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The Wanna Bs
02-12-2016, 02:37
Has anyone really had difficulties keeping a real time journal? I am not sure I understand the danger. Are there AT hiker stalkers out there? With so many colleagues and family member wanting to know where I am and how it is going, how do you do it?

BrianLe
02-12-2016, 09:19
I've kept my journals in real-time, with no issues. OTOH, I'm a male in my 50's, hardly the profile of someone who is typically stalked.

Water Rat
02-12-2016, 09:40
Given that you are hiking as a couple (and will most likely include that in your journal), it does decrease the odds of having a stalker. However, it is always good to be safe and is never a good idea to reveal "too much" to a bunch of internet strangers (like, where you live and the fact you are not at home, etc). Only you can decide what information you are comfortable in sharing.

I can think of a few women who do hike solo, and do keep a real-time journal. It might be a good idea to see what issues they have had.

Wired: http://www.walkingwithwired.com/p/home-page.html (single female who is a member of the triple-crown club and has hiked many other trails)
Rockin (her blog is Lady on a Rock): http://ladyonarock.com/
BonBon (thru hiker from last season): http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=480238
Red Panda (thru hiker from last season): http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=18576

As I said, those are just a few of the solo thru hikers who journal in real-time. There are many, many more out there... But, these hikers are in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. I figured that would give you a variety of answers.

Good luck and happy trails!

Cotton Terry
02-13-2016, 10:48
There are many real time journals on trail journals.com. I've never heard of an issue as a result. I have read of guys chasing down "love interests" through the shelter journals.


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Puddlefish
02-13-2016, 11:06
I would expect that like anyone who promotes a fan base, you'll occasionally get an overzealous fan. A lot will come down to your individual comfort level when you run into strangers, who you know nothing about, feel that they know you and want to interact.

Slo-go'en
02-13-2016, 11:31
I was at a hostel where a girl wrote on her Trail Journals that day she just arrived and one of her "followers" paid to have several pizzas delivered there in her name. A little creepy maybe but we all had free pizza :)

Some will delay their entries by a couple of days so it's a little harder for someone to figure out exactly where they are, but if someone *really* wants to find you, they can anticipate where you might be and wait. Although the likely hood of that happening is really remote. It's not like your some kind of rock star.

Offshore
02-13-2016, 11:39
Has anyone really had difficulties keeping a real time journal? I am not sure I understand the danger. Are there AT hiker stalkers out there? With so many colleagues and family member wanting to know where I am and how it is going, how do you do it?

Get lost in the crowd to maintain anonymity. Post to your own site rather than the typical trail journaling sites. There are a lot of good options for prebuilt websites that have mobile clients for site management and updating. Don't advertise the URL and keep the personally identifiable information to a minimum. But in reality, I wouldn't worry about stalkers. I think most thruhiker bloggers overestimate strangers' interest in their blog - especially with the proliferation of them over the last few years. One has to go through a lot of blogs to find well-written and interesting ones.