WTA Trailblazer: Go Hiking

WTA is an excellent organization, and the information that they have available to us is second to none. My problem with this app is the use of a very light gray font on an equally pale background, which makes it extremely difficult to read for anybody who’s in the slightest amount of sun. Also, none of the text can be resized or zoomed in on, so anybody who would otherwise need reading glasses or who are in harsh light conditions would be out of luck. Thankfully, all of the same information is available on the web in a readable font on webpages that you can zoom in and out of for better look at certain pieces of text. BUT, once I downloaded the app, my phone would no longer allow me to look at the webpage itself, automatically redirecting me to the app, where nothing is legible. So unfortunately, I had to delete the app in order to be able to look up trail information. Which I don’t think is the point.

This is my favorite app for finding hikes in Washington. It’s easier and more informative than AllTrails with better directions to the site. It has a wider selection of hiking areas and it’s easier to fine tune what you might like from that information. The trip reports are super helpful and the reasons for difficulty ratings are more transparent. The only thing I would like is a better way to search the trip reports. Maybe by date because if I’m going on a hike in April, I would like to see all spring hikes from past years to get a general idea of the trail conditions. I would also love to search within trip reports. If the WTA description mentions a particular feature that could be challenging for me or my kid, I would like to search for that specific rocky climb area or brief wall climb and see other people’s thoughts. Or just searching through reports with photos. But other than that... perfect!

Searching for a hike has never been this easy! You can find hikes in any region, see what the rating is, mileage of the hike, and see if it is kid friendly and/or dog friendly. You can even see trip reports of all the hikes other people did, and write your own trip report after you’ve done your hike. I did two hikes this summer and this app helped me do my research. I just wished they added a feature where users can see the “Volunteers” page and scroll through them to see different events available like a Trail Work Party, like the one on the WTA website.