by Frank R. Leslie

6/15/98

Many of the Sierra Club volunteers have access to the World Wide Web (WWW). Aside from those with home access, others may reach the net through libraries, schools, or at work. Since websites offer a choice of what you select to read, they differ from email, where you must read it all to be certain you saw all the items of interest. A website may present information that you look at only occasionally, a status page of high importance, and possibly lists. The organization of a website thus can be tailored to those who will look at it.

Website files are "hosted" on a distant computer (server) where you "upload" your webpages. The site address that you provide allows a user to read the files without your intervention. A sequence of "page-size" pages include underlined jump-point words (hypertext) that will take you to a different page. This choice is what makes a website "interactive".

Websites are often provided by Internet Service Providers (ISP), but are also available from Geocities, Anchor, and others. I like Geocities because they have free sites and a very good website editor. Your site is password protected (your choice) so only you can change it. There is truly a virtual community here, with lots of help in generating good webpages.

I originally had created a general website on Sierra Club service trips and solar energy in remote areas. As it developed, I shifted the focus from solar energy to service trips. When I started leading trips, I realized that this web approach was a way to extend communications beyond the usual "welcome" and "last instructions" snail mail letters. Since the details are not particularly interesting to hikers in general, I used a hyperlinked icon as link to the trip member page. It's also easy to pass this info to potential trip members, relatives, and others.

I include a welcome to the trip section with updated information. There is a list of members' cities and states with their initials and status. Do not use their names on the website. (I use a separate email list to advise that the website has been updated and which section sometimes including the substance of the change in the email. I also distribute their names and addresses, etc., to them so that they can contact each other.)

Since members vary from first-timers to the very experienced, I include pages on field working safety, trail maintenance in general, lightning safety, bridge construction, etc. I also provide a generalized idea of what will happen when during the trip. Some of these are accessible from the main front page as they are of general interest.

The most important section is a last-item-first status list. As I learn more about the trail location, camp, and work project from the ranger district, I update the list to keep the members up to date. I try to update this status about once a week as required.

There are a lot of lists that may be modified occasionally. An equipment list is a good example. A list may be printed and used as a check-off sheet while you are packing. Other frequently used lists are "Frequently Asked Questions", known as "FAQs". Many trip members want the same question answered, and this is the place to put the Q&As for all.

Aside from the FAQs, there are other lists of links that I accumulate that assist trip members in finding lodging and transportation. You can also use a search engine like "Metacrawler" to find others.

I've included some Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for some lists. There is a GPS (Global Positioning System) benchmark list for the Bears Ears Trail, WY. This spreadsheet provides estimates of distance, directions, and times for the hike in. It extends the usual trail guide by providing topo map UTM coordinates of the trail, turning points, and features. Enter these benchmarks into a GPS receiver route map, and the direction to the next "waypoint", and your receiver will display the direction and distance to each waypoint in turn.

Maps provide immediate orientation to a geographical subject. Various map services exist, and allow you to construct the map on their website. When you are satisfied with the size, centering, and content, the map generator code will be emailed to you to include (paste) into your website at the proper place. This means that when the basic map is improved by the mapping service, your readers will see the latest version. Use a large scale map for local details, but also provide a small scale map to orient them to the whole area.

Avoid the use of copyrighted material without permission. Follow the same rules as with book or magazines. Give photo credits. Even if not marked or registered, documents are inherently copyrighted by the generator or author. State at the end of your site in what instances others may reproduce the page or information.

A trip website allows ready publication of information to most trip members. In certain instances, the information may be mailed to those who don't have access, but this is better deferred to the pretrip letter. The costs of postage limit the weight and number of mailings, but a website permits posting "the information buffet" for the reader to choose. I've found this approach to be useful in keeping the trip members up to date, and also in marketing the trip to others.

Here are a few starting books:

Engst, Adam C.. Internet Starter Kit. Hayden Books, Inc., Indianapolis, 640 pp., 1993 (with disk). My first plunge into the Internet. [Macintosh]

Fox, David and Troy Browning. HTML Web Publisher's Construction Kit. Waite Group Press, Corte Madera CA, 693 pp., 1995 (with disk). [Mac & PC, Unix]

http://www.oocities.org/Yosemite/1270 for my trip website. About halfway down the front page, click on the green hiker icon next to the words "Guide Lists" to jump to the my trip members' somewhat hidden page.

http://www.oocities.org for an excellent hosting site

http://www.metacrawler.com for a good search engine

http://www.proximus.com for map generator

Modified by Frank R. Leslie, Webmaster, on 6/15/98 @ 2057