Using a trail description page

home


Ramblefeet trail description pages are composed of several different sections. A description of each section follows.

At the top, there is the name of the trail, along with a photo and descriptive paragraph that are intended to give a sense of the hike. When a trail does not have a formal name, I will try to come up with one on my own simply to have something to refer to.

Next is the Approach section. In this section, there will be a set of directions to get to the trailhead from a nearby town. These directions are often only one of several possibilities - they will get you there, but there may be better ways, especially if you are coming from a different starting point. There is also a set of GPS coordinates that can be entered into a navigation system - if you click on the coordinates, you will be taken to a map that will show you the location. Finally, there is a link to a QR code that can be read with your phone, which will then allow your phone to help you navigate to the trail head.

The Parking / Trailhead amenities section will let you know of any peculiarities about the parking area as well as let you know what sort of things might be available near there. I'll try to make note of water fountains and faucets, supply stores or vending machines, and of course, whether there are restroom facilities.

Trail observations are things that I think are worth noting about the trail - things worth stopping to see or do, challenges that may occur along the trail, and other things to be aware of. Please note that I'm not going to try to cover all possible issues. Many challenges are situational - flooding or bugs or icy patches that need crossing. Being prepared for likely problems is always a necessity.

Currently there are only two items in the Trail statistics section. Trail length, and The sum of all the uphill climbs. I include the latter item to give you some sense of how much climbing you can anticipate - of course, on a loop trail you will also need to descend an equivalent amount, a figure I am equally wary of as my knees have seen a lot of miles. For a more detailed breakdown of ascents and descents, especially with regards to steepness, please refer to the Altitude chart section.

The Trail waypoints section is a step-by-step description of significant places along the hike. It is meant to be used in conjunction with the Trail Map directly below.

The Trail map is meant to both guide you along the trail and reassure you with pictures that you are where you are supposed to be. I will try to detail all of the junctions along a trail, but I've found that there are frequently volunteer trails that appear only at specific times of year. You can get printable map in a larger format by clicking on the trail map. If you would like the same map in a scalable PDF format, go to the Links section and click on Printable trail map in PDF format. There are more extensive instructions for the printable map here - these instructions pertain to the trail map on the trail description page as well.

The Altitude chart attempts to show you what sorts of ascents and descents you can expect along the trail. You need to pay close attention to the scale on the left - the chart tends to make flat trails look like a roller coaster. Use the Trail statistics section to find out the total ascent along the trail.

Below the altitude chart is the Photo gallery. Click on any photo to see a larger version of it. Once you are looking at the larger version, you will have the option of easily viewing larger versions of all the photos.

The Keywords section is mostly an experiment. At some point I hope to have the ability to search on the keywords. Who knows, maybe Google already has that ability!

Finally, at the end is the Resources section. Here you will find links to the trail map in PNG and PDF formats, waypoint lists in CSV and KML format, and links to documentation on different RambleFeet topics.