[pct-l] Organizing the PCT information sources

[matt at mattmaxon.com (matt@mattmaxon.com)]

Another issue with trail updates is verification. I feel any information that 
would go into such a database should be verified. 

I have gone on many wild goose chases looking for something that was not 
anywhere near the described location, & not like it was described, hauling 
heavy equipment and wasting other peoples time, effort, & money. Though it may 
make sense to the person who reported it and when explained it makes sense. 
Alot of these things are subject to interpretation.

This is where the GPS, Digital camera, & notebook come in. 

1. GPS accurately documents the location
2. The camera visually documents the location, trouble, or condition
3. the notebook provides context for the other 2

This process is time consuming I estimate every waypoint recorded takes an 
average of 30sec to 1min to properly document.

Trail90
Quoting AsABat <AsABat@4Jeffrey.Net>:

> Maintenance of the list is the biggest obstacle. There are two solutions to
> maintenance: time or money.
> 
> Volunteers could be used, but not much has come of previous attempts. For
> example, Chance set up a wiki to identify trail angel activity and trail
> conditions. I don't think even a half dozen people ever posted to it (I
> think it was just Chance and me).
> 
> Instead, money could be used to pay people to do this. There's probably two
> approaches here. One is to use an existing funding system, such as PCTA dues
> and donations, although I'd rather see that keep going to trail
> preservation. The other is a subscription-based website or journal. I'd
> doubt there'd be many takers.
> 
> The PCTA does a fair job of listing trail conditions, at least sorting them
> by sections. The downside is it's a rather fixed process, with the reporter
> using their web form and an editor just accepting the posts without
> collating them in geographical order with other posts in the section. At
> least it's something.
> 
> I'm not saying don't go for it, I'm just saying "good luck."
> 
> BTW, I too enjoyed Section O, but I hiked it in May 2000 when there was
> still lots of snow and no logging trucks.
> 
> AsABat
> 
> 
> 
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