About 1bar

1bar is run by David Cahill, an individual (sole proprietor) in Lake Stevens, Washington. Contact: david.cahill@gmail.com.

1bar is a web app for hiking and camping where cell service is weak or gone, built for trips in the Pacific Northwest. It is free and has no ads.

What it does

• Browsing at one bar: web pages load in a browser on 1bar’s server, and the phone gets a much smaller copy — the text, pictures sized for the screen, video at low data. A connection that drops picks up where it left off.
• Offline maps, weather and a field guide: topographic maps of an area, the forecast and alerts, and a field guide are downloaded before a trip, so they work with no signal.
• Trip plans and check-ins: where you’re going, the stops along the way and when you’ll be back; check in with one tap, or by text when there’s no data.
• Trip updates and safety alerts: the contacts a traveller chooses hear when they head out, their check-ins and when they’re back safe, with a link to a map of the trip — and are alerted if the traveller isn’t back by their return time or asks for help.

Text messages

Texts go only to people who replied YES to 1bar’s first text: travellers who turned on text reminders, and the contacts they chose. There is no marketing. Reply STOP to any 1bar text to opt out, HELP for help. Details: text alerts.

Accounts

There is no self-serve sign-up: accounts are set up on request. To ask for one, or with any question, email david.cahill@gmail.com.

Not an emergency service

1bar doesn’t replace 911, a satellite messenger or a personal locator beacon: it depends on phones, cell service, email and text delivery, any of which can fail. See the terms.