Submit a Site/Add URL

Since you are reading this, you are probably a webmaster or in some way affiliated with a website dedicated to hiking. If so, we invite you to submit your website for inclusion in slackpacker.com.

There is no charge for adding a HIKING TRAIL link on slackpacker.com, and there is no requirement for a reciprocal link. The only requirements are that the site must be pertinent to a hiking trails or trails, provide useful information and be suitable for viewing by hikers of all ages. If you've written a narrative about your experience on a trail, that's perfect! If you have a site about your favorite places to hike, tell us! Does not matter how unprofessional it is. In fact, helpful insights are a lot more important than any whiz-bang snazzy website.

DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR SITE IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING APPLIES:

1. It's a storefront to sell camping gear, with very limited helpful content.
2. It's about a motel or condo or campground close to a popular hiking area, with no real info about hiking.
3. Your site covers a totally unrelated topic and you're just looking to build links.
4. Your site requires registration to obtain information.
5. Your site requires a subscription to obtain information.
6. Your site is only quasi-related, such as hunting, fishing, skiing, etc. While we enjoy and promote all of those pasttimes, this is a hiking site.

Let's beat this horse one more time...

Bad: if the primary focus of your site is to sell stuff, we'll probably kick it back.

Good: If the primary focus of your site is to preserve the memories of an enjoyable hike you made with family, please send your URL to link(at)slackpacker(dot)com.

In case you missed it, and a lot of people do, here it is one more time: Send your URL to link(at)slackpacker(dot)com. That's how you submit your site.

Why do we do this?

The purpose of slackpacker.com is to provide convenient access to sites with trail maps, descriptions, narratives, journals, etc. It is not feasible to create or even house all of this information on one site, but it is our goal to build a comprehensive database linking to an unlimited number of sites that actively maintain this information. We hope that your site is one of these.

Slackpacker.com is designed to be a site that feeds web users to your site; it is not intended to "compete" with your hiking-oriented site. While we do provide some content, the purpose of this site is to have users click-through to your site, click back, and click-through to more sites like yours.

Many sites, such as GORP, provide excellent content for the slackpacker -- but are by no means complete. By the same token, private individuals have created thousands of very specific narratives on hard-to-find trails, posted these pages on free web servers -- only to be ignored by search engines. The purpose of slackpacker.com is to provide a way to find these pages, and make research easier for the hiker.

Add Your Link

The Slackpacker.com will add a link to any pertinent hiking site, as long as the content provides something of value. In other words, if you simply have a vague paragraph alongside a bunch of books for sale, we don't want to add your site. If you have a specific page about a specific hiking trail, that's the URL we want to link to. We will add a link to general sites, but you are less likely to get click-throughs. Again, that's link(at)slackpacker(dot)com.

Reciprocal Links...A Win-Win

Again, you are not required to add a reciprocal link on your site to the slackpacker. But your site will benefit in the long run, because many search engines will rank your site higher if you have reciprocal links with sites of similar content. Last but not least, because slackpacker.com is maintained by volunteers, any link you provide makes our efforts more worthwhile.

Linking Your Page to the Slackpacker

Please Note These procedures and the graphic file below are authorized only for linking to the Slackpacker website. Webmasters linking to http://www.slackpacker.com need not seek additional permissions to use this graphic.

Procedure:

1. Right-click the image on the right (to get pop-up menu) and choose "Save Picture As..." to download and save the graphic to your hard drive.
   

2. Insert the following HTML code in your page replacing the GRAPHICS_DIRECTORY with the location of your web graphics files.

   		<A HREF="http://www.slackpacker.com">
   		<IMG SRC="GRAPHICS_DIRECTORY/slackpackerbuttonlink.gif" 
   		WIDTH=90 HEIGHT=35 BORDER=0 
   		ALT="The Slackpacker Website"></A>
   		

3. Test it. When you click on the graphic on your page you should get the same result as clicking on the graphic below.

   

4. If you prefer a wider button format, or simply want a different look, right click the button below, and "save as." You can use the same cut & paste text above; simply change the filename to slackpackerlogolink.jpg, the width to 150 and the height to 32.

If you have any problems contact link(at)slackpacker(dot)com.

The Fine Print

If your site requires an individual to "register" prior to getting any information, your link will be eliminated. If your site requires an individual to pay for information, your link will be eliminated. Commercial sites are fine -- as long as some useful content is provided. Link farms are acceptable as long as they focus on a specific region or locale. Vague, meaningless sites with scads of commissioned banners will not receive links. Sites with x-rated or inflammatory content will not be linked.

We want to link to your hike reports, trail narratives, etc. If you have worthwhile links for the other pages (intro to Slackpacking, Geology links, etc.) then by all means tell us. If you've taken the pains to create a web page, you probably want people to view it...a free link on slackpacker.com will certainly help. Thank you for your participation.

FAQs

Q: Who runs this site?

A: Rick Bolger, former publisher of the Traveler's Edge newsletter, one time magazine publisher, advertising executive.

Q: Is the slackpacker a commercial site?

A: Yes; that is why you see the long column on the left of each page. We've assemble a core of key links that the average hiking enthusiast will find convenient and helpful. Also, you may notice a few links to books and specialized hiking gear. We add these only when we have direct experience and wish to recommend the item. We earn a small commission on some, but not all, of those links. To date, those commissions have covered absolutely none of our expenses.

Q: Alright then, why the big banner ads at the top and bottom of each page?

A: These enable us to operate the site at virtually no cost, so we live with them. These are available to sponsor, if you're interested.

Q: So you don't make money on this...why do it?

A: The founders of this site are avid hikers, and other than GORP and a few other sites, felt it was a hassle to try and locate specific trail information for a given region or community. The site concept came from the old portal concept...if you remember the early days of the web, people would publish their "favorites" links on theme pages. The current search domination by Yahoo!, Google, Overture, etc. has made these types of pages harder and harder to find. Now the slackpacking web user has a true resource in the original spirit of the internet.

Q: Do you collect e-mail addresses and send spam?

A: No. We don't save e-mail addresses. We don't sell them. We don't want your e-mail address.

Q: What about pop-up ads?

A: None on this site, ever. If you get any, they come from the sites you hyperlink to, and we can't help that.

Q: Why do you have obscure popular song trivia on a hiking website?

A: Why not?

Q: Who is the greatest living legend in popular song today?

A: Ah! Good question, glad you asked. Since the passing of Perry Como, that title has been owned by Andy Williams. If you were thinking Tony Bennett, sorry, he can't carry a tune in a steamer trunk.

Q: Do you have any other websites?

A: Yes. One is a winterized version of this site, called SkierNet.com and the other is SplitLevel.net which is a resource for owners of splitlevel and bi-level homes.

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