Under the hood

Trail Directory Rebuild #

We've rebuilt the trail directory and map to be faster, easier, better than before.

🚀 Speed, speed, speed

• Map loading has gone from painfully slow to blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fast (<1 second).
• Filters are now instant, both in the map and list views.
• Filtered results are shareable and stick when switching views or returning from a trail page.

🗺️ A Map That Doesn’t Suck

• No more clustering — see all trails and peaks at once.
• Just move the map to the area you’re interested in — no more weird region filters.
• Click on a trail/peak on the map? You can now right-click to open in a new tab.

🔎 Smarter Searching

• Use “Search map for a location” to instantly jump the map to any place/address.
• Fuzzy search helps with typos (e.g. "mauoa" still shows "Mauao").

🎛️ Filters That Don’t Fight Back

• Common-use filters (like length, peak height, experience) are now easy to find.
• Filters now reliably carry over between views.
• Your filter settings, map position, and zoom are remembered when you click back from a trail detail page.

✅ Personal Progress Tracking

• VIP? You’ll now see a progress indicator showing how many trails or peaks you’ve ticked off in your search results.
• Works for trails and peaks, on both map and list views.

✨ Little Extras That Make a Big Difference

• Trail/peak counters in your search results.
• Smoother experience on mobile and small screens.
• Improved sorting — e.g. by “closest to me” or a location.

📱 Wild Things as an App

You can now install Wild Things to your phone or tablet so it behaves like a native app — fast, quick to access, and always up to date.

• On Android (and most devices): You’ll see a prompt to “Install app.”
• On iOS (Safari): Tap Share > Add to Home Screen.

Missed the prompt? You can still install it:

• Mobile: Menu (green button) > Support > Install App
• Desktop/Tablet: Account > Install App (below Dashboard button)

We’re stoked about this update — and we think you will be too.
Head over to the Trail Directory and check it out:

👉 Wild Things Trail Directory

Happy exploring,
— The Wild Things Team

🐛 Strava Connection bug fix #

We fixed an issue that caused some Strava connections to fail

We accidentally introduced a bug 🐛 that sometimes caused the Strava connection to your Wild Things dashboard to fail. We've found it and squashed it.

If you tried to connect your account with Strava in the last few weeks, it’s worth checking your Integrations page. If you still see the orange Connect with Strava button, you were affected—please click it to try again.

Login & Sign Up with Google #

Quickly join or log in using your Google account

Logging in just got easier — and even more secure — with the option to use your Google account.

You can now log in or sign up to Wild Things using your Google account — no need to remember another password. Using Google’s sign-in system also means your login benefits from their strong security protections, like two-factor authentication and suspicious activity alerts.

Here’s how:

1. On the Login or Sign Up page, click the new Sign in with Google (or Sign up with Google) button.
2. Choose your Google account (or log into Google if you’re not already).
3. That’s it — you’re in!

If you’re an existing member, you can also connect your account to log in with Google — just head to your Account page in the dashboard here.

Whether you’re a new member or returning for another adventure, getting into your account is now faster and simpler.

For more details, check out this help article.

Email Verification for New Signups #

Quick email check for new members, so everyone knows they’re among good company.

We've added a quick email verification step for new members.

This helps keep Wild Things free from bots and fake accounts — making sure everyone on the platform is a real person, just like you.

It’s a simple, one-time step that helps protect your experience and keeps the community trustworthy and secure.

Already a member? You're all set — no action needed.

Smoother Behind the Scenes #

Small updates to keep things running nicely

We’ve made a few quiet improvements behind the scenes to help the site run faster and more efficiently. These aren’t changes you’ll necessarily notice, but they reduce background load and help everything tick along more smoothly.

Search Efficiency #

Improved efficiency of searches

Searching the trail directory and shop is now significantly faster — results appear almost instantly, even when browsing thousands of items.

We've made big improvements behind the scenes to speed things up, so you can find what you're looking for without the wait.

Smoother Add-to-Basket Experience #

Improved the reliability and responsiveness of the "Add to Basket" button when selecting items.

The "Add to Basket" button now responds much quicker and more reliably when only a single inventory option is available.

Strava and Garmin Together #

Smarter handling of duplicate activities from connected accounts

If you've connected both Garmin and Strava, we might receive the same activity from each platform. We've added logic to detect and avoid duplicates — so your activity (and points) only count once, no matter where it comes from.

Trail Legends #

Prevent flip-flopping when multiple VIPs have the same count

We noticed that when multiple VIP members had the same number of completed runs on a given trail, the Trail Legends feature could sometimes flip-flop between them — awarding the title to one person one day, and another the next.

Not ideal. So we’ve fixed it.

Garmin Courses #

Send trail routes directly to your Garmin watch

If you’ve got a Garmin Connect account (which you probably do if you use a Garmin running watch), you can now send trails from our directory straight to your watch as courses — ready to follow on the trails.

Here’s how:

1. Go to your chosen trail page in the directory.
2. Scroll down to the Garmin Course section (just above the Trailhead Photo).
3. Tap the orange Send to Garmin button.

That’s it! No need to download a GPX file or manually upload anything—it’s all seamless.

For more details, check out this help article.