53 Peaks

Problem

Colorado has 53 peaks above 14,000 feet, and climbing them is a rite of passage for hikers in the state. But the logistics are a pain. You need to find people to hike with, coordinate carpools to remote trailheads, and get reliable intel on trail conditions. Most of this happens across scattered Facebook groups, Reddit threads, and word of mouth. There was no single place that combined the social coordination with the trail information hikers actually need.

Approach

I designed and built this from scratch: UX research, wireframes in Adobe XD, visual design, and full implementation. I started by mapping out the core user flows -- finding a hiking partner, organizing a carpool, and browsing trail details -- then prototyped the UI before writing any code.

For the technical architecture, I chose React Native with Expo for cross-platform reach, backed by a Node.js/Express API and MongoDB for flexible data modeling around trails, users, and social connections.

Solution

53 Peaks is a cross-platform mobile app that brings together trail information and social coordination in one place. Hikers can browse detailed trail profiles for every 14er, find partners based on experience level and schedule, organize carpools to trailheads, and share trip reports with photos. Social features like messaging, trail reviews, and achievement badges keep users coming back and contributing to the community.

My Role

Solo designer and developer. I handled the full product lifecycle: user research, UX design and prototyping, visual design, React Native frontend, Node.js backend, database modeling, and API design. This project is where I first proved to myself that one person could own an entire product from concept to working app.