Welcome to Trail Sherpa

Just a few steps

The setup, in order.

1. Create your account

   Best done from a laptop or desktop the first time. The mobile app uses the same account you'll create here.

   Sign up →

   1. 1. Enter your email. A one-time code arrives within a few seconds; check spam if it doesn't show in thirty.
   2. 2. Type the code back into the browser. You're in.
   3. 3. Set a trail name on the Account page. This is your public handle for community posts.

   Prefer a password

   Set one up under Account → Password on the web, and you can use it on any device from then on. The mobile app has a small "Sign in with password" link under the code field.

2. Plan a trip

   The planner is where a multi-day itinerary comes together: elevation profile, mile markers, waypoints, draggable day boundaries, all in one workspace.

   • Old Loggers Path · 27-mile loop
   • Loyalsock Trail · 59 miles point to point

   1. 1. Click Basecamp in the top nav, or pick a trail from the landing page.
   2. 2. Click a trail. You will see an overview page with a 3D flythrough (tap Play 3D preview), the elevation profile, and an "About this trail" section.
   3. 3. Click Plan this trail. A suggested itinerary drops in as your starting point.
   4. 4. Drag the day-boundary handles on the elevation profile to reshape your days. Add a rest day between two days with the small "+" icon.
   5. 5. Name your itinerary and save. Your saved trips live under My trips.

   Bonus

   From your itinerary, click Share to community to auto-generate a discussion post with your day-by-day plan. Other hikers can read it, comment, or use it as a starting point.

3. Contribute to the community

   The community feed is where hikers, residents, and stewards share what is happening on the trail right now: recent water sources, blowdowns, weather, campsite conditions. It is the fastest-moving useful signal on the platform.

   1. 1. Click Community in the nav.
   2. 2. Pick a sub for a specific trail or browse the general feed.
   3. 3. Read and react. Favorite the posts you find useful; save posts to come back to later.
   4. 4. Reply to any post. Comment threads go one level deep, so a thread stays readable.
   5. 5. Post your own via New post. Attach photos if you have them. Photos with GPS metadata auto-plot on the trail map as interactive pins.

4. Install the mobile app

   The web planner handles the desk-work. The mobile app is what you carry into the woods: offline maps, live GPS, condition reports filed from where you are standing. Live on iOS and Android. Also installable as a home-screen web app from any modern browser.

   iOS · App Store

   

   1. 1. Tap the badge on your iPhone.
   2. 2. Tap Get, then Install.
   3. 3. Open Trail Sherpa: PA Wilds from your home screen.

   Android · Google Play

   

   1. 1. Tap the badge on your Android phone.
   2. 2. Tap Install. First-time installs may take a moment.
   3. 3. Open Trail Sherpa from your app drawer.

   Web · PWA

   

   1. 1. Open app.trailsherpa.org in Safari or Chrome.
   2. 2. iPhone Safari: tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
   3. 3. Android Chrome: menu → Install app or Add to Home Screen.
   4. 4. Good for planning. Native install is better for long backcountry stretches (browser storage caps).

   First launch

   Sign in with the same email you used on the web. Your account, trips, and posts are all shared. Grant Location permission when asked (choose Allow While Using) and Photo Library permission for attaching photos to reports. The app is offline-first: once signed in, it stays usable without cell service. Reports queue locally and sync when you are back in signal.

5. Give feedback

   Every piece of feedback moves the platform forward. Rough edges you spot now become polished corners in October.

   Something broken

   Email [email protected] with a screenshot and a sentence about what you were doing.

   Want to help steward a trail

   Reply to any trail's stewardship banner, or email us. Real trail expertise is the most valuable thing you can give.

   Thank you for being an early hand on this. The platform gets meaningfully better with every person who plans a trip, files a report, or points out a rough edge.