Last weekend I made an activation of Trayfoot Mtn (W4V/HB-021). The autumnal colors in the Virginia Appalachians were great and easily justified the longer hiking route I took. My activation report, with photos, is here.
I’ve also been searching for a way to standardize how I rate the difficulty of hikes in my posts. I’ve decided to go with a National Park Service formula, which I explain in the post. I’m not entirely sold on it; so I’d be interested to hear about what other ways of rating trails people use as they prepare for activations. 73, David/N3II
Hello David I always rate my hikes by how far it is from my parked vehicle to the summit, how long it takes to do the hike and how much bush bash to get there. As you know the pressure is on trying to keep to the Alert Time so the chasers are not waiting too long. By setting my eTrex 30 trip meter going when I leave the parking spot it shows time moving and time stopped to catch ones breath etc. The summits I go to have differing ways to get there like fire roads, walking trails, no trail, goat or sheep tracks to follow. Having been to my list of summits several times now it’s easier to work out departure times from home or accommodation places and how long it takes to travel out to and hike to the summit.
Enjoyed your blog.
regards
Ian vk5cz …