Hike

One trail, one brief: topo map with the actual route drawn on it, trailhead coordinates, mile-by-mile of how the scenery changes, and closures checked against the land manager rather than a blog.

Hard rules

1. Never draw a route you did not resolve. trail_geometry.py returns traced: false when it cannot find real geometry. That is a fine outcome. The map then shows the OSM trail network with the trailhead pinned and says so in the legend. A confident wrong line on a topo map gets somebody lost.
2. Never state a coordinate you have not seen in a source this turn. Two independent agreeing sources or don't publish the decimal. Address plus "I didn't get a verified pin" beats a plausible-looking wrong one.
3. Check the land manager for closures before recommending. AllTrails comments lag by years. The Conservancy / DCNR / sanctuary page is the truth. Tucquan Glen's parking has been shut indefinitely while every listicle still sends people there.
4. Lead with how the scenery changes. Alex and Sam have a running joke about biome changes and he actively dislikes trails that look the same the whole way (he named the Enola Low Grade). A trail that shifts from creek bottom to ridge to overlook is the product. Say where each shift happens.
5. Always give coordinates and a route link. Standing request as of 2026-08-02. Decimal degrees, five places, plus a mapping link.

Pipeline

1. research      web_search + the land manager's own page
2. geometry      scripts/trail_geometry.py   -> route.geojson
3. map           scripts/render_map.py       -> map.png
4. brief         scripts/build_brief.py      -> index.html
5. deliver       instant-share, or send_attachment for the PNG alone

1. Research

Get these before writing anything. Distance and gain from a route source (AllTrails, HikingProject, Gaia), then the land manager page for status:

• Lancaster Conservancy lancasterconservancy.org/preserves/<slug>/
• PA state parks pa.gov -> DCNR -> find-a-park -> <park> -> hiking
• Hawk Mountain hawkmountain.org (private, charges a trail fee)
• National Park Service nps.gov/<code>

Note the parking situation explicitly. It is the thing that ruins a drive.

2. Geometry

python3 scripts/trail_geometry.py \
    --name "Conestoga Trail" --lat 39.84066 --lon -76.31640 \
    --radius-km 6 --out route.geojson

Prints a JSON summary. traced: true means a path was resolved.

--name should be the blazed route name, not the local loop name. Waymarked Trails indexes OSM route relations, so "Conestoga Trail" resolves and returns the whole 63 mile system; --radius-km then clips it to the part near your trailhead. For a park loop with no route relation ("Boone Trail"), it falls through to Overpass, which is slow and 504s often. If both miss, continue with traced: false and be honest in the caption.

3. Map

python3 scripts/render_map.py \
    --lat 39.84066 --lon -76.31640 --label "Kellys Run and the Pinnacle" \
    --route route.geojson --out map.png

OpenTopoMap basemap plus the Waymarked Trails hiking overlay, screenshotted with headless Chrome at 2x. No keys, no cost. Output is about 3200x2200 and several megabytes; downscale before sending over iMessage:

python3 -c "from PIL import Image; im=Image.open('map.png'); \
  im.convert('RGB').resize((im.width//2, im.height//2)).save('map_send.jpg', quality=88)"

4. Brief

Write a spec JSON (shape documented at the top of build_brief.py), then:

python3 scripts/build_brief.py --spec hike.json --map map.png --out $ARTIFACT/index.html

The map is base64-inlined on purpose. instant-share's server gates every request on ?key=, so a sibling <img src="map.png"> would 403 and ship a brief with a hole in it.

5. Deliver

For a full brief use the instant-share skill: create_artifact.sh, write index.html, share.sh, and wait for "Verified working" before sending a URL. For a quick answer, send_attachment the downscaled map and put the coordinates in the message text.

What goes in the brief

The template has fixed sections. Fill all of them or drop them from the spec.

• At a glance - distance, shape (loop / out and back / point to point), climb, honest time, terrain, drive time from home, fee if any.
• The map - the render. Caption says traced or not traced, and from where.
• What changes along the way - the point of the whole thing. Numbered legs in walking order, each naming the transition: field to gorge, gorge to ridge, ridge to overlook. Name real features, not "beautiful scenery".
• Getting there - trailhead decimal coordinates, street address, route link, parking capacity, restrooms, second-car needs.
• Warnings - closures, fees, water crossings, whether feet get wet.
• Sources - every one dated, with what was read.

Notes that have already cost time

• Alex cannot shuttle two cars by default. Offer a single-car version of any point-to-point (usually an out and back to the good part) or he can't do it.
• He does 10 mile days. "Long" means 8+ for him, not 4.
• Overpass mirrors were all 504 or dead on 2026-08-02. Waymarked Trails answered in under a second for the same data. Try tier 1 first, always.
• Waymarked Trails serves EPSG:3857 metres, not lat/lon. The converter is in trail_geometry.py; don't hand-roll it again.
• No emojis anywhere in the output. Alex's standing rule on UI.