Planning a Trip

Step-by-step guide to planning your next backpacking or hiking trip

Table of Contents

Creating a New Trip

Creating a new trip

To create a trip, navigate to Trips and tap the Create Trip button. You'll need to provide:

  • Trip name — Give your adventure a memorable title
  • Start and end dates — When you plan to be on the trail
  • Location — The general area or trailhead

Adding a Route

Every great trip starts with a solid route. You have several options:

Import a GPX File

If you've planned your route using another tool (like AllTrails, CalTopo, or Gaia GPS), you can import the GPX file directly:

  1. Go to your trip's detail page
  2. Tap Add Route
  3. Select Import GPX
  4. Choose your file — the route, waypoints, and elevation data will be parsed automatically

Use the Route Planner

Lodestone's built-in route planner lets you create routes from scratch:

  1. Navigate to Routes in the main menu
  2. Tap Create Route
  3. Use the map to place waypoints along your planned path
  4. Add notes to individual waypoints (water sources, campsites, landmarks)

Attaching a Loadout

Once your route is set, attach a gear loadout:

  1. From the trip detail page, tap Add Loadout
  2. Choose an existing loadout or create a new one
  3. Review the total weight — Lodestone shows base weight and total weight

Tip: Create template loadouts for different trip types (summer dayhike, winter backpacking, ultralight) and duplicate them as a starting point.

Inviting Participants

Trips are better with friends. To invite others:

  1. Open your trip and tap Invite
  2. Search for Lodestone users by name or email
  3. They'll receive a notification and can accept or decline

Participants can view the trip details, route, and loadout. The trip creator manages all edits.

Trip Checklist

Before you hit the trail, make sure you've covered:

  • Route planned with waypoints
  • Gear loadout attached and reviewed
  • Participants invited
  • Start and end dates confirmed
  • Emergency contacts noted

Trail navigation

When your trip is underway, use the Navigation tab for:

  • Real-time position on the trail map
  • Distance remaining to the next waypoint
  • Elevation profile showing what's ahead
  • Weather forecasts for your location

The navigation features work offline once you've cached the map tiles for your area.