As with the previous suggestion for a wiki, it's probably more work to argue about it than to do it.
While there is lots of useful info all over the Web, I don't think there's a single place that really combines everything that a newbie needs with lots of stuff that a newbie might be looking for.
Note that we have to be clear about what the FAQ is and isn't. We aren't saying "follow these rules and you'll never get charged a rescue fee"; we're saying "here's some things you need to know that you might not have thought about" and "here's some things that worked for us".
To make the proposal a little more concrete, here are some possible chapter headings:
How to Plan
How to Communicate your Plan
When to Change a Plan
Safety and Courtesy when Hiking in a Group
What to Bring
What Not to Bring
Trail Etiquette
First Aid and Rescue
Skills and Resources
navigation skills
where to find maps
peak lists
road closures
weather
----
If I do this myself, I'll have a (search-enginge-friendly
) section of questions that newbies frequently ask but that probably indicate they're too focussed on questions they understand rather than trying to appreciate any unknown unknowns. "What's the best brand of shoe for trail X?" "Is this hiking pole better than that one?" I'll have to find a gentle way to answer ...
Last night I happened to notice inbound links to my dayhike equipment list that I posted years ago, from a Meetup discussion group in a big city. I'd write it differently today, but it's interesting to see what I thought was important back then, and people apparently still find it useful.
