Company News

App UpdatesCompany NewsGaia GPS

Gaia GPS is Improving Satellite Imagery: Saying Goodbye to Esri World Imagery

by Eric Evans
written by Eric Evans

At Gaia GPS, our mission is to provide the best mapping tools for outdoor adventurers. To achieve this, we continuously evaluate and improve the map layers available in the app. As part of this effort, we will be deprecating the Esri World Imagery layer on March 4, 2025, to prioritize better, more up-to-date satellite imagery for all users.

Why is Esri World Imagery Being Removed?

While Esri World Imagery has been available in Gaia GPS for years, usage of this layer has remained low compared to other satellite options. Additionally, Esri has significantly increased their licensing costs, making the map layer an unsustainable option for us to continue offering. Rather than passing these costs onto our users, we are redirecting this budget toward securing best-in-class satellite imagery that provides better coverage, higher resolution, and more frequent updates for adventurers around the globe.

What’s Next for Satellite Imagery in Gaia GPS?

We know that high-quality satellite imagery is essential for trip planning, route finding, and backcountry navigation. We are currently in the discovery phase, evaluating multiple providers to ensure we deliver the best satellite imagery available.

Our focus is on improvements that could bring:

  • More Frequent Updates – Ensuring you have the latest imagery when planning your next adventure.
  • Higher Resolution Data – Offering clearer and more detailed views of the terrain.
  • Better Global Coverage – Expanding high-quality imagery to more regions worldwide.

How Will This Change Affect Users?

Starting on March 4, 2025, the Esri World Imagery layer will no longer be available in Gaia GPS. However, our other satellite layers remain available, including:

  • Satellite (Mapbox) – An alternative for high resolution aerial imagery. In many areas, Mapbox’s satellite imagery is on par with, or higher resolution, than the Esri layer.
  • Satellite with Labels – A versatile satellite imagery layer; providing roads, trails and POI’s labeled over Mapbox satellite imagery.
  • Satellite Topo – Another option, also based on Mapbox imagery, with labels for roads, trails, and POIs in addition to contour lines.
  • FreshSat – Recent – A great way to see very recent satellite imagery for any location; provides lower resolution than other satellite providers but is updated more frequently.
  • FreshSat – Cloud Free – Similar to FreshSat Recent but will prioritize visibility over recency.

If you’ve relied on Esri World Imagery in the past, we recommend exploring these existing satellite layers. We’ll keep the community updated as we finalize our plans for enhanced satellite imagery in Gaia GPS.

We are Committed to the Best Outdoor Mapping Experience

Removing a map layer is not a decision we take lightly, but this change allows us to invest in better mapping resources for the entire Gaia GPS community. Our team is committed to providing the best possible outdoor mapping experience, and we appreciate your support as we make these improvements.

Thank you for being a part of the Gaia GPS adventure. If you have any questions or feedback, we’d love to hear from you!

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Give Yourself More Adventures
AdventuresCompany NewsGaia GPS

Unlock Your Next Adventure with Gaia GPS Premium & Outside+

by Tricia Speziale Edwards
written by Tricia Speziale Edwards

Give Yourself the Tools to Explore More

The wilderness beckons, and your next epic journey is just a click away. Gaia GPS has long been the gold standard for outdoor navigation, and now it’s part of Outside+, your all-access pass to the most comprehensive outdoor adventure platform available.

For just $89.99 a year, Gaia GPS Premium with Outside+ delivers an incredible bundle that would typically cost hundreds of dollars. This isn’t just a subscription—it’s your gateway to unlimited exploration, learning, and connection.

Give Yourself More Adventure in 2025

Access a Complete Outdoor Ecosystem at Your Fingertips

Outside+ goes far beyond traditional mapping tools. It’s an all-in-one hub designed for adventurers of every level and comes loaded with all of these benefits:

Navigate Anywhere with Gaia GPS Premium

Transform your outdoor adventures with industry-leading navigation tools. Enjoy offline maps, access to safety and weather layers, and advanced features that make planning routes easier than ever. Whether you’re hiking, overlanding, or exploring backcountry trails, Gaia GPS Premium has you covered.

Tap Into Unparalleled Trail Intelligence

What’s better than one mapping app? Two! Outside+ also includes Trailforks, featuring the world’s largest trail database. Enjoy all the features of Trailforks Pro and start discovering new trails with detailed difficulty ratings, real-time conditions, and a vibrant community feed.

Explore Endless Inspiration and Learning

Dive into a world of outdoor knowledge with:

  • Unlimited digital access to 15 leading outdoor publications, including Outside, Backpacker, Trail Runner, and SKI
  • Level up with expert-led courses in Outside Learn, covering everything from hiking techniques to advanced climbing skills
  • Get inspired while you kick back with adventure films and live outdoor sports on Outside TV

Share Your Adventures

Put more stoke in your scroll with your activity feed, part of Outside’s social platform. Connect your devices to share your adventures with friends, connect with fellow outdoor enthusiasts, and stay motivated by following your favorite brands and authors.

Get An Unbeatable Value

We’ve done the math. Outside+ is loaded with more $324 worth of tools, resources, and inspiration for just $89.99 annually. That’s less than the cost of a single specialized guidebook, but with exponentially more value.

Your Adventure Starts Now

Don’t let another season pass without the ultimate outdoor companion. Upgrade your adventures, expand your horizons, and unlock a world of exploration with Outside+.

Ready to Transform Your Outdoor Experience?

Visit gaiagps.com/outsideplus and start your journey today.

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Man looking at a map in Gaia GPS on his phone
Company NewsGaia GPS

Unlock Adventure with Gaia GPS on Outside+

by Abby Levene
written by Abby Levene

Gaia GPS has joined forces with Outside Inc. to bring you not only the best backcountry navigation tools, but also leading outdoor journalism from our award-winning titles like Outside magazine, BACKPACKER, Trail Runner, SKI, Climbing, and more.

What does this mean as a Gaia GPS user? You can continue to use Gaia GPS just as you are now. Or you can access all the benefits of Gaia GPS Premium and Outside+ in one membership. You have three options to take your adventures to the next level:

Option 1: Gaia GPS Premium

If you just want access to all of Gaia GPS, no problem. A Gaia GPS Premium subscription unlocks the full capabilities of planning, navigating, and recording your adventures.

With a Gaia GPS Premium membership, you get access to our entire map catalog, including National Geographic Trails Illustrated, high resolution satellite imagery, slope angle shading, and USGS maps. Layer maps on top of each other to find free camping, new trails, and to avoid burn zones. Plus, download your maps for offline use so you can always find your way in the backcountry, even when you’re far from cell service.

Option 2: Outside+ (Gaia GPS Premium included)

Visual representation of Outside+ offerings.

Enjoy all of the benefits of a Gaia GPS Premium account plus print magazines, books, and exclusive media content all in one Outside+ membership. Outside+ bundles Outside Magazine, Backpacker, and Ski with 30 other leading titles. Outside+ gives members best-in-class storytelling, premium access to OutsideTV, online courses, discounted event access, and print books and magazines. By joining Outside+ you’re also supporting in-depth, independent journalism, as well as helping us to make the best backcountry app for your adventures.

Option 3: Limited Gaia GPS for Free

Plan new routes at home, record your tracks in the field, and check out our flagship worldwide Gaia Topo map with a free Gaia GPS account. To take your maps offline, layer maps together, and add custom map sources, upgrade to Gaia GPS Premium.

Choose Your Membership

Thanks for joining us on this ride! We’re working hard to make Gaia GPS even better for your adventures.

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Two hikers on a mountain looking into a valley and holding out a cell phone with a map of Gaia GPS on the screen
Company NewsGaia GPS

Gaia GPS Joins Forces with Outside to Transform the Outdoor Market

by Staff Reports
written by Staff Reports

Gaia GPS has joined forces with Outside (previously Pocket Outdoor Media) in a massive effort to transform the outdoor and active lifestyle market.

This means that we are now a sister company to basically every amazing outdoor publication on the planet, including Outside, Backpacker, Trail Runner, Climbing, and so many other titles that inspire us to get outside and adventure. 

Gaia GPS Work Continues

I’m excited to continue to work on Gaia GPS with Anna, Jesse, and the rest of the Gaia GPS team. We’re staying focused on our mission to make the best backcountry navigation app for your adventures. On the short-term horizon, we’re cooking up 3D web maps, turn-by-turn directions in the Android app, and a new version of Gaia Topo with mileage markers on trail segments and hundreds of thousands of miles of additional USFS roads and trails. Plus, iOS users should keep a lookout for an innovative “tap the map” experience that has gotten rave reviews from beta testers. 

But what’s so exciting about joining this larger mission with Outside, Inc. is the prospect that we will be able to continue improving the mapping experience while also enjoying the benefits of being attached to Outside’s powerhouse of incredible outdoor and adventure content. The idea that we can mix maps with cornerstone content has me giddy.  

A Treasure Trove of Content

We see a huge opportunity to integrate Outside’s unmatched depth of journalism work into Gaia GPS’s maps. We want to put amazing information on the interface, so you can pan and zoom on the map and get the beta you need even when you’re out in the field. 

We have been working hard to enable users to edit and comment on the map. We can’t wait to bring our sister companies into the fold for the best in technology development, editorial curation, and user content that will drive an evergreen engine to explore the natural world.

Dreams for Far-Reaching Maps

I also dream of Gaia GPS maps being shared across the greater web. With our sister companies at Outside, we envision an opportunity to add maps and technology to news stories that will help portray a more complete picture through our maps and information.

We are excited about the days ahead. We’ll be sure to give a shout-out with updates as they arrive.  

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Company NewsFeaturedGaia GPSOut and Back Podcast

The Out and Back Podcast Kicks Off with Record-Setting Thru-Hiker Heather Anderson

by Mary Cochenour
written by Mary Cochenour

How to listen: iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox

The Out and Back podcast debuts today, bringing you conversations with people who spend an extraordinary amount of time outdoors. Listen in as host and Appalachian Trail thru-hiker Andrew “Shanty” Baldwin dives in deep with long-distance hikers, record-breaking athletes, and a family of offroad travelers who sold everything to live full-time on the dusty backroads.

The Out and Back podcast drops every other week, featuring guests who have mastered their craft, like backcountry navigation expert Andrew Skurka and pro hiker Thomas Gathman, known on the trail as the Real Hiking Viking. In every show, Shanty goes one-on-one, tapping into each backcountry expert’s superpower so you can take their experience and knowledge with you on your next adventure.

The series launches with Heather “Anish” Anderson who spells out the complex set of factors that drove her to accomplish speed records on the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and the Arizona Trail, as well as become one of a handful of athletes to nab all three of America’s long trails, some 7,500+ miles of hiking, in a single calendar year. In this episode, learn how Anderson faced her fear head-on to finally convince herself that she is indeed an athlete.

Episode 1: Heather “Anish” Anderson on Confronting Fear to Break the PCT and AT Speed Records

Growing up, Heather Anderson harbored a pipe dream to break an athletic record or compete in the Olympics. But as a self-described overweight and un-athletic kid who didn’t do sports, those dreams seemed completely out of reach.

“It was so audaciously outside of my capacity,” Anderson told Shanty in the Out and Back podcast. “It’s the perfect daydream — something I’ll never be able to achieve.”

Yet fueled by a powerful mix of self-doubt and something to prove, Anderson submitted herself to unimaginable sufferfests, handily smashing speed records on two of America’s iconic long trails. In 2013, Anderson completed the 2,660-mile Pacific Crest Trail in an impressive 60 days — outpacing the previous record-holder by four days. Two years later she set a new record on the Appalachian Trail, walking 2,189 miles in 54 days. Anderson’s success championed ordinary people everywhere by daring to transform herself from an academically inclined bookworm into an elite athlete, seemingly overnight.

Heather Anderson hiking in through a leaf covered forest.

And she didn’t stop there. After claiming the PCT and AT records, Anderson went on to set the speed record for the 800-mile Arizona Trail and continued to lay down a series of “firsts” in the thru-hiking arena. In 2018, Anderson became the first woman to complete the Triple Triple Crown, meaning she hiked the AT, PCT, and the Continental Divide Trail three times each. She also grabbed the title of the first woman to hike those trails in a single calendar year, earning the coveted Calendar Year Triple Crown, a feat previously accomplished by a handful of male athletes.

In Out and Back’s premiere episode, Anderson explains what inspired her in her journey from her first overnight backpack trip in 2001 to thru-hiking some 30,000 miles over the last 19 years. Anderson talks about the very real post-hike depression that she and other thru-hikers experience after re-entering society following months on the trail. She describes how journaling helped her process the grief that overcame her after claiming the fastest known time on the PCT, and how those journals formed the basis of her book Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, (Mountaineers Books).

Anderson also spills the beans on the one luxury item she added to her backpack in recent years, the “sappy” thing that colored her Calendar Year Triple Crown hike, and her new book Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail (Mountaineers Books) about her fastest known time hike on the AT in 2015. Her new book is scheduled to print in 2021.

Check out Anderson’s website for an autographed copy of her book Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, which chronicles her record-setting accomplishment on the PCT. Inspiring and authentic, the book highlights Anderson’s background as an un-coordinated kid with big athletic dreams, and how she immersed herself in nature to fill a void of self-doubt within her.

Find and follow Heather “Anish” Anderson on Instagram.
Get her gear lists for all of her famous trips here.

Episode 1 Highlights

  • 2:25: Anderson’s list of accomplishments
  • 7:35: Different categories of fastest known times
  • 9:35: Anderson discusses the writing process for her book Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home
  • 12:09: Anderson talks about post-hike depression and the COVID-19 lockdown
  • 18:10: Anderson reveals her offseason training routine and taking up a new sport
  • 24:40: Anderson talks about her route plan on the Calendar Year Triple Crown
  • 27:20: How Flyin’ Brian Robinson inspired her to do the Calendar Year Triple Crown 
  • 29:00: Anderson’s super sappy yet sweet story on the very first day of the Calendar Year Triple Crown trip
  • 32:20: The unique Barkley Marathons, and Anderson’s four attempts
  • 42:57: Don’t let fear stand in the way of following your dreams
  • 51:47: Anderson’s all-time favorite trail food
  • 52:46: The one luxury item that Anderson recently added to her pack

Next on Episode 2: From Sniper to Professional Hiker, the Real Hiking Viking, Thomas Gathman

Thomas Gathman, known on the trail as the Real Hiking Viking, is so much more than his iconic, long-flowing beard. Viking served two combat tours in Iraq, one as a Marine Scout Sniper, before inadvertently stumbling into full-time hiking on America’s long trails.

The Real Hiking Viking on top of the Forester Pass trail sign on the Pacific Crest Trail.


You won’t want to miss Out and Back’s Episode 2 as Viking talks about his transition from sniper to pro hiker. Viking also recounts his recent hiking efforts, including a trip to the Middle East to thru-hike Jordan, a bailout on Andrew Skurka’s burly Wind River High Route, and recovery from a recent knee injury.

Viking, in usual gregarious and fun-loving style, reminds us why hiking is so much fun, and why there can never be too much trail time for all of us.

Follow the Real Hiking Viking on Instagram.

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AdventuresCompany NewsGaia GPS

Gaia GPS Welcomes Five New Team Members

by Julien Friedland
written by Julien Friedland

We’re excited to welcome five new team members to Gaia GPS. Arriving with expertise in marketing, software engineering, and operations, this crew rounds out a team of 27 fully remote employees, spread across 16 states.

With this new round of hires, comes another dose of inspiring stories including both professional accomplishments and outdoor feats. Read on to hear about their experiences thru-hiking thousands of miles, rafting unfamiliar waters, hiking rim-to-rim-to-rim, and solo adventuring.

If you’re interested in future positions at Gaia GPS, we encourage you to sign up for our job alerts.

Jon selfie in the mountains

Jonathan Cohn

Digital Marketing Specialist

Wildest Outdoor Adventure: Rafting through the Grand Canyon with friends was a special adventure. When the trip began at the beginning of December, I had minimal whitewater experience. Three and a half weeks and 280 miles later, I felt at home behind the oars and off-balanced without sand in my hair.

Proudest professional accomplishment: In my first marketing role, I went from being just hired to leading and mentoring a team of seven other marketers in just over two years. Getting to pass down the systems and tricks I had learned was definitely a highlight.

Favorite trail snack: Sweet Cajun Fire Trail Mix has been with me on so many great days. However, I’ve been struggling to find it recently, so I’ll go with my number two – Sour Gummy Worms.


Sasha Heinen

Software Engineer

Sasha sitting on the rim overlooking a canyon

Wildest Outdoor Adventure: Most recently I completed a rim-to-rim-to-rim on the Bass trail system in the Grand Canyon, which doesn’t have a bridge to cross the Colorado River. In the course of the three-day trip, I was paddling across the Colorado, bushwhacking while being sleeted on, and post-holing in two feet of snow on the north rim.

Proudest professional accomplishment: Leading a team to build and ship native iOS and Android mobile applications using cross-platform components written in Rust.

Favorite trail snack: Avocado with key lime and hot sauce, crackers with cheese and jam, or Fritos.

Mary Cochenour

Content Manager

Mary selfie in front of a river

Wildest Outdoor Adventure: My wildest outdoor adventure happened on a three-day wilderness kayak trip on California’s Deer Creek. The water was fast with nonstop class IV and V action. The biggest scare came when an old cowboy appeared out of the shadows at our first night’s camp and pointed a rifle at our faces. We weren’t trespassing, but we put our hands up and begged for mercy. Eventually, the cowboy let us stay and I’ll never forget how happy I was to see our cars at the take-out.

Proudest professional accomplishment: Some of my proudest professional accomplishments have come from my experience as a backpacking guide, helping my clients realize their backcountry goals. Sometimes, it’s teaching more advanced backpackers how to navigate off-trail and other times it’s helping a brand new backpacker learn to shave their pack weight.

Favorite trail snack: Instant miso soup as an appetizer to dinner. So salty good.

Tom Kletzker

Office Manager

Tom with his dog hiking in Colorado

Wildest Outdoor Adventure: I solo hiked across southern Utah from Zion National Park to Arches National Park, including the Maze in Canyonlands National Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I had never experienced that length of solitude to that degree before. My favorite memories were the petroglyphs on the canyon walls that dated anywhere from 2,000 to 8,000 years old.

Proudest professional accomplishment: I created an impact investment fund that helped stabilize economies in developing countries. We designed the fund to reinvest a majority of the profits back into a developing country’s need for water sanitation plants, green energy, hospitals, and other smaller investments.

Favorite trail snack: My wife bakes amazing bread so I’ll pack some of that along with some homemade jelly (jalapeño jelly is the boom) and some cheese.

Courtney Fiala

Software Engineer

Courtney grabbing a tube of apple sauce while hiking.

Wildest outdoor adventure: Towards the end of my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, we hiked one day like a marathon: 26.2 miles while only eating food from apple sauce squeeze tubes. At the “finish line,” I scarfed down a bag of spicy Bugles and a soda then immediately realized it didn’t agree with my nearly empty stomach. We spent most of the evening sitting on a highway bridge waving to cars and letting my stomach settle before heading to camp.

Proudest professional accomplishment: I wrote a prototype software system from the ground up that uses neural nets and an RF receiver to determine if anyone is flying a drone in the area. The finished version will be used to protect people in urban areas.

Favorite trail snack: Knorr Spanish rice with two packets of hot sauce and a squeeze of tomato paste split into a couple tortillas.

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AdventuresCompany NewsGaia GPS

Gaia GPS Welcomes 7 New Team Members

by Julien Friedland
written by Julien Friedland

Today, we’re thrilled to introduce you to the seven newest members of the Gaia GPS team. Gaia GPS now includes 22 full-timers working on coding, design, cartography, marketing, and customer support, fully remote and distributed across the US.

It’s important that all the Gaia GPS team members are fueled by an adventurous spirit. As you’ll see below, these new folks have collectively amassed thousands of miles of exploration on foot, via bike, across open water, and in the saddle of an ATV. The team at Gaia GPS is an extension of the overall user community, and that helps keep the right focuses on new features, new maps, great user experience, and top-notch customer support.

These seven represent just the beginning of the company’s biggest round of expansion yet. If you’re interested in joining the team, click here to view our current openings and apply. We’re steadily hiring about 1 person per month.

Laura Friedland

Marketing Specialist

Favorite outdoor memory: I recently rode my bicycle from Medellín, Colombia, to the southern tip of Chile. Of the hundreds of sunsets along the way, my favorite was in Bolivia, on Salar de Uyuni—the biggest salt flat in the world. The only issue was the ~40mph winds. After three days on the salt flat, all my tent stakes were bent in half!

Proudest professional accomplishment: I teamed up with Katadyn USA and William Woodward (@wheretowillie) to create a short film about access to clean drinking water in the outdoors.

Recipe for the perfect s’more: It’s all about how you get the marshmallow off the stick. You have to clamp your stick between your knees and use two hands to sandwich the mallow between your graham crackers and chocolate. Then, you seamlessly twist the mallow off the stick into a perfect s’more. It’s a clean job every time.

Peter Liu

Software Engineer III

Favorite outdoor memory: At Þingvellir in Iceland, I walked between these two short cliffs. Turns out it was where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet, and one of the only parts of that not underwater.

Proudest professional accomplishment? A few years back I built an app to help low-income housing seekers explore new neighborhoods and presented it at the Obama White House.

Recipe for the perfect s’more: I’m pretty impatient so I just eat the marshmallows raw. Like a peasant.

Melanie Wilson

Customer Support Specialist

Favorite outdoor memory: My first solo backpacking trip sleeping on the banks of Loch Avon in the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland.

Proudest professional accomplishment: In my previous job as a librarian, I launched a collection of circulating hotspots and tablets. This collection helped reduced the negative impact of the digital divide in Lake County, Ohio, and it allowed students without internet access to complete schoolwork at home.

Recipe for the perfect s’more: I like a s’more with a little spice so instead of the standard Hershey’s chocolate I add chocolate with chilies.

Matt Palmer

UX/UI Designer


Favorite outdoor memory: A 1.5-week, self-supported bikepacking trip from Orange County, California, to Hetch Hetchy, mostly following the California Aqueduct. I had to lift my 80 pounds of bike and gear over about 80 gates, but it was worth it.

Proudest professional accomplishment: As a passion project during my time at ESRI, a friend and I collected anonymous Strava data to discover places where people were stopping on-trail. Land managers could then look at the data and identify those places as spots in need of better signage, benches for resting, or trail maintenance to fix obstacles.

Recipe for the perfect s’more: On my list to try: Some spicy cayenne dark chocolate and a cinnamon graham combo.

Adam Tootle

Software Engineer II

Favorite outdoor memory: As an anniversary gift, my wife surprised me during a trip to Mexico with an ATV tour through the Baja California Desert. None of the other scheduled riders showed up, so we ended up with a private tour. It was an amazing experience.

Proudest professional accomplishment: In the years I worked on health and wellness products, I loved receiving feedback from people who had just hit a new personal record for daily steps, or just trained for their first marathon. Building tools to help people improve their health and potentially live longer is something I’ll always be proud of.

Recipe for the perfect s’more: The only thing I’m a stickler about is how roasted the marshmallow is. Never let the marshmallow catch on fire. You have to know how to get the marshmallow right up to catch-fire level without going too far.

Jay Crooker

Customer Support Specialist


Favorite outdoor memory: Qualifying for (and competing in) the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona, Hawai’i, in 1997.

Proudest professional accomplishment: Surviving my doctoral defense for my PhD in Analytical Chemistry.

Recipe for the perfect s’more: Heath Bar instead of chocolate. You’re welcome.

Jim Margolis

Customer Support Specialist

Favorite outdoor memory: I climbed Pingora, a peak in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, with my mother and the Grand Teton with my father. I’m close with my parents, and those adventures have been very special to me.

Proudest professional accomplishment: I’ve spent over 150 field weeks as an instructor at NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) teaching climbing, mountaineering, winter, and backpacking courses.

Recipe for the perfect s’more: I put the marshmallow on a stick and prop it about six inches from the fire until it browns. While I’m waiting, I put the chocolate on a graham cracker nearby to melt it. Once the marshmallow is ready, I use the two grahams to pull it off the stick. Really the only advanced thing I do is stuff the whole thing in my mouth at once!


Learn more about Gaia GPS’s newest employees and meet the rest of our team at gaiagps.com/company.

Still Hiring—Apply Today!

Gaia GPS is still growing. If you’re smart, motivated, and passionate about the outdoors, consider applying for a career focused on getting more people outside, and helping them stay safer every time they do. Keep an eye on the latest job postings at the Gaia GPS careers page.

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sunlight shining through a forest of redwood trees
Company NewsGaia GPS

How Scientists are Saving Trees with Gaia GPS (And How You Can, Too)

by Corey Buhay
written by Corey Buhay

How hard is it to steal a tree? According to a one study, it’s not as difficult as you might think. The study, conducted by the United Nations Environmental Program and INTERPOL in 2012, found that 30 percent of finished wood products contain timber illegally poached from protected zones. That includes species like western redcedar, Alaskan yellow-cedar, coast redwood, and bigleaf maple.

The good news: Adventure Scientists is using Gaia GPS to build geo-referenced databases authorities can use to trace lumber and track down the criminals. And if you’re an expert on getting deep into the backcountry, they need your help.

Identifying a broadleaf maple for last year’s edition of the timber project. Photo courtesy of Damon Tighe

About Adventure Scientists

Adventure Scientists, a nonprofit based in Bozeman, Montana, draws on the resourcefulness and backcountry skills of outdoor adventurers to organize citizen science efforts across the world. It’s not just a feel-good volunteer activity, either—Adventure Scientists volunteers provide high-quality data. That data influences cutting-edge studies and real-world change.

Past projects have included freshwater and saltwater microplastics surveys (which influenced the European Union’s recent landmark ban of single-use plastics), wolverine and lynx population tracking, and antibiotic resistance studies. For many of these projects, volunteers use Gaia GPS to navigate in the wilderness. They also use the app to leave annotated waypoints so scientists can track exactly where the samples came from.

Adventure Scientists’ Michelle Toshack demonstrates how to use a tree corer to take a sample from a western redcedar.

Why Conservation Needs Citizen Science

Conservation biology requires a lot of legwork. Because it takes hundreds of data points for a study to be thorough and conclusive, data collection can take a long time. There simply aren’t enough scientists to go around. That means research progresses slowly, all while environmental problems worsen and populations of threatened species dwindle.

Fortunately, a lot of the work that needs to be done involves trekking out into the field, accessing remote fields and forests, spending time in isolated landscapes far from civilization—all things the outdoor recreation community is already doing. Adventure Scientists leverages that community to turn weekend warriors into the conservation army that biologists have always dreamed of. In this way, citizen science speeds up the pace of scientific discovery.

Adventure Scientists volunteers get a Gaia GPS Membership, which they use to geolocate tree samples.

Saving Trees with Gaia GPS

Adventure Scientists’ Timber Tracking Project, now entering its second year, aims to collect thousands of genetic and chemical samples from important tree species across the country. Volunteers are trained to identify the species involved in the study. When they find one, they take samples of the leaves, cones, wood, or sprouts and record a Gaia GPS waypoint. That waypoint can easily be shared with other volunteers or exported to the project file. Then, each tree sample is analyzed, and added to the appropriate genetic or chemical database.

Ultimately, forestry officials will be able to test wood from lumber shipments of bigleaf maple, western redcedar, or Alaska yellow-cedar, and compare those samples to the database. If the timber’s genetic or chemical makeup matches that of a sample collected in a protected area, officials will know it was illegally harvested.

For coast redwoods, Save the Redwoods League will compare the genes of each tree sample with characteristics of the site where the sample was taken. The study should help scientists understand the function of genetic variation within the species. That understanding will help guide future conservation and restoration efforts.

You can read more details about last year’s successes with bigleaf maple here, and more about how to sign up to help with this year’s project here.

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Company NewsGaia GPS

Six New Team Members Join Gaia GPS

by Corey Buhay
written by Corey Buhay

We’ve just wrapped up a flurry of hiring at Gaia GPS, the biggest and fastest expansion the company has ever seen. We’re delighted to introduce you to six new Gaia GPS team members, all focused on making the software and maps better.

If you are on our mailing list, you probably saw our hiring blast earlier this year. All the folks you’ll read about below applied in response to that email and came from the Gaia GPS community. Get to know them below (ordered by start date), and then check out bios of everyone on the team on the Gaia GPS company page.

Austin Hess

Software Engineer III

1) Proudest Professional Achievement: Rebuilding the New York Times’ email and newsletter system from the ground up. As the primary engineer on the project, I designed and implemented most of the components of a system to notify millions of users of breaking news within minutes.

2) First Outdoor Adventure: I’m not sure exactly when my first outdoor adventure was, but I do remember one particular excursion near where I grew up in Pennsylvania. I was wearing rubber boots because the area was swampy, and as I was heading back I decided to take a shortcut along the edge of a pond. A few misplaced steps later and I was thigh-deep in smelly mud. After a 30-minute struggle, I extracted myself—but with only one boot. I walked the last bit with a bare foot, and never saw the boot again.

3) Go-To Camp Meal: Any rice/legume combo, with a good amount of hot sauce.

John Czaplewski

Software Engineer II

1) Proudest Professional Achievement: Designing and building a database and app for bedrock geology (Rockd). Before, there was no easy way to find out what kind of rock you were standing on. Now you can just open an app.

2) First Outdoor Adventure: The first time I went backpacking was with the University of Colorado, Boulder, hiking club. During the night a snow storm rolled in, which forced us to wake up every hour or so and push the collapsed tent off of us. One of those times I thought I heard someone walking around to fix their tent, but in the morning I saw bear tracks inches from where my head was.

3) Go-to Camp Meal: Mac and cheese with smoked sardines.

Jay Martindell

Software Engineer III

1) Proudest Professional Achievement: Implementing smooth-zooming on the Google Maps website. It’s the kind of thing that mostly goes unnoticed, but it replaced the previously janky scroll-to-zoom function for customers who collectively use it a few billion times each month.

2) First Outdoor Adventure: When I was younger, my scout troop scheduled an intro-to-backpacking trip to Lanham Lake, an easy 1.5-mile trek. We were hit with a torrential downpour that lasted all weekend. After sloshing through shin-high puddles, we arrived at camp, erected a fortress of tarps, and made the best of it. When we noticed the “Noah’s Tarp” branding on one of them, we couldn’t stop laughing. It’s difficult to say we spent much time “outdoors” that weekend, but we certainly experienced the elements.

3) Go-to Camp Meal: As far as I’m concerned, there are two ways to eat ramen: as a dry slab topped with seasoning powder, or cooked with butter and seasoning powder. Anything involving liquid in the final result is a recipe for a scalded lap (I would know).

Torrey Hogan

Software Engineer in Support

1) Proudest Professional Achievement: Working for Pacific Gas and Electric after the San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion—I trained a team of engineers to perform quality control for improved safety.

2) First Outdoor Adventure: My first backpacking trip was on the Kalalau Trail in Kauai with my best friend. We planned a 10-day trip for only 22 miles of trail, and camped at the same beach for six days. We almost lost our minds to boredom.

3) Go-To Camp Meal: Pad Thai Ramen. With crunchy peanut butter. Add hot sauce as needed.

Lee France

Cartographer

1) Proudest professional accomplishment: Working in the Patagonia region of southern Chile, creating topo maps to be used for the Patagonian Expedition Race. At the time, the area hadn’t really been mapped, and the effort involved some intense backcountry field testing.

2) First Outdoor Adventure: The trip that comes to mind was a nordic ski summer dryland camp I did in Washington when I was probably 11 or so. I had a very uncomfortable external-frame pack my Mom had used hitching around New Zealand when she was in college. I also remember getting a fish hook stuck in my hand while at camp…rookie mistake.

3) Go-To Camp Meal: Mac and cheese with a bunch of added veggies and some sausage cooked over the fire or stove. Not the lightest-weight meal, but so worth it after a long hike!

Jeremy Lehman

Software Engineer I

1) Proudest professional accomplishment: Helping to launch the share feature for Amazon Photos, allowing customers to share their photos with all their loved ones and friends.

2) First Outdoor Adventure: My first outdoor adventure was climbing Mt. Ellinor in the Olympics during the spring. I managed to only fall down a grand total of 20 times.

3) Go-To Camp Meal: Backpacker’s Pantry Three Cheese Mac & Cheese

New Projects on the Horizon

With the size of the company expanding by almost 50 percent in recent months, the team is excited to dig in on projects to add great features, faster infrastructure, and more maps. Keep an eye out for big improvements to Hike Search, as well as updates to the map catalogue and mapping efficiency on the mobile app.

We’ve wrapped up this round of hiring, but we look forward to growing even more in the future. Be sure to check the Gaia GPS Jobs page for current and future openings.

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New Map Overlay: Explore Canada Trails with Gaia GPS

by Corey Buhay
written by Corey Buhay

Canada is home to 47 national parks and hundreds of provincial and territorial parks, all crossed and interconnected by world-class trails. Now, you can explore all of them with Gaia GPS.

Thanks to a new trails overlay from award-winning Canadian mapmaker Backroad Mapbooks (BRMB), the Gaia GPS map catalogue includes more detailed coverage of Canada than ever before. Whether you’re planning an expedition to the Arctic Circle, exploring the sky-splitting Canadian Rockies, or taking a day hike outside Montreal, the BRMB Canada Trails Overlay has you covered.

Color Coded for Route Planning at a Glance

The BRMB Canada Trails overlay includes over 70,000 miles of trail, including the country’s well-known behemoth, the 11,635-mile Trans-Canada Trail. All routes are color coded to indicate both their intended use and seasonal availability, making it easy to zero in on the destinations that are right for you.

Part of a Complete Package of Canada Maps

The addition of the BRMB Canada Trails overlay rounds out Gaia GPS’s existing rolodex of Canada maps. That collection includes ESRI World satellite imagery, precise contour line overlays (in both meters and feet), and the Canada Topo base map, in addition to the highly detailed Backroad Mapbooks Canada base map.

Adventurers in British Columbia can also access interactive overlays showing recent wildfires and timber cuts across the province for even more accurate route planning.

Available to Premium Members

The Backroad Mapbooks Trails overlay is available to Gaia GPS users with a Premium Membership both in the app and online at gaiagps.com. We recommend layering it atop the Backroad Mapbooks Canada base map for a complete and encyclopedic picture of the Canadian backcountry.

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