Methodology
Analyzing the Trails
Due to the small spatial extent of some of the trails (ie, The Watchman), I zoomed into them to show their definition more clearly. At the regular scale which shows the full extent of the park, it is extremely difficult to see The Watchman trail, as it appears to overlap with a small portion of the Pacific Crest Alternate Trail. However, when zoomed in, it is easy to see not only the curves of the trail, but its distance from the Pacific Crest Alternate Trail. I zoomed in to differing degrees for each trail; I wanted to display the fullest extent with the greatest detail possible, while still displaying some background data, such as the lake or a road. For example, the scale for the Cleetwood Cove map is 1:500, while the scale for the Wizard Island map is 1:1000.
There is very limited qualitative information on the actual trails describing the terrain, topography, scenery, etc. It's not because I was too lazy to write anything in great detail, rather, with the exception of the two trails that I've personally hiked (Wizard Island and Cleetwood Cove), I simply could not find that information. For example, a sample qualitative description of the Mt Scott trail from the USGS (2001) reads "Excellent view of the lake, and a panoramic view of the east side of the park and the Klamath Basin." That is hardly a very useful description. Digging a little deeper, I was able to find out what that panoramic view included. At any rate, there are some sources of pictures on the internet that show various views from the trails. That is fine, because for the purposes of selecting and describing a trail with a good view, a picture is preferable over a few lines of text. After all, as the old cliché goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words" - especially to a non-English major like myself!