.htaccess file not working

I am new to the whole .htacess file thing :)

I just set it up with this inside it: RewriteEngine On Rewrite开发者_运维知识库Rule ^/outdoors/trees/([0-9]+) /outdoors/trees/tree.php?tree_id=$1

And I made a test page here: http://www.comehike.com/outdoors/trees/tree.php?tree_id=20

To look like this: http://www.comehike.com/outdoors/trees/numeric_tree_id/tree-name

But I am seeing now changes in my server behavior. Any ideas of what can be the problem?

Thank you!

I guess the preceding slashes should be removed. So try this:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^outdoors/trees/([0-9]+) outdoors/trees/tree.php?tree_id=$1