Doc: Trail Atlas Features

The beesayatv Trail Atlas is the online, interactive map for exploring documented hiking routes, field observations, and supporting geographic information across Cebu.

Purpose — Provides a centralized map interface for exploring documented trails, physical surface networks, field observations, and supporting geographic datasets.
Online access — Operates as a web-based interactive map.
Offline counterpart — The beesayatv Trail Atlas App provides offline access to the datasets supported by its local atlas bundle.

1. Interactive Cebu Trail Map

Trail visualization — Displays documented hiking routes across Cebu on an interactive map.
Map basemaps — Supports Map, Satellite, and Topographic views.
Persistent basemap preference — Remembers the selected basemap for future visits.
Focus Mode — Highlights the selected trail while reducing the visual emphasis of unrelated routes.
Route details panel — Displays available trail summary information and provides a direct link to the corresponding Trail Report.
Adaptive route styling — Adjusts route-line appearance to maintain visibility across different basemap styles.
Trail segmentation — Divides selected documented routes into segments to represent difficulty changes and improve map readability.
Direction chevrons — Indicate the documented direction of travel along a selected route.
Start and end markers — Identify the recorded beginning and end of a selected route.
Navigation limitation — Route direction indicators represent documented route geometry and are not turn-by-turn navigation instructions.

2. Trail Search and Selection

Trail search — Locates documented trails through the Atlas search box.
Route selection — Allows users to select a trail for closer inspection.
Visual emphasis — Highlights the selected route while dimming unrelated routes.
Trail information — Presents available route details in the details panel.
Trail Report access — Links users to the corresponding report for additional documentation.

3. Standard Points of Interest

Persistent POIs — Displays standard points of interest, including transport-related locations.
Independent visibility — Keeps these locations visible regardless of which trail is selected.
Geographic context — Provides supporting location information independently of trail-route highlighting.

4. Photo Dots

Purpose — Displays published, georeferenced field photographs as blue dots on the map.
Field documentation — Records places and observations encountered during fieldwork.
Observation types — Can include river crossings, water sources, stores, houses, viewpoints, and other documented features.
Independent visibility — Photo Dots remain available regardless of trail selection or whether Surface Mode is active.
Publication status — Displays photographs selected and published through the field documentation workflow.

5. Photo Dot Previews and Notes

Photo preview — Selecting a Photo Dot opens a compact thumbnail above its geographic location.
Details panel — Displays the accompanying observation note.
Google Maps link — Provides an Open in Google Maps link for the observation location.
Private metadata — Technical capture metadata is not exposed through the public interface.

6. Photo Galleries and Expanded Viewer

Grouped photographs — Allows several photographs of the same subject or location to be associated with one Photo Dot.
Gallery count — Displays the number of photographs associated with a gallery dot.
Gallery navigation — Supports swiping or using arrow controls to browse photographs.
Position counter — Indicates the currently displayed photograph and its position within the gallery.
Expanded viewer — Opens a larger photo view by tapping the thumbnail or its expand icon.
Dark viewing background — Displays the photograph against a dark background filling the available screen area.
Image fitting — Fits portrait and landscape photographs without cropping.
Viewer controls — Supports swipe and arrow navigation, with a close control to return to the map.

7. Delta Tracking

Purpose — Displays published locations with photographic observations recorded across at least two distinct Field Sessions.
Map markers — Represents eligible locations using amber markers.
Independent visibility — Delta Tracking markers remain available regardless of trail selection or Surface Mode.
Historical comparison — Allows visitors to inspect published photographs associated with a location across multiple field visits.

8. Photographic History Across Visits

Chronological display — Selecting a Delta Tracking marker displays the published photographs associated with that location in chronological order.
Multiple observations — Presents photographic evidence documenting a location across separate visits.
Session-based counting — Multiple photographs from the same Field Session count as one capture for eligibility purposes.
Minimum eligibility — A location becomes eligible for display when qualifying photographs from at least two distinct Field Sessions have been published.
Documentation value — Provides a photographic record that can support later comparison of observed site conditions.

9. Delta Tracking Review and Publication

Editorial review — Delta Tracking photographs are reviewed and selected for publication separately from GPS matching.
Location matching — Requires a subsequent capture to be matched to the same location for the location to qualify.
Publication requirement — Qualifying photographs must be published before the location appears on the public map.
Single-capture limitation — Locations with only one qualifying capture remain hidden from the public Delta Tracking layer.
Editorial control — Eligibility does not automatically publish observations or determine what changes have occurred at a location.

10. Habal-Habal Routes

Access route layer — Provides an optional map layer of documented motorcycle-access routes associated with trail areas.
Geographic context — Helps users understand documented access routes leading toward hiking locations.
Independent overlay — Can be displayed alongside other supported map layers.
Documentation limitation — Recorded access routes do not guarantee current road conditions, transport availability, or accessibility.

11. Smart LTE Connectivity

Connectivity layer — Displays field-recorded Smart LTE service observations at their recorded geographic positions.
Field measurements — Represents connectivity observations collected during field visits.
Geographic distribution — Shows where observations were recorded along documented routes and surrounding areas.
Data limitation — Represents recorded field evidence rather than a live cellular coverage service.

12. Surface Mode

Alternate map representation — Replaces documented hiking routes with the approved physical Surface Network.
Physical network focus — Represents the underlying paths and roads rather than displaying overlapping hike tracks from multiple field sessions.
Canonical network — Uses one curated representation of each physical path.
Duplicate reduction — Avoids stacking duplicate GPX tracks from different Field Sessions.
Independent overlays — Smart LTE, habal-habal routes, Drone Surveys, and Photo Dots remain available while Surface Mode is active.

13. Surface Classifications

Trail — Represents reviewed trail segments.
Unpaved Road — Represents reviewed unpaved or rugged road segments.
Paved Road — Represents reviewed paved road segments.
Surface palette — Uses distinct colours to differentiate the approved surface classifications.
Physical representation — Surface classifications describe the documented physical path rather than the difficulty of an individual hike.

14. Surface Evidence and Editorial Review

Source-session provenance — Retains information about the Field Sessions contributing to canonical surface segments.
Observation dates — Preserves the dates associated with surface observations.
Conflicting evidence — Holds conflicting or uncertain observations for editorial review.
No automatic resolution — Does not automatically determine which conflicting surface observation is correct.
Reviewed network — Presents a curated surface representation informed by recorded field evidence and editorial decisions.

15. Drone Surveys

Purpose — Displays published aerial surveys at their representative geographic locations.
Optional layer — Allows Drone Surveys to be enabled or disabled through the map layer controls.
Survey markers — Identifies the geographic locations associated with published drone surveys.
Field documentation — Complements ground-level observations with aerial survey records.
Independent overlay — Remains available while Surface Mode is active.

16. Drone Survey Flight Paths

Flight-path display — Selecting a Drone Survey marker displays its recorded flight path.
Telemetry source — Uses the survey’s confirmed telemetry to represent the flight path.
Toggle behavior — Selecting the same marker again, or clicking elsewhere on the map, hides the displayed path.
Zoom-aware styling — Uses dashed flight-path lines whose weight and spacing adjust according to the current map zoom.
Survey context — Provides a geographic representation of the recorded flight rather than merely marking the survey location.

17. Map Layers and Mobile Controls

Layer management — Provides controls for enabling or disabling supported map layers.
Mobile Layers menu — On smaller screens, the Layers button opens a compact menu.
Available controls — Includes Smart LTE, Habal Routes, Drone Surveys, Photo Dots, Surface Mode, and Legend.
Active-layer count — The Layers button indicates how many layers are active.
Independent overlays — Supported layers can provide additional context without changing the selected trail.

18. Map Legend

Route colours — Explains the colours used to represent documented trail routes.
Surface classifications — Identifies the symbols and colours associated with Trail, Unpaved Road, and Paved Road.
Map markers — Explains the markers used for geographic observations and other mapped features.
Layer interpretation — Helps users understand the symbols and visual conventions used throughout the Atlas.

19. Locate Me

Current location — Uses the device’s location to center the map near the user’s current position.
Permission requirement — Requires location permission from the device or browser.
Map orientation — Provides geographic context relative to the user’s location.
Accuracy limitation — The displayed position depends on the accuracy and availability of the device’s location services.

20. Explorer Mode

Expanded map — Expands the Atlas into a full-view map interface.
Immersive browsing — Provides more map space for exploring routes, observations, and geographic features.
Small-screen usability — Improves the available viewing area, particularly on smaller devices.

Documentation Principle

The beesayatv Trail Atlas is an interactive geographic documentation system that brings together documented hiking routes, physical surface networks, field observations, and supporting spatial datasets.

Documented routes represent recorded trail geometry, not guaranteed navigation instructions.
Photo Dots preserve the geographic context of published field photographs.
Delta Tracking provides a session-based photographic history of qualifying published locations.
Drone Surveys provide an aerial perspective through mapped survey locations and recorded flight paths.
Surface Mode presents a curated representation of physical paths based on reviewed field evidence.
Connectivity observations represent recorded measurements rather than live network conditions.
Public map features remain subject to data quality, field verification, and editorial review.