The best handheld GPS is the best friend for any hiking beginner in the world. Many of the favorite hiking recording apps have partner websites, so you’re not limited to the app’s interface on your phone. Tracking your hikes gives you a lot of benefits such as maintaining motivation and watching your improvement as time pass by.

RunKeeper

My favorite, as well as one of the most well-known apps, is RunKeeper. It’s primarily used by athletes but could provide many different types of activities such as hiking, biking, walking, running, and more. You can also include stationary aerobic activities, such as treadmill workouts.

A map of speed and altitude information is recorded as it increases. Other marks are calculated from these values. You can choose to have the tracking data uploaded only at the end of your increment, or automatically as you run (although this drains the battery more quickly). Photos can be taken from within RunKeeper, uploaded to the website, and pasted onto the map.

The RunKeeper website has built-in social features: you can form a motivational team with your friends, run races, automatically post your activities to …