Gone — A Storytelling Platform for Outdoor Adventures
We set out to build a space where any bikepacker, trail runner, or hiker can combine vivid images, personal reflections, and real-time route data—turning outdoor adventures into interactive stories that inspires and fuel the next journey.
Overview
I co-founded Gone to give outdoor enthusiasts—bikepackers, hikers, trail runners—a dedicated space for richer, more immersive storytelling. Unlike standard social feeds or scattered apps, Gone combines photos, written narratives, and GPX routes into a single shareable format. It’s a passion project that morphed into a full-fledged platform where people can record, inspire, and connect over their outdoor adventures.
The Challenge
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Fragmented Memories
- Most of us document trips across multiple tools: photos app, GPX files from mapping apps, and loosely typed notes.
- Important details get lost or buried in multiple chat threads and social posts. We needed a single source where stories could be preserved in a cohesive, visually appealing way.
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Limited Social Platforms
- We felt that mainstream social media platforms don’t handle maps or GPX data in a user-friendly manner. Mapping social media like Strava or Komoot focus on the activity itself, not the story behind it.
- We wanted to offer an experience that spotlighted the journey rather than athletic achievements or stats alone.
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Bridging Inspiration & Resource
- Outdoor stories can spark ideas and confidence for others to try the same routes. However, a static blog post or a forum thread often lacks the interactive components (like map overlays).
- We wanted to build something that empowers the community to both document their adventures and provide actionable data to help others replicate or customize those routes.
My Role
As co-founder, product designer, and front-end developer for Gone, I wore multiple hats to ensure the platform’s success:
- Experience Design & Brand Identity: Defined the user flows for creating and reading stories, and established the visual language for the brand.
- User Journeys & Feedback: Drove ongoing feedback cycles with early adopters, ensuring we built genuinely useful features.
- Front-End Implementation: Developed the Next.js app with Tailwind CSS, and React Aria for accessible components.
Approach
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User-Centered Discovery. We talked to fellow bikepackers, hikers, and trail runners, gathering pain points and showing them early prototypes to get feedback.
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Seamless Story Creation. We built a wizard interface allowing users to dump routes, photos, and minimal information to create an interactive story.
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Map-Driven Design. Maps are at the core of Gone's reading experience. We hero the route previews and elevation profiles, and let readers explore the story at their own pace.
The Solution
Gone is now a powerful storytelling platform where adventurers can easily combine text, photos, and GPX data into dynamic, shareable stories. Everything comes together in one place, making it effortless to capture memories, inspire others, and share useful route info for future trips.
We’re setting a new bar for how photos, words, and routes come together in a seamless adventure narrative. Readers can now discover epic journeys from around the world, sparking curiosity and cross-cultural exploration.
Impact & Learnings
- Our users find it refreshing to have one tool dedicated to preserving and sharing detailed outdoor experiences.
- Rich media and polished interactive maps motivate people to attempt new adventures.
- Continual feedback from the community drives new features—like Saving Routes, Browse view, and more we're amped to launch soon.
For me, Gone is a great example of how niche platforms can thrive. By honing in on the real needs of a specific community—in this case, outdoor adventurers—we created something impactful. One key takeaway: deep integration of GPX data, map overlays, and photo galleries enhances storytelling with a level of fidelity that mainstream platforms lack.
If you’re curious to see Gone in action or want to chat about how we’re growing it, reach out! I’m always up for conversations about design, community building, and the outdoors.
Credits – Sam McEwan, Jack Harris