Build or update docs/guidelines/ by condensing external gear-planning sources (Skurka, Clelland, personal notes) into trip-type-layered markdown files. Use when the user mentions building or updating gear planning guidelines, condensing gear-planning source material, or editing docs/guidelines/.
This skill condenses external gear-planning expertise into a layered markdown directory at docs/guidelines/. It is the authoring tool for a deep module whose interface is markdown on disk. The /gear-plan skill (sibling) reads what this skill writes.
data/hiking-gear.db. This skill has no business with the database./api/.... Don't start the dev server.npm run dev, npm run build, or ./deploy/deploy.sh. This skill produces docs, not deploys.reference/template/3-season.csv to confirm the category taxonomy.docs/guidelines/** before edits.docs/guidelines/**.docs/guidelines/
README.md — cross-cutting principles (base-weight targets, systems thinking)
<category>.md — one file per 3-season template category (baseline)
desert/ — overrides; only files that actually differ from baseline
README.md — desert-specific cross-cutting principles
<category>.md — only present where desert genuinely overrides baseline
alpine/ — overrides; only files that actually differ from baseline
README.md — alpine-specific cross-cutting principles
<category>.md — only present where alpine genuinely overrides baseline
Baseline covers 3-season general. Override subdirs contain only the files that genuinely differ — a missing override file means "baseline applies as-is."
Derived from reference/template/3-season.csv. The skill produces one markdown file per category under baseline:
worn.md — GO SUIT CLOTHING + ITEMS WORN (hiking shirt, pants/shorts, headwear, sunglasses, trekking poles, etc.)footwear.md — FOOTWEAR (shoes, socks, gaiters, camp footwear)element-protection.md — CLOTHING: ELEMENT PROTECTION (shell top/bottom, mid-layer, rain, wind, insulated headwear)stop-and-sleep.md — CLOTHING: STOP & SLEEP (insulated jacket/pants, sleeping tops/bottoms)pack.md — PACKING (pack, waterproofing, food storage, stuff sacks)shelter.md — SHELTER (rainfly/tarp, nest, ground cloth, stakes, guylines)sleep.md — SLEEP (bag/quilt, pad, pillow)kitchen.md — KITCHEN (stove, pot, fuel, utensil, ignition)hydration.md — HYDRATION (bottles, treatment)navigation.md — NAVIGATION (maps, compass, GPS, watch)tools-first-aid.md — TOOLS, FIRST AID, EMERGENCY, & UTILITY (light, knife, FAK, foot care, sat comm, firestarter, traction, axe)personal.md — PERSONAL ITEMS (dental, poop kit, hygiene, skin care, wallet)canyoneering.md — CANYONEERING (rappel device, carabiners, harness, helmet, wetsuit) — activity-specific; only write if user actually needs itConfirm this list against reference/template/3-season.csv at the start of every session — the template may have changed.
Walk these steps in order. Do not skip ahead.
Ask exactly once, up front:
docs/guidelines/, or a tweak to specific files?"If the user says "tweak," jump to step 5. Otherwise continue.
Read reference/template/3-season.csv and enumerate the category headers (the all-caps rows that aren't item rows). Show the user the baseline filename list derived from those headers. Ask: "Does this category list match what you want covered? Anything to add or drop?"
Do not start writing until the user confirms.
For the first category the user picks (or the next one in template order):
docs/guidelines/<category>.md. Use headers for sub-topics (e.g. under shelter.md: "Shelter type", "Site selection", "Stakes and guylines"). Keep it tight — a reader should be able to skim it in under two minutes.As you're extracting principles, ask yourself (and sometimes the user): "Does this apply to all 3-season trips, or only desert/alpine?"
docs/guidelines/<category>.md).docs/guidelines/desert/<category>.md.docs/guidelines/alpine/<category>.md.Heuristic: if you're copy-pasting paragraphs across files, stop. The principle is probably baseline. Move it up and delete the duplicates.
If a category has no override-worthy content for desert or alpine, do not create empty override files. Skip them. Missing means "baseline applies."
Category-unique content (e.g. a water.md under desert/ that doesn't exist in baseline) is fine — add it as a new file under the override subdir.
When the user invokes the skill with "update shelter guidelines based on this new note" or similar:
docs/guidelines/<category>.md (or the override version). Don't overwrite blind.If the new source contradicts existing content, flag the contradiction to the user and let them decide which wins. Don't silently overwrite.
docs/guidelines/.