Announcing UBN: a social network for ultralight backpackers

[Jonnycat]

[David@whiteblaze]

hahahahahahaha ^^^ he's offering the one thing that whiteblaze, facebook, and trail journals don't have... combination... it's like the old world... it was great, but then they invented america, and voila'... instant pudding... oh sorry, I'm hungry... they made a mixing pot of cultures so we can each follow our own, and/or glean from others... enchiladas, for instance, aare not typical southern baptist food...

[Wolf - 23000]

Forums like WhiteBlaze are great for evaluating individual items in a gear system. Most of the "gear list" topics on here are posted by hikers who still haven't finalized their system. Others comment and state which items they are missing. This is a great resource for learning about individual components of the system but not for learning about entire systems that work..

Something I learn a long time ago when I first started, no one can tell you how to hike the trail. It is something you have to learn for yourself. Before I left for my first hike I did the same thing, asked everyone what I should carry only to find out that I recieved some bad advise and the folks that gave it to me were no where around. I had to find my own way of doing things.

On UBN, however, you list a gear system that you are experienced with -- the gear you currently use when hiking. By listing the gear you use in your UBN profile, you are providing an example of a fully functioning gear system. You can then share with other hikers exactly how this system works for you.

With that in mind, the main focus of UBN is not posting your gear list. Rather, it is designed to facilitate discussion between individuals. The gear list section merely provides a topic of discussion and an example of a working system.

Why? Not everyone is a gear head. Most hikers will spend a couple hundred or thousands of dollars on their equipment. That is not something that you want to advertise to the world. To me, gear list are boring because botton line I'm going to carry what I want.

Let me begin by saying that I do not claim to be an expert -- far from it. I am constantly learning new things.

In real life, I have noticed that one learns best from individuals -- mentors. These people are typically highly knowledgeable about specific topics, and are happy to share what they know. On UBN, you would be able to connect with such mentors and learn in a far more personal manner. Note that this is not a one way interaction -- they share what they know with you, you share what you know with others, and so on.

As far as my experience is concerned, I first started backpacking when I was 11. I did a section of the AT with some of the guys from my scout troop. We started out at some point in western MD and ended up in Harpers Ferry. Since then I've been hooked and recently I went on a 7-day trip in the southernmost alpine region of Sweden. In about four weeks I will be going backpacking in Switzerland for about 10 days. Hopefully in the fall I will be thru-hiking the JMT and then next spring I will be thru-hiking the AT. However, I feel that all of this is irrelevant; after all, it is you who should be contributing to the UBN community.

Zach my post was not direct towards you or what you are trying to do. I've been backpacking UL for about 21 years. I've been doing it for a long time in all conditions/weather. My focus was direct more to many "UL hikers" that toot their horn on how light they have but rely on ideal conditions. When someone talks to them with any knowledge of UL, they seem clueless on the subject. Imaging going to a talk on backpacking and the instructor relying on you to teach him/her. How would you feel? It is sad to say but there are a lot of "expert" hikers that are not that good but have websites, write articles, etc. There is a popular backpacking magazine whoms gear review for example is often base on someone taking the gear out for little more than a weekend hike but they claim to be "experts".

It's great that you were able to reconnect with hikers that you met on the trail. On the other hand, it is a shame that it took 14 years for that guy to find you. That's 14 years of great experiences you could have had together.

Not really. If I want someone to know how to get in touch with me, I would give them my address/phone number or something. This is a guy that met for a few minutes that I don't know. If I was a woman, I might even felt a little stalked.

I feel that UBN is the natural progression in inter-hiker communications. On UBN, you can search for someone by name or trail name and instantly contact them.

Although I have never been to the ALDHA Gathering, I understand that it is a wonderful event. I will definitely be joining after I finish my thru-hike. However, ALDHA is an annual event. With UBN, you don't have to wait until October to talk to your friends -- you can talk with them right now.

You can do that on WB already and you are doing it right know.

I do hope you can make it to an ALDHA Gathering. I think you will really enjoy it.

Wolf

[Zach Denton]

There doesn't seem to be much at your site. Am I missing something? What are you offering that Whiteblaze, Trail Journals, and FB don't already offer?

UBN provides the functionality of all three of those websites in one centralized location. However, it does not seek to replace the individual websites you mentioned. It merely seeks to provide a better method for individual ultralight backpackers to communicate with each other.

Furthermore, some of you may have misunderstood me when I said that UBN is for ultralight backpackers. This is a guideline, not a rule. If you consider yourself interested in ultralight backpacking, but perhaps on the borderline of ultralight or you sometimes go comfort-driven, that's fine. UBN is open to anyone who is interested in ultralight backpacking. There are no strict rules saying who can and cannot join the site; only guidelines.

[boarstone]

Start ANOTHER hiking site? Yahoo is full of'em....

[Mags]

Why do I think there will be more posts on this thread ABOUT UBN than on UBN itself?

Good luck and all that...

Many of you may use Facebook, which is great for connecting and communicating with your friends. Unfortunately, most of the friends you have on there are probably not hikers, and thus you cannot discuss hiking with them.

Well, that's not strictly true. I've been in this community long enough where I know enough hikers (or they know me)..but we seldom discuss gear (even on FB). Gear is the least important of the outdoors. It may be somewhat important, but there are other parts of being in the outdoors far more important.

[max patch]

Give the OP a break, he's 17 years old.

I don't think you'll want me at your site -- I routinely start off around 45 pounds on day 1 of a week hike -- but good luck Zach with your site. If nothing else, I think you'll learn something about human behavior...

[Zach Denton]

Why do I think there will be more posts on this thread ABOUT UBN than on UBN itself?

Good luck and all that...

Many of you may use Facebook, which is great for connecting and communicating with your friends. Unfortunately, most of the friends you have on there are probably not hikers, and thus you cannot discuss hiking with them.

Well, that's not strictly true. I've been in this community long enough where I know enough hikers (or they know me)..but we seldom discuss gear (even on FB). Gear is the least important of the outdoors. It may be somewhat important, but there are other parts of being in the outdoors far more important.

Mags, you've got a great site. I remember coming across when I was first researching ultralight backpacking.

I think you might be surprised if you actually joined UBN. Three users have already discovered that they live in the same area, another guy has found a potential hiking partner for a JMT thru-hike, yet another guy has found a creative outlet to showcase his MYOG skills, etc.

It's a great site and if you try and decide it's not for you, that's fine. But I still think you should at least give it a shot before conclusively denouncing it.

[Mags]

I think you might be surprised if you actually joined UBN.

I would because I don't have the time for yet another website!

Good luck!

I But I still think you should at least give it a shot before conclusively denouncing it.

Never did denounce it. Just saying that I think this thread is gonna generate more posts than the website.

As for the gear thing..well, that's just my hobby horse. Shiny toys seem to be discussed out or proportion to other aspects of the outdoors...
Nothing to do with your website..it is the (online) outdoors community in general.

I sincerely wish you luck, though.

[Zach Denton]

I would because I don't have the time for yet another website!

Good luck!



Never did denounce it. Just saying that I think this thread is gonna generate more posts than the website.

As for the gear thing..well, that's just my hobby horse. Shiny toys seem to be discussed out or proportion to other aspects of the outdoors...
Nothing to do with your website..it is the (online) outdoors community in general.

I sincerely wish you luck, though.

Well, I propose a competition then. Let's see if this thread can generate more posts than UBN. This thread is already lagging far behind, so you better get posting!

[DocHolliday]

Don't challenge a drunk man.

[Press]

I agree with Max. Hang in there kid. Pretty cool that you are doing this, whether the stodgy old folks on here like or not. You appear to be a pretty smart 17 year old.