View Full Version : What are the very best/most informational Trailjournals?
Hey all,
Planning a GAME thru-hike next year. Been checking out some trail journals, but I'd really love some insight if anyone knows the best, as far as most comprehensive and informational to learn things from.
Seems like most of the ones I've seen have just been variations of "tired today." :) I'm looking for more tips and specifics regarding some locations and whatnot.
Thanks for the help!
jersey joe
10-21-2010, 18:07
I'd recommend mine, http://www.joealaya.com/appalachiantrailthruhike/journal.php , but i'm sure there are tons better!
Jersey_Joe...
Starting yours now... Thanks!
jan liteshoe from 03 was one of the best ever, along with Big Red from the same year
StormBird
10-21-2010, 18:35
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=8658
Moose2001
10-21-2010, 18:44
jan liteshoe from 03 was one of the best ever, along with Big Red from the same year
yeah....I'd agree with Jan Liteshoe. Also Bluebearee and A-Train from 2003 as well.
I think it depends on what you want to get out of a trail journal. The potential downside of a journal from 2003 might be the things that have changed along the way. Of course the fundamentals haven't changed, but things like available gear, what hostels are open or closed, etc might tilt me to something more recent.
It also depends on how much or little detail you're inclined to read. My own journal (http://postholer.com/journal/viewJournal.php?event_id=533) is pretty verbose, I literally typed up a journal entry for each trail day, at the end of that day while it was still fresh, and I tried to put at least one picture up most days.
I think it's also just generally tough to agree on what's a "good" journal or not, as you might find that you like a particular writing style that someone else won't, or you might find opinions expressed or particular recommendations or details given that you do or don't like to see.
One that I liked from this year (okay, of course apart from mine, we're never unbiased on that score) was Lil' Buddas ECT trip (http://www.trailjournals.com/about.cfm?trailname=9885), of which the AT was just a subset. And I can assure you that he's as amusing in person as he is in (electronic) print.
I think it depends on what you want to get out of a trail journal. The potential downside of a journal from 2003 might be the things that have changed along the way. Of course the fundamentals haven't changed, but things like available gear, what hostels are open or closed, etc might tilt me to something more recent.
It also depends on how much or little detail you're inclined to read. My own journal (http://postholer.com/journal/viewJournal.php?event_id=533) is pretty verbose, I literally typed up a journal entry for each trail day, at the end of that day while it was still fresh, and I tried to put at least one picture up most days.
I think it's also just generally tough to agree on what's a "good" journal or not, as you might find that you like a particular writing style that someone else won't, or you might find opinions expressed or particular recommendations or details given that you do or don't like to see.
One that I liked from this year (okay, of course apart from mine, we're never unbiased on that score) was Lil' Buddas ECT trip (http://www.trailjournals.com/about.cfm?trailname=9885), of which the AT was just a subset. And I can assure you that he's as amusing in person as he is in (electronic) print.
Read a fair amt of your journal, Brian, and like it! Well done. Lil Budda's less so. Reading thru hikers' journals, however, increases my impression that thru is not for me. Thru journals, understandably, focus on food, lodging, other people, to a great extent in a weary voice. I think day and maybe section hiking are more for me - pick desired places and savor them. I'm with "Katz," Bill Bryson's friend - do what you can/want to, and you've hiked to AT for your purposes; the rest are details. I see no need, for instance, to make my way across 50 miles of field in Pennsylvania.
But that's just me. Others' mileage will vary. ...
The most entertaining trail journal I ever read was Gator Gump's from about three years ago. I looked forward to every entry and was disappointed when he finished. He should do the trail again! :D
While section hiking in 2009 I met a thru hiker named Joe Liles (trailname Braid) who kept an excellent account of his thru hike on his face book page so you may want to try accessing that. He seemed to have enjoyed the experience o fthe trail as much as anyone I've met.
It's funny but pre-hike most folks really do crave journals that are more informational (clinical). Learning what gear works, tips and tricks, etc.. is all part of the natural curiosity of hiking the trail. It means you want to succeed by learning from others who have gone before you.
Then post-hike most 2000 miler thru's read journals and really connect with the "tired today", "the weather sucks", or "finished the half-gallon challenge in 32 minutes!" (Zen like) entries.
Guess you have to experience the whole dynamic to connect in that special way.
I just have to say that Gator Gump's journal from 2007 is indeed entertaining. Worth the time; I can't stop laughing!
It's funny but pre-hike most folks really do crave journals that are more informational (clinical). Learning what gear works, tips and tricks, etc.. is all part of the natural curiosity of hiking the trail. It means you want to succeed by learning from others who have gone before you.
Then post-hike most 2000 miler thru's read journals and really connect with the "tired today", "the weather sucks", or "finished the half-gallon challenge in 32 minutes!" (Zen like) entries.
Guess you have to experience the whole dynamic to connect in that special way.
Oh, I get that in microcosm on a given day - late in the hike, I want food and comfort and my warm bed, for sure, and I've lost interest in seeing pretty sights. However, when I write up a hike, I get a kick sharing with friends how pretty what I saw was, with pictures and explanations, and some history and geology relating to the place. I seldom see that with thru-hikers.
I see thru-hiking as being kinda like eating pizza, every day for several months, from the same awesome place. You can get different toppings each day, but after a while you get jaded to the pleasure of the experience. The fun of it gives way.
I think part of it, as well, is that the experience of a local hiker is much different from the Thru. To hike Greylock, for example, from the side trails, which often are much steeper and more scenic ascents, joining the AT at some point and then proceeding to the summit (Hopper Trail, say, or Gould or Bellows Pipe), is a much more enjoyable hiking experience than what merely hiking across the formation via the AT offers. Waterfalls! The Hopper! Etc. (Though the AT's traverse of Saddle Ball leading up to Greylock is gorgeous and a must-do which I'm happy to have done.)
For me, hiking is partly about climbing, traversing, stepping up the level of difficulty over time - expanding my horizons and capabilities. But it mostly is about taking in the wonders of nature - experiencing, soaking in the mountains, absorbing the pleasure and the beauty. I don't see enough of that, for my taste, in most thru-hiker trail journals.
....
I see thru-hiking as being kinda like eating pizza....
Thick or thin crust?
SawnieRobertson
10-22-2010, 19:39
[QUOTE=I literally typed up a journal entry for each trail day, at the end of that day while it was still fresh, and I tried to put at least one picture up most days.
.[/QUOTE]
I would so like to know how you accomplished this! So would my transcriber. If you are willing to share, please do.--Kinnickinic
I agree with those who say it depends on how deep you want to go. Now, after my hike, I realize how much info is in those journals that seemed simple before my hike. My 2009 thru-hike journal isn't the best, by far, but I had a starting gear list and I end with a brief summary, but the junk in between really depicts what life on the trail will be like for 5-7 months. If you care to read, enjoy. Ignore spelling and grammar problems; it was posted as I hiked, from my phone. AND I'll be more than happy to answer ANY questions you have about your hike.
http://lunaticgame.blogspot.com/
W.r.t. journaling each day, SawnieRobertson wrote:
"I would so like to know how you accomplished this! So would my transcriber. If you are willing to share, please do."
Smartphone plus a folding bluetooth keyboard (http://www.mobiletechreview.com/tips/stowaway_Bluetooth_Keyboard.htm). The little slide-out keyboards or on-screen keyboards take me a lot longer to use. The folding keyboard packs pretty small, weighs perhaps 6 oz, and just wrapped in bubblewrap and stuck in an external mesh pocket on my pack has survived just fine through two thru-hikes, I'll take the same unit on the CDT next year (if in fact I can get driver software that will make it work well enough with the new phone I plan to buy ...).
On the AT it was pretty simple, too, to know exactly where I was at the end of the day as I stayed in shelters a lot, but I pretty much always could figure this out on the PCT too. I like to know just exactly where I am if possible at the end of each day, to keep the mileage and location info accurate in the journal as I go along (on the CDT, of course, that's a whole 'nother smoke, I actually will use SPOT on that one ...).
No transcriber. My phone is my camera, so the photos are already on the same device I use to upload both photos and journal entries. To be clear, I wasn't online when typing up the entries, just typed up the text using an editor on the phone, uploaded the text (typically multiple days worth at once) whenever I had the golden mix of good cell service, sufficient battery power, and a little free time. I almost never went more than a week on either trail without having such opportunities, so the journal was normally also relatively fresh.
From experience I know that some of the above comments can trigger anti-electronics reactions, but in fact it's not at all an experience of "electronics polluting the outdoor experience", just an efficient way for me to record this stuff as I go along.
Nor is it a really time consuming thing either; the keyboard makes it sufficiently efficient that I just got into the habit of typing up a journal entry as just part of the daily ritual, really I kind of like doing it. Slightly more comfortable in an AT shelter with a wall to lean against, but it works okay sitting up in a tent too.
FWIW, after the PCT I wrote up some thoughts (http://postholer.com/smartPhone.html) about picking a smartphone for this kind of thing. I plan to replace my aging smartphone and perhaps will update this, if others have input on the whole "smartphone as multifunction device" that's not well covered there, please send me your thoughts (PM). TIA!
The Best
It's by George Steffanos and is titled Then the Hail Came--the story of a 1983 Appalachian Trail thru-hike. A full-length online book.
Excerpt:
I woke up to the sound of freight trains.
One after another, they came bellowing up from the distant mountain range to the west, circled the woods around my tent, and churned off toward the eastern horizon. My tent was pitched in a small, grassy clearing on the summit of Frosty Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia. The freight trains turned out to be the wind rattling through the treetops -- raging furiously across a valley, swirling around the mountain, roaring across the next valley. I lay awake for hours, listening to that lonesome, mystical sound, alone on that isolated hilltop. The end of the world. The middle of nowhere.
http://skwc.com/exile/Hail-nf.html
BrianLe
(This question departs from the OP questions)
I assume you turn off the smartphone while not in use to save the Batt. life. How long between recharges and did you recharge while staying at a hostel or find other spots for recharge. My smartphone requires about two hours of recharge each day, of course this is left on around the clock.
moytoy wrote:
"I assume you turn off the smartphone while not in use to save the Batt. life. How long between recharges and did you recharge while staying at a hostel or find other spots for recharge. My smartphone requires about two hours of recharge each day, of course this is left on around the clock."
Yes, definitely off, and you also want to pay attention to whatever wireless type services you have in general --- not just phone service, but bluetooth, wi-fi, and GPS. All of these can eat battery life.
How long between recharges: the AT is pretty "easy", unless you're the type of person that really does just stay out of towns as much as possible. In real life I haven't encountered many who do. Even if you don't stay in motels or hostels much or at all, there are options. My hiking partners eventually got used to the fact that if we dived into a nearby ~town for a restaurant meal that I always wanted a table next to a wall plug, and I'd recharge while eating, perhaps also upload my recent journal entries if I had either cell service or the restaurant offered wi-fi.
I also found it very helpful to carry a spare battery (one knock against the iPhone is that it doesn't have a replaceable battery). So when I would check into a motel or hostel, immediately start charging one battery, hopefully before I went to bed or if I happened to wake in the night I'd switch to the other battery and start it charging.
I originally carried two spare batteries I think, but mailed one home as it wasn't often that I either could charge a third battery or that I ever needed a third battery.
In comparison, on the PCT where resupply options are a little farther apart, I liked tying a solar charger to the top of my pack to stretch out what I could get, but I can't compare apples to apples there as I switched to a physically larger "extended" battery type for the AT.
It really depends on how and how much you use the phone. I have a lot of books on mine, but don't tend to read on the trail, more just if I feel like reading during a break in town. The main power draws for me are using it as a camera, and journaling each day, plus infrequently trying to upload journal entries, voice recorder, maybe getting a weather report. For use a a phone I pretty much only ever did that in town.
Trillium
10-24-2010, 12:43
The most entertaining trail journal I ever read was Gator Gump's from about three years ago. I looked forward to every entry and was disappointed when he finished. He should do the trail again! :Dmy in-laws live in Bradenton, FL so when we have visited since Gator Gump's thru, we have stopped at his ice cream shop on Manatee Ave but he had never been there. My husband was down the last weekend in August this year and when he went for ice cream, Gator Gump was there. He indicated that he preferred to fly under the radar now and that hiking was no longer part of his life.
Trillium
10-24-2010, 13:09
I would suggest reading Certain's trail journal. One of the best and more recent than Jan's.
Thank you for everyone's responses! I've started going on a few of these and will get to the others.
mweinstone
10-26-2010, 00:51
we live vicareiously thru the journels of those not living vicareiously thru journels.bonepak. o6. only lists his diet and weird bagle statistics. most bare bones ever. he owns the hostle in mayland now with mrs bonepac.and the pac clan. very fun. you can smell jelly as you read.finished first that year. 4 mo to the day.