Great Inclinations > Technology and platforms to help make hiking more accessible Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager Great Inclinations is your go-to source for diving into the world of casual hiking in and around the Lower Mainland. Because hiking’s not just for assholes anymore. 018 is a wonderous time to be alive. ZTake eating out, for example: I can look up restaurants around my apartment, browse their menu online, read reviews, check Google Maps for what hours they’re busy, and even order from them online. J can have food delivered right to my door from traditionally sit- down restaurants through websites like Skipthedishes or DoorDash—but this article isn't about my eating habits. Technology’s transforming our world, and it’s also changing the way we hike. Here are a few technologies and online platforms that can help you up your hiking game. Do an Internet search on almost any local hike, and Vancouver Trails will likely be your first result. They're a go-to website for hiking around the Lower Mainland, and for a good reason. They're flippin’ fantastic and have nearly everything you need to know before setting out on a hike. You can search for trails on a regional map, or look up specific hikes to know about their difficulty level, how long the trail usually takes, or what months you can hike in. Vancouver Trails also includes if the hike is accessible by public transit, or if you can bring your four-legged furred friend with you. If all that wasn’t enough to convert you, they usually go into exhaustive details on how to get to the trailhead and where you can/can't leave your vehicle, which can sometimes be tricky to figure out on your own. Similar to Vancouver Trails, AllTrails gives you crucial information about different hikes, while also coming in an easy-to-use app format. You can read up on previous hikers’ comments, check out reviews, keep an ongoing wish-list of hikes you want to try, and perhaps the most wonderful feature—download a map of the trail, in case you're a constant worrier like 1am. Make sure you do it ahead of time though, since you need to be online, and lots of hikes take you out of cellphone service. Best of all, the app is free! A premium version is also available, but all of the features I mentioned can be found on the free version. Shit happens when youre in the backcountry, and a handheld GPS can be a crucial safety net. They range quite substantially in price—from just over $100 to over $1,000—but you can snag a basic one for about $120, like the Garmin Etrex 10. It has a battery life of 25 hours, is fairly lightweight, and it tracks your route to and from your starting point. It’s also helpful if you’re someone who likes to do some off-trail exploring, as it helps you retrace your steps back to the main path. If you've ever been exploring the backcountry and found yourself staring out into a mountain range, debating with your hiking partner about which mountain is which, PeakVisor is for you. Using a combination of your phone’s location tracking and camera, the app can identify different mountain peaks, and it gives you it’s exact altitude too. The app also comes with a handy dandy compass. It’s not the most useful app for hiking, but it can help settle an argument with mountain know-it-alls. Illustration by Cara Seccafien Illustration by Cara Seccafien The slow cooker > A student’s BFF CJ Sommerfeld Contributor I s it just me or did you absolutely freak out when the price of kitchen appliances became a reality? Didn't moving out of your parents’ house seem so entirely exciting... until you entered the kitchen appliance aisle of the department store? A coffee maker costs how much!? You then make your way over to Value Village and, seriously? Since when was a used blender $19.99!? You try to minimize what you need but, let’s face it, how great is life with a flattop grill, toaster, blender, Magic Bullet, baby bullet, Nutribullet, fufu machine, expresso machine, bread machine, popcorn maker, rice cooker—need I say more? You think to yourself: I should have taken advantage of that panini press while I had the chance! And what about the waffle maker? Well I guess stovetop pancakes will have to do... There must be an alternative to spending the entire designated living expenses portion of your student loan on kitchen appliances—and, lucky for you, there kind of is. Ladies and gentlemen, I may havea cure for your kitchen appliance woes. Did you know that a slow cooker has many, many uses that span further than slowly heating a stew? Yes, I said it, this ornately decorated ceramic bow] can be used for a plethora of cooking means. Let me share with you my top favorite use for the slow cooker: Popping popcorn. Living in the golden age of Netflix what are us millennials supposed to do if there is no popcorn maker nor microwave in sight? That is not a problem if you own a slow cooker! This single kitchen appliance will do! Simply lather the bottom and sides of your slow cooker with coconut oil, butter, salt, nutritional yeast, rosemary, ground ginger, cinnamon or whatever else your heart desires. The great thing about making popcorn like this is that you can have any absurd flavor that cannot be bought in bagged form at the supermarket. Turn on your crockpot until you hear the butter or oil starting to lightly sizzle, then put a layer of popcorn kernels along the bottom—side note: You want each kernel to be coated in oil or butter since these are the agents which are transferring heat to the internal kernel. Put on the lid and wait for the explosions to begin. Now these might sound like a 33-rpm record version of the rapid gunshots in the microwave that you are used to hearing, but be patient as the greatest popcorn you will ever have is upon you. A liberal approach to using a slow cooker will greatly expand the number of things that you are able to cook and, despite being on a broke student budget, allows you to be that chef that you've always dreamed of being: Homemade chai tea, enchiladas, fondue, fresh baked bread, at-home yoghurt, who would have known? So... fondue party anyone?