Best Thru-Hiker Journal Option

[ViaVicarious]

NOBO Thru-hiking in 2018 and looking for any recommendations on best kind of journal to bring with me. Obviously it has to be compact, yet sturdy to hold up for 5-6months. Any suggestions? Thanks- SledDog

[fastfoxengineering]

Rite-in-Rain products are bombproof and work directly as advertised. I've used them in the field for years. Rain, mud, blood, etc don't bother it. They come in a variety of notebooks too.

I've noticed for a trail journal that rite n rain isn't all that necessary. I wouldn't be against using a nicer looking journal. Just keep it in a zip lock bag. A little water isn't going to destroy it anyways.

Or go paperless and download a note taking app for your smart phone.

I don't journal on trail but I do keep a couple Rite-in-Rain sheets of paper and a golf pencil in my hiking wallet. Comes in handy all the time.

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[Slo-go'en]

Just get a small notebook and keep it in a ziplock. Your probably going to fill up a couple of them in 5-6 months, so one doesn't have to last the whole trip.

Of course, most hikers just write or dictate on their phone and upload to a journal site or blog. But going old school with a hand written journal has it's charm. Just hope you can still read your shaky handwriting years later.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

Just get a small notebook and keep it in a ziplock. Your probably going to fill up a couple of them in 5-6 months, so one doesn't have to last the whole trip.
Of course, most hikers just write or dictate on their phone and upload to a journal site or blog. But going old school with a hand written journal has it's charm. Just hope you can still read your shaky handwriting years later.
I enjoy rereading my 1999 AT journal. +1 for paper and pencil.

[handlebar]

I use the notepad app on my iPhone, writing a journal entry each night and posting to trailjournals.com when I'm in town. I could also print out the notepad items or combine them into a document that I print, but I'm happy with having the info online.

[TwoRoads]

I bought a small digital recorder to dictate into. It is actually less weight, with batteries, than the small notebook I was using for a journal. However, I've only used it once, and the batteries did not last long. I actually think it turned itself on while I was walking and ran the batteries down, but I'm not sure. I won't use my cellphone, because I want to preserve battery in case of an emergency.

[ldsailor]

I used my cell phone through 1,280 mile of hiking in long sections on the AT over eighteen months. I just typed the daily happenings into a "memo" application on the phone. When I had Internet, I transferred my journal entries into my online blog. It worked great. If you keep your phone in airplane mode, the battery should last days. I also had one of those battery packs to charge my phone on the trail when needed. My hike usually took me somewhere within seven days where I could charge everything, so I never had to deal with a dead phone. Oh, and I used Guthook, too. No problems.
If you want to commit the journal entries to paper after your hike, just copy them from your phone to a computer and print them out.

[jjozgrunt]

If you want to commit the journal entries to paper after your hike, just copy them from your phone to a computer and print them out.
Wasn't there a post on here about someone that could turn your trail journal and photo's into a book?

[Deacon]

Wasn't there a post on here about someone that could turn your trail journal and photo's into a book?

Don’t know about others, but if you take all your photos on an Apple device, you can order prints and/or a book. It’s a great service they offer.


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[lonehiker]

Moleskine (5 1/2 X 3 1/2") and a small mechanical pencil. Been using these for about 3 decades of hiking. Keep them in a small zip-lock bag. Then, often times years later, I type them into a spreadsheet that I created that can be printed into a small book format. I use a spreadsheet as it also computes various mileages, expenses, etc.

[Bati]

I use a few sheets of notebook paper, mailing them off when I was done and adding in blank sheets when I needed more. It's small and compact and is also handy for leaving messages or recording directions you might not want to keep. I type up my notes when I'm done or I won't be able to read or find them later.