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Elvis Shuffl'n
Joined: 09 Jun 2004 Posts: 1804 | TRs | Pics Location: del Boca Vista |
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Elvis
Shuffl'n
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Tue Nov 16, 2004 6:29 pm
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I love reading the threads in the nwhikers forums but frequently find that when I read a trail report I often have no clue where the trail or destination is located.
Of course, this could be taken care of when people post their reports by providing trailhead directions or some kind of 'big picture' direction of the area. (Yes - I realize some don't want to disclose their final destinations and I certainly respect that - I'm not suggesting that practice be stopped by any means).
Sure I can search the web for other links to dig up more info or I can PM people if I really want more info... but I'm curious if there is an easier, more effective solution.
I would find it very useful if this site had just a simple method of visually depicting where a trail is within the state. Maybe an Avatar-sized picture of the state(s) with an 'X' or thumbtack in the general location of the trail.
Or... maybe a group of 'Emoticons' representing different parts of the state (or states): Olympics, Puget Sound, Mt Baker, Mt Hood, etc... etc... etc...
Mostly, when I find an interesting trip report or excellent pictures, I'm always wondering if that destination is sixty miles away, or six hours away.
I'm not up to speed on web-page building skills so I have no idea if this sort of is easily set up - or there may be better methods to communicate such info.
Just my $.02.
Elvis
"Ill habits gather unseen degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas." ~John Dryden
My Trip List
"Ill habits gather unseen degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas." ~John Dryden
My Trip List
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Dayhike Mike Bad MFKer
Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Posts: 10955 | TRs | Pics Location: Going to Tukwila |
I like your idea for graphical elements to depict region, but I think that typically the responsibility really lies with the person posting the trip report.
Typically when people post TRs and I don't recognize the placenames, I'll look them up using Topo! (if I'm at home) or Topozone.com (if I'm at work). Still, that method doesn't work when there are several (hundred) places with the same name. Which Fish, Coney, Toketie, Snow, Trout, Green, Horseshoe Lake do you want to talk about? There are a couple.
(Horseshoe's a particularly deadly combination, for example, visiting "Horseshoe Lake up the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River" isn't good enough. Yep -- there are two of them up there, and they're situated across the valley from one another.)
In any case, I agree that I'd like to see more information agbout destinations and peoples routes. For example, in Godlygirl's "Lake of the Angels - Almost" TR, I still don't know where the Lake of the Angels is. I know it's near Stone Mountain, but it's not labelled on the map. And if I could figure out their approach, I might be able to figure out which lake they were heading toward or which trail (if it's mapped) they were on. But no...no indication of which roads were taken, which river drainage was used for the approach, no elevation of the lake, no other description. And so I still have no idea of where she was and where she was going. I'd have liked to know more -- it makes the story interesting as it allows people to follow along with you, the TR's protagonist.
I'd like more detail in general. Randy's suggested sorting TRs into different forums depending upon the region of the trip and to allow for more specific searches. You've got some good suggestions, and no, you're not alone.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
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jimmymac Zip Lock Bagger
Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 3704 | TRs | Pics Location: Lake Wittenmyer, WA |
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jimmymac
Zip Lock Bagger
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Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:16 pm
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Elvis wrote: | I often have no clue where the trail or destination is located. Of course, this could be taken care of when people post their reports by providing trailhead directions or some kind of 'big picture' direction of the area. Just my $.02. |
I'm guilty. Thanks for raising the issue. Folks that might benefit the most from a TR are the ones who may have never been to the general area. You know, this topic provides a good excuse to give Mike Collins a big for his great TR trailhead directions. Exemplary.
"Profound serenity is the product of unfaltering Trust and heightened vulnerability."
"Profound serenity is the product of unfaltering Trust and heightened vulnerability."
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Tom Admin
Joined: 15 Dec 2001 Posts: 17857 | TRs | Pics
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Tom
Admin
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Tue Nov 16, 2004 10:58 pm
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Used to be a requirement to post specifics in trip report titles (date, location, trail #, etc). Too many people didn't read directions (similar to those who post attachments without clicking on the bold red link just above where you post attachments that says please read the attachment guidelines before posting) and we had TR titles like "girls gone wild". In the end I gave up.
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Malachai Constant Member
Joined: 13 Jan 2002 Posts: 16097 | TRs | Pics Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
I also seem to remember that you were not supposed toto reply to TR and just send a PM if you had question, of course I could be wrong.
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Dayhike Mike Bad MFKer
Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Posts: 10955 | TRs | Pics Location: Going to Tukwila |
Tom wrote: | ...and we had TR titles like "girls gone wild". In the end I gave up. |
Et tu Brute?
Yeah, yeah, yeah...it's coming...it's coming.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke
"Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
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Tom Admin
Joined: 15 Dec 2001 Posts: 17857 | TRs | Pics
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Tom
Admin
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Wed Nov 17, 2004 9:43 am
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Malachai Constant wrote: | I also seem to remember that you were not supposed toto reply to TR and just send a PM if you had question, of course I could be wrong. |
Nope, appropriate titling was the only thing (to ehance search functionality).
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