PIs Kris Wernstedt and Scott McCrickard, along with graduate students Yusheng Cao and Wei-Lu Wang, attended TrailFest 2025 in Hot Springs NC to launch our new SmartTrail mobile app to thru hikers. Supported by our NSF SAI grant, the app surveys hikers every week for up to 14 weeks during their thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. The survey probes their technology use, their connectivity with others, and their changing tolerances for risk throughout their hike.
There’s a great AirBnB, the Dorland Cottage on Bridge Street, right along the Appalachian Trail as it passes through downtown. We set up there with beverages, snacks (freshly made chocolate chip cookies and fruit!), and a place to sit and watch the world go by. We distributed the latest version of our SmartTrail app (and lots of snacks!) to thru-hikers who were interested, and encouraged everyone to stop and rest for a while even if they were not interested. We were pleased to recruit 50 hikers to consider using our app, and we caught up with many more who are looking to keep their digital burdens low while on the trail.
In addition, we hosted a booth in the festival area. We were able to talk with festival attendees about results from our prior surveys, interviews, observations, and social media and blog analysis. Best of all, we got to enjoy the live music, 40+ booths, and festival food while we were there. The long weekend was capped off with a trip to Big Pillow Brewing and Grey Eagle Taqueria, which have re-opened in the downtown area. As always, the area was filled with a lively mix of hikers and locals.
The festival was cancelled last year due to hurricane damage, and there remains significant damage to the downtown area. This weekend was billed as we were happy to return this year and support the local community. We weren’t able to hike any of the local trails on this trip, but we encourage anyone who loves the outdoors and the Appalachian Mountains to plan a trip to Hot Springs. They are ready for you!
Technology on the Trail 