Terms of Service

1. Welcome

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Trail Sherpa (the "Service"), operated by Amoeba Media, LLC ("Amoeba Media," "we," "us"), a single-member limited liability company in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. By creating an account, signing in, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the Service.

2. Your account

You can sign up with email + magic link, email + password, or your Google account. You must be at least 13 years old. You agree to provide accurate information, keep your sign-in credentials secure, and notify us promptly at [email protected] if you believe your account has been compromised.

You're responsible for everything that happens on your account. One account per person; don't share credentials.

3. Your content

You retain ownership of content you submit to the Service — your posts, comments, photos, condition reports, waypoint suggestions, and itineraries. By submitting content, you grant Amoeba Media a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, distribute, modify (for example, to compress photos or generate thumbnails), and make your content available through the Service. This license exists because that's what makes the community work.

You're responsible for ensuring you have the rights to whatever you submit. Don't post copyrighted material that isn't yours, don't post other people's faces or property without their okay, and don't post private information about people who haven't consented.

4. Acceptable use

Don't use the Service to:

• Harass, threaten, intimidate, or impersonate anyone.
• Post deliberately false trail-condition reports or other misinformation.
• Spam, advertise without our permission, or promote commercial services.
• Scrape, mirror, or harvest data from the Service at scale.
• Attempt to break, probe, or circumvent the Service's security, rate limits, or access controls.
• Upload malware, exploits, or content that violates US law.
• Reveal the location of sensitive sites (rare archaeological, nesting, etc.) in a way that puts them at risk.

We can remove content and suspend or terminate accounts for any of the above, at our discretion. We'll generally try to give a warning first when the situation allows.

5. Moderation

Community content is publicly visible. We may review, edit, remove, or restrict access to any content that violates these Terms or that we judge to be harmful. Users can flag content for moderation review. We'll triage flags in good faith but don't guarantee any particular outcome.

6. Trail packs and purchases

Some trail packs may be offered for purchase. Trail packs covered by grant sponsorship (currently the Old Loggers Path, sponsored by the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship) are free to all users for the duration of the sponsorship. Pricing for any paid trail pack will be shown clearly at point of purchase. Purchases are non-refundable except where required by law or in our reasonable discretion (e.g., if the pack contains a serious error and you contact us within 30 days).

7. Disclaimer of warranties

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". We make no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, or availability.

Specifically: we do not warrant that trail data, conditions, waypoints, water sources, or any community-submitted information is accurate, current, or complete. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or available at any particular time. Some jurisdictions don't allow disclaimer of implied warranties; in those places, this section applies to the maximum extent permitted by law.

8. Assumption of risk

Backpacking, hiking, and any outdoor recreation activities you engage in are inherently dangerous. Risks include but are not limited to: falls, exposure, dehydration, getting lost, encounters with wildlife, severe weather, washed-out crossings, falling trees and rocks, criminal activity, and medical emergencies far from help.

You voluntarily assume all risk of injury, death, or property damage arising from your use of trails, your use of Trail Sherpa, or your reliance on any content within the Service. We are not your guide, your trip leader, or your safety net. Carry a paper map. Tell someone your route. Know how to navigate without your phone.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Amoeba Media, its officers, members, contractors, sponsors, and partners are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including but not limited to lost profits, lost data, personal injury, property damage, or any damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, the Service or any content on it.

Where liability cannot be excluded by law, our total liability to you for any claim arising out of these Terms or the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you have paid us in the twelve months before the claim, or (b) USD $50.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Amoeba Media from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your violation of these Terms, your content, or your activities on or off the trail.

11. Intellectual property

"Trail Sherpa," the Trail Sherpa logo, and the Trail Sherpa wordmark are trademarks of Amoeba Media. You don't acquire any rights to those marks by using the Service. The Service's design, code, curated trail data, and editorial content are owned by Amoeba Media or our licensors.

12. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time via /account. We may suspend or terminate your access for any violation of these Terms, for legal reasons, or if continuing the Service becomes impractical. Sections that should reasonably survive (ownership, disclaimers, liability, indemnification, governing law) survive termination.

13. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Service that we can't resolve informally will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, and you consent to that jurisdiction.

Before filing a formal claim, please email [email protected] and give us a reasonable chance to make it right. Most things are fixable with a conversation.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms occasionally. When we make a material change, we'll update the "Last updated" date and notify signed-in users where reasonable. Continued use of the Service after a change means you accept the revised Terms.

15. Miscellaneous

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Amoeba Media about the Service. If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies. Our failure to enforce a right isn't a waiver of that right. You can't transfer these Terms to someone else without our written consent.