About
Plain answers for the outdoors.
Getting outside shouldn't require a law degree — or three browser tabs. Whether you're asking “can I legally fish here?”, “can I hike here?”, or “is that smoke coming my way?”, the answer is buried across dozens of government sources most people never see.
“I just want to know what's true right where I'm standing.”
So we built Guidepole — a family of maps that turn public land, water, ownership, regulations, wildfires, smoke and air quality into one plain answer. Each app digs the data out for one way you get outside, and a built-in assistant, Gary, answers plain-language questions and moves the map for you.
The same idea turned out to answer more than fishing. Guidepole Fire takes the same buried government feeds — wildfire perimeters, satellite hot spots, smoke plumes, air quality — and gives anyone downwind of a fire season one plain answer: what's burning, where the smoke's going, and when the air clears. Then Guidepole Hike brought the access idea to the trail: which trails you can legally reach, how hard they are, and whether it's safe to go today. Three apps now, with more on the way.
Every app is built on public, authoritative data — so what you see is grounded in real records, and it grows as we add sources and regions.
What we believe
Public, authoritative data
Everything is grounded in real government records — USGS, BLM, NOAA, EPA, and state agencies — not guesswork or crowd-sourced guesses.
One map, plain language
Whatever you're after — legal water, or where the smoke is headed — it's one map with the answer worked out for you, plus an assistant you can just ask, in plain English.
A family, not one app
The same foundation already powers Guidepole Fish (where you can legally fish), Guidepole Fire (wildfire, smoke & air quality), and Guidepole Hike (trail access & safety), each built for one way to get outside — with more on the way.
The team
A small team obsessed with the outdoors and with getting the data right. Based in Ballard, Washington.
