WB Membership

[Cherokee Bill]

:-? Been on the AT a couple of weekends a month since March, and darn, I have not yet meet one WB member :mad: I do my part telling folks about WB, but is it doing any good, who knows.

I was up on McAfee Knob today, saw 3-hikers, still no WB members. :(

Any ideas how we can improve membership and WB awareness?:confused:

[Jack Tarlin]

The simple truth, Billy, is that a lot of people who are active in the Internet "hiking community" are often more comfortable on the keyboard than they are on the Trail.

Not to worry, there are plenty of folks out there already. :D

[Sly]

Any ideas how we can improve membership and WB awareness?:confused:

Buy and wear a WB t-shirt while you're hiking!

[wilconow]

Was something wrong with the hikers you met? What's the difference if they're on WB or not?

[minnesotasmith]

IMO, the odds of a hiker being a fellow WBer are higher when on the Trail at odds times (not to mention at word-of-mouth/Internet-advertised hiker events). Something like >20% of the thruhikers I ran into on the Trail in Georgia in Feb. 2006 were WBers, way above the %ages I saw later on (like 5-10% tops).

[the goat]

:-? Been on the AT a couple of weekends a month since March, and darn, I have not yet meet one WB member :mad: I do my part telling folks about WB, but is it doing any good, who knows.

I was up on McAfee Knob today, saw 3-hikers, still no WB members. :(

Any ideas how we can improve membership and WB awareness?:confused:

that's cause WB is fuuuuuuull of packsniffers!:D

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Sadly, many of the active hikers have quit reading and posting here. Hopefully, that will change as the new rules make the site a more inviting place to participate.

[Jack Tarlin]

Maybe the "active hikers" aren't posting much because they're actually out being active........on the Trail.

And this is a bad thing? :D

[Cherokee Bill]

Was something wrong with the hikers you met? What's the difference if they're on WB or not?

Not a thing! Just surprised I have met no WB members on the trail, nothing intended or implied :-?

[Jack Tarlin]

A different perspective:

I was on Springer on 29 February. I've hiked several hundred miles this year, spent a lot of time in hostels and Trail towns, worked at a bunch of Outfitters, and have attended all sorts of hiker events. So I've met hundred of hikers.


And I've met plenty of people who are familiar with Whiteblaze. As recently as the day before yesterday, a hiker showed me that not only was he using my Re-Supply article, but he'd reduced it to small print and was actually carrying it with him, which felt pretty good.

In short, there are certainly Whiteblaze folks out there, and I'm sorry Billy didn't run into them. But they're out there all right, and there are more of them out there with every passing year. For all the complaining we've been hearing about the site lately, it does indeed get looked at, and it does a whole lot of good, too, and that's worth remembering.

[wilconow]

.... ..

[angewrite]

A different perspective:

I was on Springer on 29 February. I've hiked several hundred miles this year, spent a lot of time in hostels and Trail towns, worked at a bunch of Outfitters, and have attended all sorts of hiker events. So I've met hundred of hikers.


And I've met plenty of people who are familiar with Whiteblaze. As recently as the day before yesterday, a hiker showed me that not only was he using my Re-Supply article, but he'd reduced it to small print and was actually carrying it with him, which felt pretty good.

In short, there are certainly Whiteblaze folks out there, and I'm sorry Billy didn't run into them. But they're out there all right, and there are more of them out there with every passing year. For all the complaining we've been hearing about the site lately, it does indeed get looked at, and it does a whole lot of good, too, and that's worth remembering.

If I remember correctly Tortuga was carrying the same artical last year which he proceeded to show you ontop of Cheoah Bald.

[Alligator]

I think MS has part of the answer. I'd guess there are a lot of people who come to WB in preparation for a thru. You might not run into them unless you hike in the thruhiker bubble, and you might not recognize them as they seem to pick up trailnames as opposed to usernames. There's also a number of former thrus here that may hike off the AT since they finished. Personally, as a sectioner, I tend to avoid the pack, and limit my interaction to other hikers. So there are some reasons that work against actually running into WB'ers.

[Jack Tarlin]

It happens a lot, actually. This site reaches a lot of folks and does a lot of good, so while we have our disagreements now and again, it doesn't hurt to remember that this is STILL the best planning/preparation site dealing with the A.T.

Thanx Rock, Troll, Dix, Skid, and everyone else who keeps this nuthouse standing. :D

[Darwin again]

This site ... does a lot of good,...

Charity donations?
Public works?
Community service of any kind?

Kindly explicate, sir.

[Jack Tarlin]

A lot of folks here contribute to the ATC and other non-profit groups that do good work for the Trail, Darwin. These are certainly charitable donations.

And plenty of folks here do all sorts of public work/community service, including lots of Trail-related stuff.

If you're unaware of these activities, Darwin, it might possibly be because you yourself have never pursued them.

[Furlough]

Not a thing! Just surprised I have met no WB members on the trail, nothing intended or implied :-?

BillBoy
I retire from the Army soon, start my transition leave on 18 July and plan to be out and about on the trail between then and when I start back to work on 1 September. If you are headed out in late July-August drop a line and perhaps we can meet up.

Furlough

[Jason of the Woods]

Their aren't that many. That is because they are hiking.

[Furlough]

Charity donations?
Public works?
Community service of any kind?

Kindly explicate, sir.

Well, I for one first heard mention of the American Chestnut Survey somewhere on here and now have a section of the AT that I am volunteering on as I survey for American Chestnuts. Just a small example and I KNOW it does not even hold a candle to others contributins out there.

Furlough

[River Runner]

Charity donations?
Public works?
Community service of any kind?

It serves the AT hiking community with information that will help people better prepare for their hike. It provides news and updates on a variety of trail related topics such as missing hikers, or sections of the trail that are temporarily closed, current water availability, etc.

Whiteblaze has also provided information on how members can donate to various worthy causes such as memorials for Meredith Emerson, donations to our armed forces personnel serving over seas, and I believe some Scout troops have benefited from members who have donated gear when they became aware of the need on this site.

[Sailor (The other one)]

a hiker showed me that not only was he using my Re-Supply article, but he'd reduced it to small print and was actually carrying it with him, which felt pretty good.

Smart fella. I'm stealin' that idea.

[Darwin again]

... a hiker showed me that not only was he using my Re-Supply article, but he'd reduced it to small print and was actually carrying it with him, which felt pretty good. ...

I've done that too -- it's a great resource.

(Respect, Jack. :cool:)

[Kerosene]

I felt fortunate running into 3 WBers (Flash Hand, coreyZ/knees, and a third I can't remember right now) in southern Virginia while hiking SOBO through the NOBO bubble in late May 2005. I tell a lot of others about the site, especially those that seem to be struggling a bit or ask a lot of questions; helping them remember by pointing to a white blaze on a tree.

[The Weasel]

Kerosene is STILL a good person to know. (Go Blue!)

TW

[rafe]

Walked from eastern PA to SW Virginia last summer, a few weeks ahead of the sobo wave, met no WBers -- at least none whose names I recognized or who recognized me.

That of course doesn't account for folks using trailnames that are different from their WB usernames (but in my case they're one and the same.)

[Thoughtful Owl]

:-? Been on the AT a couple of weekends a month since March, and darn, I have not yet meet one WB member :mad: I do my part telling folks about WB, but is it doing any good, who knows.

I was up on McAfee Knob today, saw 3-hikers, still no WB members. :(

Any ideas how we can improve membership and WB awareness?:confused:

Where besides McAfee's Knob have you been hiking Billyboy? I have been out when time permitted. Daughter got married a couple of weekends ago so for most of the month of June I was committed to helping with those things. Maybe we will see you out there if you are over this way between Bedford and Shennandoah.

[Mrs Baggins]

:-? Been on the AT a couple of weekends a month since March, and darn, I have not yet meet one WB member :mad: I do my part telling folks about WB, but is it doing any good, who knows.

I was up on McAfee Knob today, saw 3-hikers, still no WB members. :(

Any ideas how we can improve membership and WB awareness?:confused:

It's been just the opposite for me! I was out twice this year for a week each time and every single time I introduced myself I got the response "I know you! You're on White Blaze!" My hiking partner would just shake her head and say "everybody knows you." Last March my husband and I started a thru-hike (never completed) and the same thing happened. He would look at me and ask "Why does everyone know you?" I was on both Trailplace and White Blaze quite a lot at the time.

[Pokey2006]

When you get off the trail, go into a trail town and hit the nearest bar. THAT's when you'll meet some Whiteblazers!

Keep hiking; you'll bump into some eventually.

[Metaphor Man]

I have visited WB often for some time. I am appreciative, greatful and impressed by this site. It helped me plan and feel modestly confident to do a section hike this spring. It fell apart 1 wk before I was to leave. I live a distance from the AT, as perhaps do many one "expects" to see on the trail. My heart is there but not the body. Maybe this is the case for others. Maybe this fall if.....

[l0ngterm]

I too have often wondered why few hikers I've met on the trail knew of or used WhiteBlaze. Then I remember that before I knew about it (late 2006) I had never heard of it. I believe I first found it from some reference in a personal journal on TrailJournals.com. So, being that I am a very avid "web surfer", especially for things related to the AT, I did some quick searches on Google to find out how easy it would be for someone new to find Whiteblaze.

The results: (engine - key words searched - page results on)
Google - Appalachian Trail - 2nd page
Google - Appalachian Trail thru hike - 1st page
Google - thru hike - nothing on first 5 pages
Google - AT thru hike - 5th page
Google - Backpacking - nothing on first 5 pages

This isn't very good for such a popular (my opinion) site on a very specific topic. Search engine optimization techniques could probably help but the best way to get search rank up is to have other sites link to you or even more importantly make sure the site is built Search Engine friendly.

Does WB use Google compliant sitemaps and have they been submitted to the search engines?

I was very surprised how poorly WB ranked on these critical keywords. So, no surprise that more 'Active' hikers haven't found it. Especially since from conversation and other observation, a large portion of the Active hikers do use the Internet regularly (TrailJournals readership and journal activity alone support this).

Let's get the word out on other sites (if we care about increasing the WB community) and encourage Search Engine Optimization SEO enhancements. If we don't want the community on WB to increase let's just keep on as we are.

back to lurker mode

l0ngterm

[Erin]

I never heard of WB until after my AT section, but it was really useful in helping me plan for my Grand Canyon hike six months later. I think I linked thru some ATC link or a trail journal link. I keep coming back because there are great tips and my dream is to do a thru when I retire. I also like the hiking community. And I know I will not buy another piece of equipment until checking here first. Plus, great menu ideas. And good humor...most of the time.

[Cherokee Bill]

BillBoy
I retire from the Army soon, start my transition leave on 18 July and plan to be out and about on the trail between then and when I start back to work on 1 September. If you are headed out in late July-August drop a line and perhaps we can meet up.

Furlough

:welcome Thanks for your service to the Old US. I have a 3-day weekend every other weekend. PM me sometime and we'll hit the trail. :-?

[Cherokee Bill]

Where besides McAfee's Knob have you been hiking Billyboy? I have been out when time permitted. Daughter got married a couple of weekends ago so for most of the month of June I was committed to helping with those things. Maybe we will see you out there if you are over this way between Bedford and Shennandoah.

:-? Been hiking parts of the AT since "84". Have not Thru-hiked as yet, as I still have to work for a living (start my 40th year at BWXT next week).

;) Want to hit the trail some weekend, PM me sometime! I get a 3-day weekend every other weekend :banana