OpenStreetMap

Class - Color - Title Description surface smoothness sac_scale trail_visibility Incline (peak rise/run) MTB : YDS : NFS : AWTGS : IMBA  
Class 0 - Grey - Accessible “Experience, Gear, and Risk: No hiking experience required. Suitable for wheelchair users who have someone to assist them. No risk.” “Asphalt, Chipseal, Fine Gravel, Paved, Concrete, paving_stones, Compacted, metal, wood” “Excellent, Good, Intermediate” N/A Excellent < 8% MTB 0 : YDS NA : NFS C5 : AWTGS G1 : IMBA 0  
  Surface and Visibility: Hardened or surfaced and clear.              
  Obstacles: Flat even surface with no steps or steep sections. No obstacles present (<1”).              
  Hands: Hands not required.              
Class 1 - Green - Easy “Experience, Gear, and Risk: Hiking on a well groomed trail. Athletic shoes sufficient. Map not needed. No Risk.” “Sett, unhewn_cobblestone, cobblestone, stepping_stones, unpaved, gravel, pebblestone, grass, grass_paver, sand, woodchips (potentially unpaved, rock, ground, dirt, earth, mud)” bad hiking (T1) Excellent < 40% MTB 1 : YDS Class 1 : NFS Class 4 & 3 : AWTGS G2 :IMBA 1  
  Surface and Visibility: Surface hardened or compacted. Vegetation cleared outside trailway.              
  Obstacles: May have a gentle hill section or sections and occasional steps or small obstacles such as roots and stones (<2”)              
  Hands: Hands not required.              
Class 2 - Blue - Moderate “Experience, Gear, and Risk: Hiking on a trail. Hiking boots recommended. Limited potential for falling.” “unpaved, rock, ground, dirt, earth, mud,” “very_bad, horrible,” mountain_hiking (T2) good <70% MTB 2 : YDS Class 1: NFS Class 2 : AWTGS G3 : IMBA 2  
  Surface and Visibility: Continuous established footpath. Vegetation may encroach trail. Partially steep terrain.              
  Obstacles: Obstacles common (<8”). Steps and flat stairs. Short steep hill sections.              
  Hands: Hands not required.              
Class 3 - Red - Difficult “Experience, Gear, and Risk: Simple scrambling. Average orientation/navigation skills. Sturdy hiking boots recommended. Some potential for falling encountered.” Same as Class 2 very_horrible demanding_mountain_hiking (T3) intermediate <100% MTB 3 & 4 : YDS Class 2: NFS Class 1 : AWTGS G4 : IMBA 3  
  “Surface and Visibility: Usually marked, but trail not always visible, and signage not always visible.”              
  “Obstacles: Obstacles common including large boulders, logs, and large steps (<15”). exposed passages can be protected with cables, Steep grades”              
  Hands: Hands required to maintain balance.              
Class 4 - Black - Very Difficult “Experience & Gear: Specialized hiking skills and gear, including navigation and emergency first aid. Weather exposed portions, rock ledges, fields, and slopes. Potential danger is encountered and fall protection may be recommended.” Same as Class 2 impassable alpine_hiking (T4) bad >100% MTB 5 : YDS Class 2: NFS Class 1 : AWTGS G5 : IMBA 4  
  Surface and Visibility: Tracks are likely to be very rough and unmarked.              
  “Obstacles: Characterized by blocky terrain with counter climbs, scree fields and landslides, high steps and fallen trees and extremely steep grades.”              
  Hands: Hands required to advance.              
Class 5 - Orange - Expert “Experience, Gear, and Risk: Scrambling with increased exposure. A rope could be carried. Good terrain assessment and orientation skills required. Falls could be fatal.” rock impassible demanding_alpine_hiking (T5) Horrible » 100% MTB 6 : YDS Class 3 : NFS N/A : AWTGS N/A : IMBA N/A  
  Surface and Visibility: Occasionally pathless.              
  Obstacles: Basic/easy climbing sections.              
  Hands: Handholds necessary to bear weight.              
Class 6 - White - Climbing “Experience, Gear, and Risk: Basic to advanced climbing.” rock impassible difficult_alpine_hiking (T6)     MTB 6 : YDS Class 4-5 : NFS N/A : IMBA N/A  
  Surface and Visibility:              
  Obstacles:              
  Hands:              

Discussion

Comment from yvecai on 8 August 2022 at 16:34

Maybe you should post this on your wiki user page, because this diary entry cannot be read on mobile.

Comment from Troy Hartwig on 8 August 2022 at 22:32

Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn’t explored creating a wiki user page, but I have put this content there also TroyH User Page

Comment from Carnildo on 14 August 2022 at 22:32

The problem I see is that you’re conflating visibility, difficulty, and maintenance. For example, when I tried hiking the Ragged Ridge trail back in 2016, peak incline was 30% (class 1), the surface was packed dirt (class 1), the trail was visible but had encroaching vegetation (class 2) except for one brief section where the precise routing of the trail was uncertain due to an absence of vegetation (class 3), there were numerous waist-high trees across the trail (class 4), and there was no fall risk (class 1).

So what level of difficulty is this, and does it really drop from class 4 to class 2 once the trail crew gets there?

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