GPX Import
Bring in a route GPX file and turn its geometry into a workable plan.
Create a plan
you can trust.
TRIPS uses terrain geometry, physiology, and itinerary planning to model energy demand, travel time, and fatigue-risk signaling so you can plan with more clarity and confidence.
Planning Modes
Built for simplicity and speed, yet adaptable to complex and advanced workflows.
Calibration • Modeling • Comparison • Research • Analysis • Scenario Planning
TRIPS is designed to scale with the way you plan. Use Basic mode for faster early-stage planning and lighter workflows, then move into Pro mode when you want the full diagnostic and modeling workspace. Both modes are available to all users.
Enterprise licensing, self-hosted, and customer-managed deployments are available for regulated and isolated networks.
What You Can Do
Plan routes with better data, more evidence, and less guesswork.
Segment
Position camps, split the route into days, adjust resupply logistics,* and build a better itinerary.
Inspect
Review route and daily diagnostics, outcomes, and performance metrics.
Compare
See how terrain,* pacing, altitude, food, sleep, and pack weight change the plan.
Save
Save unlimited plans and versions as you refine and compare your options.
Calibrate
Use optional wearable-history calibration when you want to tune the models more deeply.
Inside The Planner
Analyze where your route and itinerary reveal difficulty, fatigue, and risk.
TRIPS brings the map, day structure, and diagnostics into one workspace so you can spot hard sections, rebalance days, and understand the plan faster.
Why Plans Break
Where a promising route can still turn into a bad itinerary.
Totals alone do not reveal overloaded days, weak campsite placement, compounding fatigue, or how load and altitude change the trip. These are the failure modes TRIPS helps you spot before you are in the field.
Bad day splits
A route can look reasonable overall and still hide one day that is too long, too steep, or too backloaded to work.
Hidden fatigue
The steepest section is not always the section that breaks the plan. Fatigue, late effort, and underfueling can matter just as much.
False confidence
Mileage and elevation totals can make a plan look cleaner than it is while fatigue, backloading, and weak campsites stay hidden.
Poor campsite placement
A strong route can still produce a weak itinerary if campsites land too early, too late, or on the wrong side of the hardest terrain.
Shifting load
Pack weight and food carry change across the trip, and those shifts can make later days feel very different from day one.
Altitude effects
A day that looks manageable on paper can feel much harder once altitude, effort, and recovery start stacking up.
How It Works
From route idea to stronger itinerary.
Import the route, break it into days, inspect where it gets hard, and compare alternatives before you commit.
01
Upload your GPX
Load the route you want to evaluate and start from real geometry.
02
Split it into days
Place campsites or split points so the route becomes a real itinerary.
03
Review diagnostics
See where terrain, time, energy, and fatigue pressure concentrate across the route and within each day.
04
Compare versions
Test conservative and aggressive versions before you commit too early.
What Makes TRIPS Different
TRIPS models the itinerary, not just the route line.
It combines route analysis, planning assumptions, and optional user modeling to analyze time, energy, fatigue, risk, and energy balance.
Route analysis
TRIPS starts with GPX route geometry, terrain structure, elevation profile, and route segmentation.
Planner inputs
It combines itinerary structure, sleep, pack weight, food, and effort assumptions into the planning model.
Optional user modeling
Basic mode works without wearable history. Representative activity data is only needed when you want deeper personalization around pacing behavior and performance response.
Simulation outputs
The planner helps you inspect time, energy, fatigue, risk, and energy balance across the trip.
What TRIPS Helps You Decide
Planning questions you can answer before the trip starts.
TRIPS helps you decide where to move camps, how many days the route wants, whether the pace is realistic, and what kind of terrain, load, or altitude pressure the itinerary is creating.
See if the route is broadly realistic
Use route-level diagnostics to understand whether the trip is in the right ballpark before you get attached to the plan.
Find the hardest day fast
Identify the outlier day and understand whether the problem is terrain, time, load, altitude, or accumulated fatigue.
Move campsites with purpose
See how shifting campsites or split points changes the difficulty profile of the whole itinerary.
Plan with real constraints
Pack weight, food, sleep, altitude, and pacing assumptions all shape the trip. TRIPS helps you compare them honestly.
Compare alternate itineraries
Compare route length, campsite layout, and pacing aggressiveness to make more educated decisions.
Start simple, personalize later
Start in Basic mode with honest manual inputs, then switch to Pro mode and optional calibration only if you want deeper personalization later.
What The Planner Shows You
Three views for finding the problem fast.
Start with the whole route, isolate the standout day, then compare revisions once you know what to change.
Route-level diagnostics
Start wide with route snapshots and charts for elevation, grade, speed, energy cost, and accumulated fatigue.
Use this view to answer: Is the trip broadly realistic, and where should I investigate first?
Day-level diagnostics
Zoom in on the standout day and inspect exactly where terrain, time, or fatigue make the itinerary break down.
Use this view to answer: Which day is the problem, and what should I change first?
Comparisons and revisions
Adjust day structure, compare versions, and save stronger drafts once the plan starts to make sense.
Use this view to answer: What should I move, compare, or save before I commit?
Use Cases
Ways people use TRIPS in real planning workflows.
TRIPS is useful for quick first-pass planning, turning a route into an itinerary, pressure-testing a hard plan, or comparing realistic alternatives before you commit.
Rapid initial planning
Start in Basic mode to sketch a route, split it into days, and get a quick reality check before investing in deeper analysis.
Backpacking itineraries
Turn a route idea into a more realistic day-by-day itinerary instead of relying on rough mileage and elevation totals.
Long-distance routes
Compare day structures, campsites, and resupply assumptions before a long route gets locked in too early.
Ambitious efforts
Pressure-test aggressive pacing and hard days before terrain, fatigue, altitude, or load start pushing the plan apart.
Scenario planning
Use Basic mode for quick what-if checks, or Pro mode for deeper comparisons of camps, pacing, sleep, food, and pack assumptions.
Group and guided trips
Build more repeatable itineraries, compare alternate day structures, and spot weak days before the trip starts.
Route comparisons
Compare campsite layouts, assumptions, and pacing strategies without rebuilding the route from scratch every time.
Optional Calibration
Start with the planner. Use calibration only when you want deeper personalization.
Most people should begin in Basic mode or with the core planner using honest manual inputs. If you have enough representative wearable history and want a closer model fit, the calibration workspace is there when you are ready.
Ready To Plan With TRIPS?
Pressure-test your route plan before you arrive at the trailhead.
Import the route, split it into days, find the weak spots, and compare alternatives before the trip begins.
Before You Open TRIPS
Practical answers before you start planning.
Quick answers about calibration, access, device support, and what TRIPS does.
What is TRIPS designed to do?
TRIPS is designed to turn a route into a practical day-by-day plan. It helps you inspect camps, day structure, terrain difficulty, pacing assumptions, and how factors like food, sleep, pack weight, and altitude change the itinerary.
Do I need FIT files to use TRIPS?
No. Most people should start with the planner and honest manual inputs. Calibration is optional, and it is most useful only when you have enough representative historical wearables data (e.g., FIT files) to improve personalization.
Can I start with a simpler version of the planner?
Yes. TRIPS supports both Basic and Pro workflows. Basic mode is designed for faster initial planning, simpler interfaces, and quick scenario checks. Pro mode is there when you want deeper diagnostics, modeling controls, and calibration tools.
Can I save trips?
Yes. TRIPS includes a file manager for cloud storage of all your trip plans and calibration profiles. TRIPS also supports working drafts so you can explore a route before deciding whether to save it.
Does it work on mobile?
No. TRIPS is currently optimized for desktop and laptop use, because the planner depends on maps, day splits, diagnostics, and side-by-side inspection that need more screen space.
Is TRIPS included with my Backpacking Light account?
Access depends on your Backpacking Light Membership level and account status. To access TRIPS for free as part of your membership, you must have an active Unlimited Membership (Lifetime or Annual). Learn more about Membership here. If you are an active Unlimited Member, you can access TRIPS through the link in your Membership Dashboard here.
Can TRIPS guarantee how a trip will go?
No. TRIPS is a planning tool for improving judgment, comparing scenarios, and spotting weak points in a route plan. It does not replace field judgment, weather checks, routefinding, or day-of decision-making.
Where do I get help or send feedback?
Questions, bug reports, and feedback are handled through the Backpacking Light TRIPS forums here. That is also the best place to ask for help if something about GPX upload, trip management, or calibration does not look right.
© Beartooth Media Group Inc.
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