by Roy Chambers (score: 3), 3263 days ago
You are absolutely right. The most important piece of information is the starting point for a hike and a map to follow on the hike.
Whenever I post I hike I make sure that I have included the correct map information for the start of a hike. Unfortunately for a list of hikes I can't put the map information for every hike list. So I try and include links to the more detailed hike descriptions in Weekend Notes so you can find that information.
I also also include links to the National Parks website where they usually have PDF maps as well up-to-date information about the hike.
I would prefer people to get the maps from there. Usually their descriptions are pretty basic but they will tell you if the trail has been closed or not and sometimes that also include updated maps.