“Take a hike.” The next time someone says that to you, they should add “with the Apple Watch Series 2” – as hiking, which already has various benefits for both physical and mental health, can be even more of a pleasure with this wearable on your wrist. Here are just a few reasons why.
You can get a lot out of hiking
It can be easy to overlook the appeal of hiking – though, even if you aren’t currently an experienced hiker, you may have caught a glimpse of that appeal when Hannah Catmur, ViewRanger’s head of design, demoed her company’s hiking app for the Apple Watch Series 2 at last month’s Apple event. We’ll return to the subject of that demo a little later…
Unsurprisingly, hiking can do good for your physical health; over 500 calories can be burned in just an hour’s hiking, while you can lose even more when making your way up hills, which can work out your entire body. You can also progress at your own pace, making hiking especially appealing if you don’t like the idea of a personal trainer barking orders at you.
However, it’s also mentally healing; being so close to nature can bring peace to an irritated mind, and research has even indicated that hiking can serve as additional therapy for treating severe depression. And that’s before we get onto the opportunities to meet new people when hiking.
ViewRanger makes its mark
At the Apple event, Catmur showed how the new ViewRanger app can, on the Apple Watch Series 2, assist hikers in making the most of the outdoors. The app can, for example, make it easier for users to keep track of where they are. It takes advantage of the device’s built-in GPS feature, which enables the user’s exact location to be pinpointed without any need for a tethered iPhone.
We would go into much more thorough detail – but, frankly, we think Hannah delivered it in a fun and accessible way at Apple’s keynote. Here’s a video clip of her presentation.
It’s worth pointing out that, at the time of writing, ViewRanger has not yet released the revamped version of its app which brings all of these features to the Apple Watch Series 2. However, you can submit your email address to ViewRanger to be notified when it happens.
ViewRanger has previously said that it expected the update to arrive by mid-October, so we’d be surprised if it doesn’t appear before the end of the month – maybe even by the time you read this. Happy hiking!
