m_58 over 7 years ago

After you've saved the activity you can see it on Garmin Connect or on Garmin Connect Mobile when the activity is uploaded, but not on the watch itself.

MikeeHutton over 7 years ago

Hello Jim,

I used this app for the first time today and there's some oddness with the calorie count that I suspect is a Garmin issue, but I wonder if you can shed any light on it.

I did a fairly long walk recorded with the app and it reports a calorie burn of 405kCal. That's fine, but after syncing with Garmin Connect my total active calories for the day is only 295kCal. The activity has uploaded to GC correctly and shows 405kCal, but this isn't being included in the daily active calories report. Equally strange is that my active calories for the day from steps is zero.

Here's a screenshot from GC:

https://goo.gl/photos/SstdytFLpVkHxY8D6

Any ideas as to what might have gone wrong?

Thanks.