The Tech on the Trail project was featured in a piece by WSLS’s local news legend, John Carlin. Tech on the Trail researchers Scott McCrickard and Natalie Andrus met up with John at the McAfee Knob Trailhead, where a newly-constructed bridge crosses Highway 311, and we walked and talked for a stretch of the Appalachian Trail. He assembled a great story about our lab’s work that was featured on the 6pm news broadcast. A story and extended video segment is available on the WSLS web site at https://www.wsls.com/news/local/2025/05/29/john-carlins-outdoors-tech-on-the-trail/
John Carlin went to great lengths to make sure we felt at ease. I reviewed a lot of his “John Carlin’s Outdoors” segments at the WSLS web site, and he always seems to do a great job of highlighting interesting outdoor adventure spots around the area. He’s majorly into outdoor recreation, including fly fishing, hiking, biking, paddling, running, and he’s shown to be game for much more. He knew his stuff about technology and the outdoors leading into the story, which really shone through in the questions he asked and the apps he had at hand. He expressed real joy out on the trail, stopping regularly to ask questions of everyone we passed along the trail, or just to look at a flower, plant, or lizard or to listen to the birds.
Ph.D. student Natalie Andrus talked about tech on the trail research led by her and her fellow Ph.D. students. Her primary interests are in technology’s role in fostering intergenerational connections (particularly among seniors), including the role that nature adventures can have in fostering communication with homebound seniors. She also talked about our trail app for hikers and the social media analysis that has been core in our lab’s work. Plus, she definitely had the best backdrop in her video segment, stopping at Mason Cove Overlook to enjoy the view and to talk research.
We’ve had a lot of recent successes in the eight years of this project, thanks in large part to our NSF Strengthening American Infrastructure grant along with internal funding from Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), the Institute for Science, Culture, and the Environment (ICSE), the Center for Human Computer Interaction (CHCI), and the Department of Computer Science. All of this support has helped us take steps to understand the many stakeholders that work together to make the trail an enjoyable and informative experience: thru hikers, section hikers, trail organizations like the ATC and ALDHA, boots on the ground trail runners, hostel owners, trail towns, Scout organizations, trail angels, and many more. I contrast this news article with one from the Roanoke Times in the earliest days of our Tech on the Trail efforts when trail tech was only beginning to rise in popularity. Now it’s part of every phase of most hikers’ journeys–preparation, experience, and reflection–and we’re left trying to make sense on the many digital artifacts that the stakeholders leave behind. Let the journey continue!
Technology on the Trail 