[pct-l] Trail Journals

[Alison Rose]

Dear Dr. Bob ~

A very good point indeed and I, for one, certainly thank you for making it.  
A whiney, long-winded, self indulgent journal should be kept private. That
being said, the well intentioned advice is offered to those who specificially
wish to post a public journal for the world to see.  As most will notice,
those journals will be read by somewhere between 20,000 and 150,000 people.
Many read these journals in preperation for their own hike, so providing some
of the recommended information is a tremendous gift to them.  Thus, if
you want your journal to be interesting and relevent, kindly follow the
recommendations.  If not, as in Dr. Bob's example, keep them private.  And I,
for one, will thank you.  Thank you, thank you very much.


One thing I like about trail journals is their wide diversity, reflecting
the individual.  The fact that all journals do not follow the same terse
guidelines helps one with insights into differing personalities and the
trail day as experienced in differing ways by different people... the
essence of HYOH.  Besides, for whom is a trail journal written?  Is it to
entertain or educate others and written with an eye to avoiding critical
comment?  (Gee, should I write this...?  I may be viewed as "whining.")  If
so, some might suggest it may be flawed from the outset. I use a MP3 player
to talk into as I hike. It's in my front pocket and several times a mile I
grab it to record thoughts, sightings, people's names, as well as host of
comments on my physical state of being that I want to remember as part of my
trail experience.  Example: Whew, did I just have projectile diarrhea! (No,
not this posting, folks).  Sometimes I ramble on (just like this post,
folks). I am guilty of writing more a trail diary than a log or journal.  It
is precisely because of comments like the well-intentioned guidelines
suggested below that I have never publicly posted my four trail "journals."
While I sure enjoy reading other accounts occasionally, mine proudly include
whining and stay deliciously private.  :)

Dr Bob 
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