Classifying Our Hikes

On our blog we have attempted to classify our hikes into different categories: Fun Easy Hikes, Peaks, Water Features, Kid Friendly Hikes and Urban Hikes. There are obviously some that slip through the cracks, for that reason, the best tool to find a hike on our blog that is close to you, is to use our Google map which can be found here and is found on the side of our blog.

Fun Short Hikes: In classifying a hike as easy we look for hikes with little elevation gain. We also make sure that the hike is short (2-3 miles) or has the option to be as short as you want to make it while still being able to enjoy a wilderness setting. Fun Easy hikes are good for those who do not have much time to get away, they are good for families with children, and for those who want a more leisurely hike.

Notable Peaks: This classification is pretty straightforward. The whole purpose of these hikes is to make it to the top of the peak. There is no classification in height that we have for our peak bagging. Our only requirement is a peak with a view!

Urban Hikes: These are hikes that are surrounded by suburbia. These hikes are in semi wilderness areas and thus your chance of viewing wildlife is less than in our other hikes. If you are looking for a true wilderness setting hikes classified as an Urban Hike are not for you.

Local Water Features: These hikes include some type of NOTABLE water feature in them. Some examples of water features are Waterfalls, Natural Lakes and Marshes. The water feature is highlighted in the parenthesis next to the link.

Kid Friendly Hikes: We will leave it up to parents to determine which trails they are willing to take their kids on. We have seen parents with kids out on many hikes and ultimately it is their job to determine the distance and type of hike that their kids are ready for. Taking that and safety in mind, we are only going to recommend a few hikes for this category, even though we have seen families with kids out on other trails listed in our fun short hikes section.

On Each Individual Hike Write-Up you should find the following Categories:

Directions to Trailhead: You should be able to find how to get to the trailhead via our directions and Google map that is found on each hike.

Description of Hike: In this section we place information about the hiking location, such as size, trail length. We try and include any helpful links that pertain to the hike.

Further Thoughts: This space is our area to write up what we saw and what Ashley and I's experience was while we were out on the trail.

Rating: We rate the difficulty of each of our entries, so that you can have an idea of what to expect when you go out on the trail.

Time to Complete Hike: This section gives a time range that it will take most hikers to complete the hike.

More Trail Write-Ups: Some hikes we have done multiple times. We will include the links to our other write-ups of the same hike if we have done that hike multiple times.

NOTE: We attempt to provide our best description of trail conditions and what to expect when you hike on a given trail. As always, our write-ups reflect the view of what the trail conditions were at the time we hiked it. Make sure to always be prepared for any hike that you undertake in a wilderness or urban wilderness setting, by bringing enough water, food, having proper clothing, gear, shoes, a map, as well as telling someone where you are going and when to expect you back.

Comments