Revision as of 18:15, 18 January 2018

To begin a new trailhead page:

• Log in to the Field Guide with your user name and password.
• Find a trailhead that you can use as a template. Criteria should include: a trailhead in the same general area; also something that was created in the past four or five years (See the History link to look at the work history).
• Click on the Edit link at the top of the page.
• Copy the entire html content from the dialog box.
• Go back to your hike page, and click on the live link you've created for the trailhead.
• Paste the html content from your template trailhead into the blank dialog box and begin working! Save frequently or you might lose content.

The Trailhead page may have several components and sections:

• Categories
• Trailhead Statistics
• Hike Ring
• Driving Directions
• Alternatives to Driving (usually in urban areas)
• Notes or Fees and regulations section (if needed)
• Contributors
• Images

Categories

Trailhead categories are useful because a user can click on them to find hikes and points of interest in the same area, e.g. Indian Heaven Wilderness. Other categories, e.g. 'Picnic Area' or 'Pass Required' indicate a feature or fee at the trailhead.

• Trailhead categories include the regions and subregions/jurisdictional districts the trailhead is in. Make sure the categories you use fit the style already being applied in the Field Guide, e.g. 'Forest Road Access' not 'Gravel Road Access.'
• Special Trailhead categories include:
  • Paved Access (paved road all the way or almost all the way)
  • Forest Road Access (gravel or dirt for a significant section of the drive)
  • Pass Required (Fee required to park at the trailhead)
  • Picnic Area (at the trailhead)
  • Campsites (at the trailhead)
  • Public Transit (bus stop at or near the trailhead)

The categories are listed at the top of your html dialog box. In Page view mode, they are at the bottom of the page. See the Reehers Camp Trailhead as an example.

Trailhead Statistics

The trailhead statistics appear in the top left of a trailhead page.

• Latitude coordinate up to four or five decimal points.
• Longitude coordinate up to four or five decimal points.
• Maps This feature gives two links: the first is a map marked with all Oregon Hikers Field Guide waypoints; the second shows the individual waypoint you have marked with the coordinates above. The Maps feature does not show up in your html window.
• Elevation The elevation of the trailhead in feet. Most current trailhead elevations are linked, but they should not be. You can correct this (See Notes below).
• Driving time This is often configured to show "Driving time from Portland." If your trailhead is in another area of Oregon, this needs to be reconfigured (See Notes below).

Notes

• Coordinates should be retrieved through a GPS device. Alternatively, they can be gotten from an online map like Caltopo or Google Maps.
• Elevation should not be linked even if it is in your template. Reconfigure like this in html: * Elevation: 2246 feet
• Driving time should be reconfigured if you are giving the time from a city other than Portland. Reconfigure like this in html: * Driving time: 25 minutes from Newport

Example: See the Trailhead Statistics for the Sumpter Dredge Trailhead.

Hike Ring

A complete hike ring links to the hike in question but also relates to the trail log. Since the trail log is optional, and most hikes in the Field Guide do not use trail logs, you do not need to complete a hike ring, just link to the hike using double brackets.

For an example of complete hike rings (Again, this is optional), look at the Bonneville Trailhead in View source or Edit modes.

Driving Directions

• Give a line by line account of directions to the trailhead from a specified source, e.g. a numbered freeway exit or a central intersection in a town or city.
• For better readability, write double spaced rather than a single paragraph.
• Each line should be indicative of a turn or intersection in the drive.
• For remote hikes, use your own odometer and take notes while driving.
• For hikes closer to a city, you can use Google Maps for accurate directions.
• Include brief details about road conditions or junction particulars where useful.
• You can give two sets of directions in some instances.

Example: See the Driving Directions section for the North Fork John Day Trailhead.

Alternatives to Driving

This feature gives information on regular public transit that stops at or comes close to the trailhead. This mostly applies to urban hikes. There is usually a link to a specific timetable.

• You will need to note if the bus line is weekdays only (This applies to some commuter routes)
• Give walking directions from the bus stop to the trailhead (You can usually see this on Google Maps or on a transit agency's route map, e.g. TriMet or C-TRAN.

Example: See the Alternatives to Driving section for the Croisan Scenic Trailhead.

Notes/Fees and Regulations

This section gives additional information pertaining to the trailhead itself. It may include:

Related Discussions/ Q & A

Users were able to link specific questions and discussions relating to a hike or trail here. When creating a new hike page, this is where you can link to these kinds of discussions on the Oregon Hikers forums.

Example: See the Related Discussions/ Q & A section of the Burnt Lake Hike.

Guidebooks

List all guidebooks you know about which feature the hike. Guidebooks do not have to be current and can be out of print. The title and author(s) are all you need to have, but make sure the information is accurate. The title should be in italics (in html, two apostrophes on either side of the title).

Example: See the list of Guidebooks for the Hurricane Hill Hike.

More Links

Compile a list of outside links that you think may be useful to the user. You can link to these kinds of pages/sites:

• Official agency sites, e.g. the Forest Service page for a particular trail or the official State Parks page.
• Hiking organization pages for the hike, e.g. the Washington Trails Association page for the hike
• Personal accounts of the hike online, e.g. on a personal blog.
• Pages that offer more detail on a particular feature of the hike, e.g. a summit, a waterfall, a lookout tower, a historic building.
• Sites that give more background or history of the area.
• Online news articles relating to the hike or its features.

Example: See the More Links list for the Ona Beach to Seal Rock Hike.

Contributors

If you have completed a new page, list yourself as the creator. If you have added significantly to an existing page, you can list yourself under the creator's name.

Example: See the Contributors for the Hamilton Mountain Loop Hike.

As an editor, you can create a profile page for yourself; for example, see CFM's profile page.

Images

The last items you will probably add to your hike page are the images: photos and a map.

Photos

• The page will probably include three to six photos, to fit the length of the page. Photos will form the right border of the page.
• Save photos as .jpg or .png
• Upload photos in a relatively small size, e.g. 40 - 100 KB.
• The first photo, if a horizontal rectangle, will be 400 px in length; if a vertical rectangle, it will be 260 px in width.
• All other photos will be 250 px and 160 px respectively.
• Photos need to be uploaded with a file name.
• The caption needs to be clear.
• The photographer needs to be credited; use parentheses and italics (two apostrophes before and after the name).
• You can use someone else's photos if they give permission and you give them credit (PM forum users and ask nicely for their pictures).
• Do NOT use a picture without the photographer's permission.

Example: See the pictures for the Table Mountain from Bonneville Hike.

Map

• The map can be downloaded from a GPS device, but it has to be smaller than 2 MB in size. You can compress using online freeware like TinyPNG.

Example: See the map for the Wilson River Traverse Hike.

• You can create your own maps if you like using online freeware like Caltopo or Google Maps; if tracing trails and labeling, try using Paintbrush (Mac only). Again, your map has to be smaller than 2 MB to upload to the Field Guide. Give credit to the source of your map. Note if it is a drawn map rather than a GPS track.

Example: See the map for the Newton Road to Newberry Road Hike.

 Editing the Field Guide  |   Creating a Trailhead page  |   Creating a Destination page  |   Creating a Junction page