As we become more wired, it is difficult to sort out useful technology from the distraction.

The newest entry into the Jasper’s hiking guide book pantheon comes from Rob Bryce, who harnasses the power of technology to enhance the hiking experience in the rockies. For those looking for more advanced trip planning technology, the book helps considerably.

However to call this publication a hiking book only tells half of the story. Bryce teaches at the University of Northern British Columbia and specializes in GPS technology. He has taken 73 hikes in Jasper National Park and Mount Robson and used Google earth and GPS data to thoroughly document kilometres of trails. A DVD that accompanies the book contains more than 4,000 photos and GPS waypoints, as well as massive amounts of slope, elevation and distance data, tied to several maps. 

“It’s a bit different. People with technology want to learn more about their hikes,” Bryce said.

What sets this hiking manual apart is the ability to download trail waypoints and information onto a GPS device or iPhone. This also includes slope data to help hikers pick routes within their skill range, and get a better sense of the trail in order to avoid surprises.

The photographs allow hikers to preview the trails, and even check out backcountry campsites before they reserve them. They are geolinked, so hikers can know exactly what they’re expected to see at a certain point in the trail. They are also linked to Google Earth Files, so trail users can download that data and take it with them.

“People want this knowledge and want to know ahead of time,” Bryce said.

Bryce has written two other trail books: Hiking North Central BC and Mountain Biking Prince George. He wanted to create a book where all of the data was in one place.

Bryce also noted the accuracy of some trail markers were off in the park – something he thinks his book helps correct.

“I’m not sure if (the trails) were ever GPS’d,” Bryce said. “Having accurate trail distances, people do appreciate it.”

Those who don’t have a GPS device will still find it handy to bring the book, which is compact and lies flat on its back for ease of use. It also includes an index listing trails by maximum slope ascent or descent, distance and elevation gain. According to the book, the steepest trail is the Fryatt Valley, with a grueling 42.4 per cent slope. Lac Beauvert and Annette Lake are the easiest, with a slope of only 2.4 per cent.

Although technology figures prominently in this publication, Bryce still had to collect it the old fashioned way. That included a summer of hiking nearly every trail in Jasper National Park (where he’s hiked since he was a child) and Mount Robson Provincial Park, which included a severe push at the end of last summer. After forty days on the trails, Bryce was still enjoying the scenery.

“With my wife, we were hiking 30 kilometre days at the end. We built up to it over the summer, but we had a deadline to meet,” Bryce said.

Bryce will be selling copies of his book at the Parks Canada Information centre on Saturday, and at Totem Ski Shop on Sunday.