[Tagging] Subject: Feature Proposal - RFC - highway=social_path

John Willis johnw at mac.com
Tue Jun 14 22:04:38 UTC 2016





Javbw
> On Jun 14, 2016, at 12:29 PM, Mark Wagner <mark+osm at carnildo.com> wrote:
> 
> "trail=main" might work as a concept for smaller parks with a few
> high-attraction features and a well-designed trail system, but for
> larger parks, especially where the trail network evolved rather than
> being designed, it doesn't.

Ones I can think of off the top of my head. 

Cottonwood to army pass/ new army Pass. 
http://photographyontherun.com/wp/cottonwood-army-pass-loop/

The cottonwood Lakes area of the Sierras consists of 5 major lakes and many other ones. All have paths around them (not pictured), all connected with a web of trails. 
But the red route pictured was the only through route to get over the crest to the west side of the mountain for many many years, and later the more popular blue route was added. People take either as the route to climb Mt Langley or as a way to completely cross the Sierras to the west side. There are relatively few passes, and route over is important. New Army Pass is the highest I have been at 13,385 ft. 

Cowles mountain - main hiking route from the trailhead to the top, where it meets the fire road. By far the most popular and busiest route. 
http://www.sandiegohikers.com/Hiking-Trails/Cowles-Mountain.html

Fortuna
http://m.sandiegoreader.com/photos/1998/nov/05/936/

Wouldn't it be nice to know which of these is a track, a major loop trail, and a little side trail?  

John Muir Trail
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir_Trail
My Father ran it in 12 days. It is a major trail connecting several areas of the sierras. Completely destroyed a pair of running shoes by day 9. Met a hundred different hikers on the route; bought sandals from one of them. Super famous backbone trail. 

Mt Myogi. 
http://www.japan-guide.com/community/scarreddragon/report-1589 (close up map). 
A mix of a main scenic trail for all hikers (blue), optional short piste routes for some fun (chain icons, pictured in articles) , and branching climbing/scrambling routes (green) that go up a knife's edge where if you slip, you fall 100m to your death - helmets and climbing ropes are "required". (Red lines in the first map). 

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park (south end) 
http://m.sandiegoreader.com/photos/2007/may/03/492/

Harvey Moore / Dyer Spring / east side / west Side - they form the major ways to traverse the park in the south beyond the fire roads. There are many other side trails - but as the map shows, having all the trails be the same strength of rendering makes it difficult to see the major trails. Note fire roads are properly rendered as tracks, and the asphalt little roads in the camps are service roads. 

Pacific crest trail. Goes from Mexico to Canada. Yes, this is more of a route than a particular trail, but where it is a trail it is a really famous trail. 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Crest_Trail

I think trails are trails - and then there are more popular, famous, important, and physically larger/smoother/better maintained routes that are major trails. 
Some of this is subjective. And not all parks and preserves will have major trails - but complex ones sure will - either the main loop for casual hikers and bus-loads of tourists to use, or a major route connecting two places. 

Javbw. 




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