I was walking near my home in Reno one afternoon, watching the step counter on my wrist, and I had a nagging feeling: steps don’t mean anything. A number doesn’t tell a story. I wanted to feel like I was going somewhere.
The question wouldn’t leave me alone. What if every walk actually moved me down a route I cared about? Not steps. Progress. What if my kids and grandkids, scattered across different states, could walk that route with me, so that all of our ordinary walks added up to one shared journey?
I’m not a programmer. I spent my career building an engineering firm, and I understand people, operations, and strategy far better than code. But at 70, I decided to try anyway, working with AI as my development partner. I stayed in the product role and kept asking one question: does this feel right for the person using it?
We get about a hundred years on this little blue planet. I want to spend as many of them as I can walking, and walking with the people I love.
The result is Trek Together. You pick a start and a finish on a real map. You invite your people. Your walks sync from Apple Health, and everyone’s pin moves down the road. Walking is where it started for me, but runners, hikers, and cyclists use it too. Your son can count his morning runs, your daughter her weekend bike rides, and you can count your evening walk. It all adds up on the same map. Some families race to the finish. Most walk together as one team, cheering each other on along the way.
I built it because I believe two things. First, that walking is the simplest and most powerful thing most of us can do for a long, healthy life. Second, that we do hard things more easily, and more joyfully, when we do them together.
Life is short. Walk as far as you can.
Dave
Founder, Trek Together · Reno, Nevada