User:AcatnamedRingo

About me
I am a Florida native but transplanted to the lovely PNW due to my love of nature and my desire to enjoy the outdoors year round. My favorite past-time is hiking. Nothing beats the smell of the forest and the serenity I feel while on a trail. I am an animal lover. I have two very sweet and affectionate cats who are more like family than pets. I’ve been a vegan for years and believe I have thrived from the many benefits of a plant based diet. I enjoy craft beer and laughing with friends. A sunny summer afternoon spent at local microbreweries with buddies is my definition of a day well spent.

My Wikipedia interests
So far my Wikipedia use has been limited to a source for education. Wikipedia is usually my first stop while acquiring information on an unfamiliar topic. Until now, I was under the impression programming code was needed to be an editor. I look forward to contributing to topics I am passionate about in the future.

Article Evaluation
Hiking is one of my favorite past times. My love for the outdoors and desire to be near mountains is the main reason I made a cross country move from Florida to Washington. I visited the Rattlesnake Ledge article on Wikipedia, and found three aspects of it worth commenting on: the article has many dead references, the article is missing important information, and view-points are under-represented.

Having relevant and active references is an extremely important component of a wikipedia article. This particular article has multiple non-working references, both the sixth and eighth citations are articles from The Seattle Times but they lead to dead ends. When clicked on, they take you to a page that has either been moved or no longer exists. The seventh and tenth citations are working references but the original content is not an active site, these pages are also from The Seattle Times.

The article only mentions hiking and rock climbing as activities available at the Rattlesnake Ledge Recreational Area. I think boating and swimming are also worth mentioning since they are both major attractions. The recreational area also has mountain biking and horse trails.

The actual hike is very under-represented in this article. Rattlesnake Ledge is one of the more well known hikes in Washington State and the article could definitely provide more information such as difficulty level and elevation gain. It would seem to me, the majority of people visiting this article would be looking for information about the hike. According to the Washington Trails Association, Rattlesnake Ledge is a four mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of 1600 ft and AllTrails rates this hikes difficulty level as moderate.

The wikipedia article gives some useful and interesting information about Rattlesnake Ledge but could use improvement. Updated references, listing all of the recreational  activities the area has to offer and more in depth information on the hike could all add value.