This website is getting old

[Another Kevin]

I actually get quite annoyed at the "What is the best" questions. It's like, grow the ****** up and ask a real question please!

So, I just ignore those threads until a see them hanging around for a while with people more patient than I helping focus the question to something meaningful. Then, often the tread eventually becomes interesting because of the focus other participants have helped provide and I might even jump in if I have anything to say.

As for the OP, what is something you would like to see discussed on this site that would make it fresher?

I try hard to be patient about "what's the best," and explain that there's no "best" of anything (or else the others wouldn't sell) - only "fit for purpose." I usually wind up answering a question with a question: "what's your hiking style?"

Of course, the people who are asking "what's the best" don't know what their hiking style is yet. In part, that's the point. It's a journey we all make. We all wish that we'd got different gear when we started out, and bemoan the expense of replacing it. But when we started out, we didn't know enough about our own style to know what gear would be best for us.

Which is why the answer always comes down to, "the best gear for someone who's asking that question is probably the cheapest that is still serviceable, until you have enough experience to judge for yourself."

Sometimes it comes as a revelation to the newbies that there is such a thing as hiking style. They seem to think that all long hikes (or all long hikes on a given trail) are alike and that there will be some kit that's best for the purpose.

I agree that questions like, "can someone who's tried both the Notch and the Lunar Solo compare their relative strong points?" would be more informative for me... but I can still remember being a newcomer trying to drink from the fire hose of information. (I still feel that way about hammocking, which is one reason that I remain a ground dweller.)

Also, it just seems more friendly to give a newbie a personal reply, rather than a pointer to someone's article or a long discussion thread.

[Another Kevin]

There are no dumb question, unless maybe they are about cheese or vibrators.

I'll even put up with discussing cheese.

How long does cheese last on the trail? The answer is the same as "how many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" The world may never know,. Every hiker eats it before it goes bad.

I met a guy once who had the trail name 'Cheddar,' after a hilarious incident where he left his brick of cheese behind at a hostel and his trail family returned to him, with a tale of multiple hikers carrying it down the trail that grew in the telling to the stuff of which legends are made.

And of course, there's the mandatory picture of grinning hikers at a trailhead, shelter, hostel, or summit. "Say cheese, whiskey and sex!"

[bigcranky]

I for one am thankful for a site that is completely dedicated to the hobby I love and much props to those who built it and continue to maintain it.

Yup, exactly how I feel about Whiteblaze.

[Just Bill]

IF there is a complaint to be made; it is that the user base is aging and getting a bit cranky.
Or maybe that the younger newbies are used to googling for an instant answer and don't understand that knowledgeable folks don't like being googled or that more often than not there is no answer to give(best, fact, etc.)

Doing a little homework goes a long way, course so does having some patience.

This is a very nice site, really the only internet place I visit and it has somehow escaped the massive mire of insanity that is most of the internet. If a bit creeps in... hike on.

I do wish that the younger folks were more welcomed, and more likely to stick around as a result. It works on the trail to great success...

My dad ain't too smart, but back in scouts when I was young and knew it all, he told me something I repeat to myself often when I get to feeling a bit "experty";
"If you think you have mastered a skill- teach someone else."

More oft than not turns out my expertise is not so vast as I like to think, and I need to be patient with myself as I continue to learn.
So I remain thankful for any and all questions; every once in a while one of those off the wall ones leads my mind down a trail I couldn't have blazed and I learn something pretty amazing. Or even create a new piece of gear as a result.

Coyote also likes to point out that if I'm really honest:
It is not vast generosity to share knowledge and teach that motivates me... So no need to get offended if someone fails to display proper etiquette when approaching the pulpit of knowledge.
It is my vast selfishness to acquire, steal and hoard knowledge... So really I'm just a greedy bastard looking to google up some wisdom too.

If'n you learn something in the process- well bless yer heart.

[AO2134]

Can we show some appreciation please? For goodness sakes, of course things are going to get rehashed over and over again, it's an internet message board for crying out loud. What do you expect?

I for one am thankful for a site that is completely dedicated to the hobby I love and much props to those who built it and continue to maintain it. I have learned so much from reading this site and just yesterday asked another member a logistical question through private message and received some great information that will help me plan an upcoming section hike that otherwise I would have never been able to find myself.

Also, even if you feel the content is stale and you know all things backpacking and Appalachian Trail, you can still give back to the newbies who are just getting started and have questions of their own. Try giving something back, you might actually enjoy it.

Winning argument. I refuse to read any other post after this.

[Miel]

I just found this place short time back, so it's all new to me.

Helping others, whether as a college dean or to vets contributing here, is called service, and I for one am grateful for it.

[rickb]

ive been on here for over 10 years, but have no idea when it started. whats the born-on date and who started this thing?

I also mean to reference the content, while still moderately educational, is growing old too. am I alone in that?

Unfortunately, I agree 100%.

The site (in my imperfect memory) used to have more wide ranging trail-related topics -- from porqupine scat to Myron Avery to favorite swimming spots and everything in between.

Now it seems to focus much more on the mechanics of hiking-- important stuff, but to the exclusion of all the rest.

Just my 2 cents.

[rafe]

Blame it on facebook. Or youtube. Or google. Whiteblaze has lots of competition now. For journals, there are dozens of offerings, for free or for cheap on Kindle, Amazon, or at Trailjournals.com, etc.

Some folks (the smart ones?) might get their hard, factual info from books (gasp!) or gear reviews. Or from websites like the ones run by Mags or Twistwrist (et. al.) The market for blogs like this one is narrowing.

A lot of colorful characters have departed over the years. WB is a much more sedate and heavily moderated place than the old days.

[gravityman]

Wow, I found this site in November 2002 after a 1/2 a thru in 2001 that ended earlier than expected. Someone suggested it after Mr. Wingfoot's site shut down. Back then it was his site and an email listserv (I wonder if that is still going?)

I missed the magic of the trail. I was a heavy poster for a long time while my wife and I prepared for a reattempt in 2005. The magic wasn't quite the same, but enjoyed it a lot.

Now that I have kids and 14 years have pasted, I find myself doing a drive by every now and again, but I know what I need to know to get out for a few nights we can manage right now. It's starting to pick up again though as my 9 year old is very interested in a longer trip this summer.

That said, it's unlikely I will be a significant contributor, as I want to do more than think. That and I am much more productive in my work as I have a lot more responsibilities now

Gravity

[FossilFool]

I actually get quite annoyed at the "What is the best" questions. It's like, grow the ****** up and ask a real question please!

I can't imagine how this kind of question is annoying. What better way for newbs to figure out what kind of gear to buy than ask experienced people who have no motive to sell them something? Should we just rely on web research and ads to help us figure it out? You can learn in minutes here what it would take days to learn just googling.

[Datto]

It is the Twiting of the Appalachian Trail.

"I shall now eat a pudding."


Datto

[Datto]

That is expected by the new generation.

Misses the whole point.


Datto

[Datto]

It is the new normal for the next generation of AT thru-hikers.

"I've digitized the field of flowers and my phone calculates there are 16,354 flowers in the scene."


Datto

[Pedaling Fool]

Makes you wonder...

How long would one have to live life before it starts getting old? Good thing we only live for about a century, give or take...

[dudeijuststarted]

its a website about walking around on dirt and rocks. how revolutionary is it supposed to be?

[sheepdog]

Op didn't seem like bitching. Seemed more of an observation.

[Lugnut]

Right. Who started this site and are they still involved?

The site was started by Easy Hiker (Dave Bieman) who has since passed. It used to be AT Forum then was reborn as Whiteblaze.

[Another Kevin]

I can't imagine how this kind of question is annoying. What better way for newbs to figure out what kind of gear to buy than ask experienced people who have no motive to sell them something? Should we just rely on web research and ads to help us figure it out? You can learn in minutes here what it would take days to learn just googling.

As I said above, the problem is that there simply isn't a "best" of anything - which is why I follow up to these questions with more questions: "best for what hiking style?" I have multiples of most of my gear iterms at this point, and I don't bring the same ones on every trip because I may be planning a different style of trip. And answering the question with, "an AT thru-hike" in turn will be followed up with, "that's not your style, that's your aspiration...." followed by more questions that would inform the gear choice. What gets old after a while is that the people who insist on knowing the "best" are often equally insistent that there must be a single "best.," and moreover don't know their personal style yet, so can't even give the old hands enough information to suggest options that might work well for it.

[la.lindsey]

What gets old after a while is that the people who insist on knowing the "best" are often equally insistent that there must be a single "best.," and moreover don't know their personal style yet, so can't even give the old hands enough information to suggest options that might work well for it.

There should probably be more weighted decision matrices used on this website. Even then, everyone will assign the weight differently to different categories.

Eg: I switched to an alcohol stove because as a section hiker, I was more annoyed by a mostly empty canister left over than I was by my water taking longer to boil. On a weekend trip, I might switch those weights around; I wouldn't use enough of the canister for it to matter.

Then the better question would be, "can someone with experience with these products give opinions on how you would rate them in these categories so that I can take an average score and fill in my matrix."

It's the same discussion that's already going on (people give opinions and explain why) but with more focused criteria for a more satisfied consumer.

Of course, if you don't know your hiking style yet, or if it changes a lot and you're limited by budget, it'll be awfully hard to do that. And thus the generic "best" is born, combining the best features for the biggest group of people and situations.

So maybe a new thread to come up with generic decision matrices to find the "best" products, as decreed by whiteblaze.

[rocketsocks]

I came for info, I stayed for the awesome popcorn they serve!