E – Logs of HPO, HPK and GPO hiking tours
Goran Tomac, Zvonimir Nevistić, Drago Špoljarić | University of Zagreb, Faculty of Geodesy
Keywords: hiking tour, e-Logs, HPO, HPK, GPO
Every hiking tour should have a suitable log used for keeping the records about visiting checkpoints which represent exactly the specific hiking tour destinations where visitors by stamp or photo record their arrival.
A visit to the checkpoint can be determined by the photo, but much more frequent practice is to confirm the visit by a stamp in the tour log (Tomac, Špoljarić 2016). Today, digital cameras and smartphones are integral parts of hiking equipment, so proving visits by means of photographs is not only simpler, but increasingly favoured by hikers. There are several advantages in confirming a visit to a checkpoint by a photograph, the most important of which are simplicity and reliability (ibid). Unlike the classic registration of checkpoint visits by stamps in conventional printed logs, digital registration requires a different type of a log – a digital log or e-log – where stamps are replaced with digital photos which include a recognizable part of the checkpoint.
Since 1957, more than a hundred hiking tours have been opened in Croatia, but about half of that number have been abandoned and forgotten (URL 1). In this list of numerous hiking tours, it is important to highlight the two most famous and most visited national hiking tours: the Croatian hiking tour (hrv. Hrvatska planinarska obilaznica – HPO) and Croatian mountain huts (hrv. Hrvatske planinarske kuće – HPK). HPO Calculator (URL 2), the first e-Log of a hiking tour available on the Croatian thematic web was developed in 2006 for the most famous and most visited national hiking tour – the Croatian hiking tour. The HPO Calculator was presented to the wider public and the HPS Hiking Trails Commission, who accepted and commended it. Despite that it has largely remained unnoticed. One reason of failure of this e-log is surely related to the complicated way of preparing photographs and the difficulty of submitting them directly and independently. The inadequate promotion of the HPO Calculator has also caused this situation. The technology we use today (high-quality digital cameras, smart phones, high-speed broadband Internet, etc.) were only just being developed at that time, and many visitors could not afford them, which prevented the development of greater interest in demonstrating visits to checkpoints digitally (Tomac, Špoljarić 2016).
Due to that, a new digital log of HPO has been developed at the Faculty of Geodes – e-Log HPO, whose use is simple and user friendly (URL 3). Its structure (model) can easily be adapted to any other national, regional or local mountain hiking tours. Shortly after, a digital log of the Croatian Mountain Huts – e-Log HPK (URL 4) was also developed. Encouraged by the success of e-Log HPO and HPK and the fact that many Croatian mountain peaks as checkpoints have geodetic pillars or pyramid, a new hiking tour – Geodetic mountain tour (hrv. Geodetska planinarska obilaznica – GPO) and associated digital log – e-Log GPO were proposed.
Several open-source information technologies that do not depend on end-user device platforms have been used in the development of these digital logs. The Python programme language was used for the back-end of the hiking log, i.e. its web framework – Django. The PostgreSQL database with its PostGIS spatial database extender was used for data storage. JavaScript and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) were used for the front end of the hiking log, with Leaflet and the Bootstrap library. Leaflet is a JavaScript library for interactive maps, and the Bootstrap library adjusts the contents of the log to the resolution of the user’s device (Tomac, Špoljarić 2016).
The biggest advantage of e-Log is simple and direct / authorized transfer of photos. End-users do not have to worry about the names or sizes of photographs, because the programme routine within the hiking log makes all the necessary arrangements. Furthermore, based on photos approved by the administrator, the system automatically generates checkpoint visits statistics for each individual user. In addition to the statistics of visits to the checkpoints and photographs, the e-Logs also provide basic information on checkpoints for visitors and authorized users, and presents them on an interactive map. For each checkpoint, there is a link to the Mountaineering Portal (URL 6) or the official site of the Croatian Mountaineering Association – HPS (URL 7), where detailed information on all checkpoints is given. The e-Log also contains an interactive map where you can browse and search all checkpoints. Using an interactive map gives user the option to choose between several background maps. As the checkpoints are divided into different areas, it is possible to graphically display those areas. Particularly stylized checkpoint icons also provide additional information and meaning to each checkpoint. Geolocation and filtering options were also applied in e-Logs. For example, all users can filter checkpoints by the mountain on which the checkpoint is located, altitude or select a particular area with the corresponding checkpoints.
It is also possible to use the measure, distance and area tool on the map, review the statistics of registered users, review number of visits for each individual checkpoint and recent records of photo transfers and stamps into the e-Log of registered users. On the other hand, Registered users can also choose whether they want to see only visited, not visited, or all checkpoints on the display and by email they can contact another registered user. Filtering is available not only on interactive maps, but also on all the other publicly available spreadsheets of the e-Log. On the interactive map it is also possible to determine the current user position (geolocation), primarily intended for smartphone users (Tomac and Špoljarić 2016).
As we live in a time where the Internet and digital technologies are engaged in all aspects of our lives, keeping digital records or e-Logs online is no longer news, yet it is a trend in almost all areas of life. Therefore, e-Logs represent a significant step forward in tracking and managing statistics of checkpoints visits of hiking tours and they are completely end-user friendly.
References
Tomac, G., Špoljarić, D., 2016: e-Dnevnik Hrvatske planinarske obilaznice, KiG Br. 26, Vol. 15, 123. – 129. str., Zagreb
URL 1: Planinarske obilaznice, http://www.hps.hr/info/planinarske-obilaznice/, 13.02.2018.
URL 2: HPO kalkulator, https://sites.google.com/a/pdsumar.hr/pds/hpo, 16.02.2018.
URL 3: E-dnevnik Hrvatske planinarske obilaznice, https://hpo.hps.hr/, 13.02.2018.
URL 4: E-dnevnik Hrvatske planinarske kuće, https://hpk.planinarski-portal.org/, 14.02.2018.
URL 5: E-dnevnik Geodetske planinarske obilaznice, https://gpo-dnevnik.planinarski-portal.org/, 13.02.2018.
URL 6: Planinarski portal, https://planinarski-portal.org/, 16.02.2018.
URL 7: Hrvatski planinarski savez, http://www.hps.hr/, 16.02.2018