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Trekkit TV Season 2 – Episode 4 is out!

Part I –St. Stephen’s Catholic Church

This Trekk has a little different format then usual as we visited St. Stephen’s Catholic Church which is currently celebrating its 175th year as a parish.

We tell the story of the past and present of the church and get a look at a few artifacts that were lost for 100+ years.

The story also touches on the cotton mill that was the main economic force in the area which employed over 1000 people in its day.

The episode features music, used by permission, from John McDermott. I hope you enjoy it as must as I had filming it.

Watch Now!

Part II – Fire Safety

We head into the woods with the Trekkit team and a few Trekkit junior adventurers and learn various ways to make a fire in the woods, including using water proof matches, “flint and steel”, and a camera lens.

We also learn safety tips along the way.

Watch Now!

For more Trekkit TV episodes please visit Trekkit TV.

The Journey Begins

Releasing software is an exciting and stressful event! This version of Trekkit comes after many years of flirting with iOS, Android and various customer groups. This time we focused the current version on what we love, Windows Phones, Digital Cameras, and travel. So we wrapped up those concepts into the app we call Trekkit Traveller.

Trekkit Traveller focuses on three things:

Works offline, builds to capture your adventures while you are offline. Offline because of your location in a remote place or offline because it is vacation time!

Compliments your digital camera. The Nokia Lumia 1020 is an awesome camera but still pales to a Full Frame DSLR. If you like a big camera around your neck while on your trips, Trekkit Traveller is built to Geo Tag locations so you can upload your picture to a map easily.

The Trekkit Journal lets you capture pictures, videos, audio notes and geo tagged locations. When you get back to connectivity, you upload your private journal to Trekkit.com and make Trekks to tell and share your story.

BONUS (three becomes four things). Trails. When off the beaten path and you want to record a trail of "breadcrumbs" of where you went, Trekkit provides a trail feature.

Main Trekkit Concepts:

Private Journal. You create your journal by adding entries captured with Trekkit Traveller or entries you upload to Trekkit.com.

Public Trekks. You pick entries from your journal to make public into a collection called a Trekk. For example, make a Trekk called “The UK”, upload your pictures, audio and videos for your friends and family to see. Click here to see Ryan's Trekk of the UK.

Stories. Trekkit is working on a feature that turns the pictures and videos from your Trekk and complies them into a slideshow. One click and you can share a presentation of your trip (share trips with Grandma mode). The feature is very early and based on Silverlight, we will be porting it into JavaScript/HTML5 soon.

The Beta

We are looking at a February launch but before this can happen we are looking for 100 hard core beta testers to try this out. Engaging beta testers will receive a lifetime Pro membership once we launch as a small thank you.

If you have a Windows Phone 8 and would like to become a beta tester, please send an email to [email protected] for a beta invite. If accepted you will get weekly updates of fixes and such.

Current Status of the software:

Trekkit Traveller : Beta 1 – we think it is close to ready.

Trekkit.com: Beta and still under construction, works but has some rough edges.

Trekkit Story Teller: Alpha, proof of concept stage.

Thanks in advance to everyone and looking forward starting this testing adventure with you.

Please send all feedback (the good the bad and the ugly) to http://feedback.trekk.it .

Safe and Happy Trekks.

Trekkit TV Video on Demand

For those of you that have Bell Aliant Fibre Op you can watch the released episodes of Trekkit TV On Demand! Just follow the directions below:

For everyone else you can find all of Season One and the latest of Season Two on the Internet VOD Page.

Happy Viewing!

The Smartphone Challenge

When climbing Mount Katahdin this year, I setup a challenge for my fellow climbers. The challenge was to capture the best footage for the Trekkit TV show using a Nokia Lumia 800 (I had three to loan out). The winner would win a gift certificate to their partner’s favorite restaurant. There is a first and second place prize.

I have picked my winners, but before I declare them I want to know what you think as I might have to change my mind!

Take a look at the raw clips below and leave a comment in the comments section on which clip you think is the best content for the show. Also take a look at last year’s climb, Tale of Two Mountains.

The video clips in the running are:

Not in the running but well worth a watch is an independent film titled, “Nesting Nokias” by Ian Wilson.

#Mount Katahdin #trekkit #trekkittv

Filming Katahdin: The Challenge

Trekkit TV ventured to Mount Katahdin, Maine for our second annual climb. This year one of the challenges was to film the climb without bringing professional grade video cameras or a video equipped DSLR, I found climbing with so much gear just too heavy.

Last year I lugged a Canon 60D and filmed the first part of Tale of Two Mountains on Katahdin. Bringing the camera, microphones, various lens, and tripod was too much to carry for this “out of shape” computer programmer.

So this year I decided to make the trek lighter by using a hand held camcorder, Go Pro Hero 3, and my Nokia Lumia 920 smartphone.

To add to the challenge, I had an extra Nokia Lumia 800 and a couple of 800s on loan from the Fredericton Developer User Group, which they got from our local Nokia Ambassador. I gave these phones to our team and ran a little contest to see who could get the best video clip from the hike with their phone. The prize was a $100 gift certificate to their partner’s favorite restaurant. Those video clips and the winner will be subject in another blog.

The video from all the various cameras will be part of the Trekkit TV Katahdin episode airing on Bell Aliant Community One this fall. The episode will also be available on the Internet on Trekkit TV soon after its airing.

Below are three teasers videos:

Teaser One: Hike summary using the Nokia Lumia 920

Teaser Two: Hike using the camcorder

Teaser Three: Mount Katahdin Knife's Edge using the Go Pro Hero 3

Please note: These videos have not been color corrected or sound adjusted, just clipped raw footage for now. I cannot wait to make the full 29 minute episode with soundtrack, narration and lots of tweaks.

I am excited about going on more strenuous hikes and taking lighter video equipment.

Do not get me wrong, a video capable DSLR shoots awesome video which you can’t get on any smartphone but many times you just cannot carry one with you. Now that I have seen videos produced on my small camera trio, it will be easier to explore new places and travel light.

Going to be interesting when I get a hold of a Nokia Lumia 1020 and use the newer camera/video software.

It is not always about the technical quality of the video, but the content and the story it tells. Grab a camera, go an adventure and tell us about it.

Safe and happy treks,

Ryan

Making Google Maps and Google Glass

I had a great opportunity to go on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan (translated: went to Google IO representing Zaptap) and while there I had a chance to check out the Google Maps stuff. They had the hardware they use to map the streets, snow, oceans, valleys and mountain tops.

Also had a chance to geek out with the new Google Glass, which I think could change the way we take pictures and video while on trips; very soon.

Safe and Happy Trekks,

Ryan

Pivots, Transformations and Togetherness

The transformation has begun! A few years ago we started a journey to find out what type of app travellers wanted.

We have listened!

We are proud to announce that we are preparing to launch a whole new suite of products called “Trekkit Together”. Click here to download the Trekkit Together PDF

We will be launching the mobile app for Windows Phone, Apple iPhone and Android the last week of June. For those with a digital camera, we will be also launching a companion app for tablets.

Oh Yeah! One more thing, Trekkit is moving to Trekkit.com!

For full details checkout "Trekkit Transformation" details

#trekkit #transformation #pivot #together

Be the Next Trekkit TV Star!

Now that Season One of Trekkit TV is over, we are now in the planning stages for Season Two, and we would like you to be the star!

Do you have an upcoming trip, tour, or interesting destination? If you send us an 8 minute 20 second clip we can use in the show, we will pay you $500. Could be a great summer project for students!

The audience coverage is Atlantic Canada for the local Community One TV station, but will also be posted online for the world to see. If you just want a way to help pay for your trip, or take the opportunity to expose your tours or destinations to Atlantic Canada and the Trekkit audience, this is your chance.

For more information please visit the Film Makers Wanted page.

Also for a recap of Season One please visit http://www.trekkit.com/tv

Save and Happy trekks,

Ryan Groom and the Trekkit Team

Trekkit for Windows Phone Released

Trekkit Journal, the first of the new Trekkit Platform, is now available for Windows Phone 7.5 and 8.

Please check out our Windows Phone Store listing.

Here are a few screenshots.

Now off to work on the Windows 8 Store app, then maybe iOS and Android.

Trekkit Journal is for recording your life’s special moments with a smartphone and create a private digital journal, and when you are ready, publish your journal items into a story to be shared.

Thanks for reading, we are just getting started!

Trekkit, Scotland, and Grade 3

I had a fun opportunity to go into a Grade 3 class at Priestman Elementary School and chat about my trek to Scotland and show them the “Family Heritage Trekk to Scotland” episode which aired on Bell Aliant Community One this Fall. Two other classes where invited so in total --- just under 60 students! The kids were fantastic! Very attentive and interactive.

Bribed them with cookies from Scotland (which I got locally but they WERE from Scotland) if they listened, which they did.

The next day to my surprise one of the classes (class 3A) sent home a pile of thank you cards detailing what they had learned. I was touched, really glad they enjoyed it.

The session kicked off a module in their social studies that gets the students to start to explore their heritage, I was glad to be a part of the kick off.

For the Scotland episodes and all the Trekkit TV episodes you can visit Trekkit.TV

~Ryan

Welcome to Trekkit.com

Fall of 2012 we secured the Trekkit.com domain, this was very exciting for us. For the next year we will have two sites running.

Trekk.it - Will support the current iOS and Android app. This site will evolve to be a toolkit for tour operators.

Trekkit.com - Will be focused on the new suite of tools for mobile and tablets. We will start with Windows Phone and Windows 8 (early Spring) then releasing iOS and Android (late Spring).

A Different Vision for Social Media Sharing

The focus of the new tools is to let you capture life's moments, creating a private digital journal. We help you capture them quick and share later so you can enjoy the moment and the people you are with instead of your attention focused on technology. When the time is right you can publish stories made up of entries from your journal. The feature set is designed for travelers and photographers optimized for offline use. We are also working to be a compliment to your digital camera.

We are making tools that don't just give another way to publish to Facebook and Twitter, but let you capture (location, photo, video, audio) interesting happenings, then when the time is right, tell your story.

Trekkit TV Launched

Trekkit is excited to have 13 episodes on Bell Aliant Community One for the 2012-2013 season. For those that don’t have Bell Aliant TV FibreOp, you can watch the episodes a few weeks later on Trekkit TV.

2012 Schedule

Tale of Two Mountains (Oct 8th) A group of office workers climb Mt Katahdin and Mt Carlton. Guests Dr. Rodney McAffee who gives us guidance on the formation of the mountains, Ian Wilson guides us up and Paul Archer gives us a few survival tips along the way. It’s a light hearted adventure. Watch Now!

Waterfalls of New Brunswick (Oct 22nd) Trekkit explores 7 New Brunswick waterfalls, some as high as 100 ft. Guests include Dr. McAffee, Nicholas Guitard (author of Waterfalls of New Brunswick) and many others. Watch Now!

Settler’s Path Part I (Nov 5th ) & Part II (Nov 19th) Trekkit visits Saint Croix Island and gets a lesson in the early settlers then heads off to Port Royal and Fort Anne to follow in the footsteps of Samuel de Champlain. Official Parks Canada participation was in both episodes. Coming Soon

Family Heritage Trekk to Scotland (Dec 3rd) Starting at the gravesite of their 8 times great grandfather, John Matheson who arrived in Canada in the early 1800’s, two brothers return to Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland to retrace their family roots. Coming Soon

A Run Around the UK ( Dec 17th) The Trekkit team visits Stonehenge, Edinburgh, Isle of Skye and many fabulous places in the UK. Coming Soon

Come join us on our treks and we hope is inspires you to go on a trek of your own!

Please visit Trekkit TV

Grand Manan Trekk

The Trekkit Team travelled to Grand Manan to film an episode for Trekkit TV. We set out to watch some whales but the wind was too great for the boat to go out. That did not dampen our adventuring spirit and we enjoyed what the island had to offer. There are great hiking trails, majestic scenery, and marvellous sunsets.

You take the ferry from Black's Harbour for 1.5 hours, the ride gets you relaxed and ready to enjoy the island.

If you are ever in New Brunswick I highly recommend visiting.

To view the Trekk of Grand Manan you can click here.

#trekkit #trekkittv #grand manan #swallow tail #ferry

Trekkit TV Trailer

Hi Everyone,

We have spent many hours this spring and summer filming for the Trekkit TV show which will air on Bell Aliant Community One and on the web at Trekkit.TV this Fall.

Thanks to all our friends, family and special guests that have helped so far, you all have been fantastic.

Here is a 30 second trailer of the upcoming show. Thanks for watching.

#trekkit #trekkittv #trailer #bell aliant #community one

Fall Brook Falls

With the ongoing saga to get footage for the Trekkit TV show we headed to Fall Brook Falls, New Brunswick, Canada.

The falls was worth the trek, it was majestic; pictures and videos do not do it justice. If you are in New Brunswick I highly recommend it.

Fall Brook Falls are reputed to be the highest in New Brunswick. With a 30 meter drop at a slope of 90%. To learn more visit New Brunswick Water Falls.

I reaffirmed AGAIN I am not a mountain goat. We climbed from the base of the falls to the top. Steep going up but that was not the drama. Once you reached the top you had to climb down to get to where the water was falling.

I HAD to get video of the water going over the edge. So we climbed, that was a "shaky" ok, climbing back Rodney did some great coaching to say the least.

Someday I will learn I should not try to be a mountain goat, but that might take a few climbs yet. Thanks Rodney.

#trekkit #fall brook falls #new brunswick

Trekkit Mobile for Android Beta

This has been a long time coming! We decided to change the iOS Trekkit which then delayed getting out the Android edition.

For those travellers that are a bit techno/Android savvy please give our beta a whirl. We will be polishing it over the next few weeks plus updating the UI a bit before release.

Download Trekkit Mobile Android beta here.

Please send any feedback to http://feedback.trekk.it/

Thanks in advance!

#trekkit #android #beta

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