[pct-l] Journaling on the trail

Bill Weber billweberx at yahoo.com
Mon Jul 7 22:33:25 CDT 2014 

I have a similar delimma.  Very slow with the thumbs.  It take hours to type out a blog post and I doubt I will keep it up every night on the trail.  I also looked, unsuccessfully, for a lightweight, foldable bluetooth keyboard.  Carrot has one that she likes, but it's no longer available.  One possibility would be to dictate into a recorder.  Then when in signal range (say in town), play it into the phone and let the phone convert to text.  I haven't tried this, but it may work.  Then you can edit away before posting.
Bill


On Monday, July 7, 2014 5:18 PM, Michael Slusser <michael.slusser at gmail.com> wrote:
 


Met some folks on the trail carrying an iPad Mini. They really loved it for
typing and for reading maps and such.

I tried out a flexible, weatherproof bluetooth keyboard (about $20 on
Amazon). It made typing much easier, but it was difficult to find a place
flat enough to use it, and it quit on me after only a few days. Some
stiffer, more expensive models might hold up better and still come in at a
few ounces.

~PE


On Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 3:10 PM, Jennifer Zimmerman <jenniferlzim at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I typed on my iPhone because I couldn't think of a better alternative.
>  Didn't want to carry a larger device.  I would have preferred to write it
> longhand, but I'm sure with the added burden of transcribing I never would
> have gotten the entries online - uploading them in town, with added
> pictures and often spotty wifi, was enough of a chore in itself.  I wrote
> in Notes because it was better than the blog app (which wouldn't do
> landscape mode).  It tended to be tedious and frustrating even though I got
> faster as I went. A character-to-text deal using the camera would have been
> ideal, but I'm not sure if a reliably functional app exists for this.
>
> I wanted to look into using a Kindle for typing - one with a touchscreen,
> like the backlit models - since I already carried one for books, but never
> found out whether this was a possibility. Sorry I don't have a better
> recommendation!
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 3:35 PM, <kevin at kegphoto.com> wrote:
>
> >  Not trying to be a jackass, but maybe you just need practice typing w/
> >  thumbs?  For the reasons you mention I would not bring an iPad, and for
> >  me, part of the reason I hike is to get away from screens (except the
> >  kind that keep bugs at bay).  For what its worth, I find an iPhone
> >  easier to type on than an iPad.  Until you try the iPad you may find
> >  it's no easier than the iPhone.
> >
> > Also, I haven't tried this, but there is a Moleskine that supposedly
> > scans into Evernote w/ the camera on your phone.  Evernote claims it can
> > read your handwritten text and convert it to digital text.  Like I said,
> > haven't used this, but if it works well it would mitigate a lot of the
> > duplicate effort of retyping your handwritten journal entries.
> > Presumably one must have legible handwriting for the computer to convert
> > it.
> >
> > If your goal is to turn these into a longer story or blog post, I find
> > that a few key words written down when in the field is all it really
> > takes to unlock the memories when back home.  This outline on paper
> > written during your trip could be used when you're back in front of the
> > computer.
> >
> > Good luck!
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 7, 2014, at 01:24 PM, Herb Stroh wrote:
> > > One aspect of my recent shakedown hike was to try my hand at journaling
> > > on the trail using my I-Phone. The results were totally unsatisfactory.
> > > "Typing" with two thumbs on a screen just did not work for me-I may as
> > > well of been using elbows. And as I painstakingly sought to capture my
> > > thoughts in an efficiency of words, I  watched my I-Phone bleed out its
> > > precious battery life one percent at a time.
> > >
> > > I have considered carrying an i-pad or other such device. Although not
> > > perfect, the larger electronic keyboard allows me to type at a
> reasonable
> > > rate. But this clearly raises issues of weight, additional  power
> issues,
> > > and a diva piece of gear that requires special handling. I have thought
> > > about dictating entries and sending the audio files to someone to
> > > transcribe, but would of course loose the aspect of editing (unless I
> > > want to significantly delay posts and review them in town). A
> > > dragon-speak type software would be great, but I believe everything out
> > > there requires a network connection to function. I have thought about
> > > journaling the old fashion way of paper and pen, but to get posts
> online
> > > means a duplication of effort.
> > >
> > > How have others addressed this? Is the common method to just to type
> out
> > > the entry using your smart phone? I suppose with practice I will get
> > > faster, but I think it will always be very limiting for me.
> > > FYI, for power I have used the Suntactics battery and was pleased with
> > > its ability to provide multiple recharges of the phone. I question how
> > > well it will do in recharging a larger device more than once.
> > >
> > > Thanks all.
> > >
> > > Herb
> > >
> > >
> > > Herb Stroh  |  Partner
> > > Sinsheimer Juhnke McIvor & Stroh, LLP
> > > 1010 Peach Street  |  PO Box 31  |  San Luis Obispo, CA  93406
> > > P 805 541 2800  |  F 805 541 2802
> > > HStroh at sjmslaw.com<mailto:HStroh at sjmslaw.com>   |
> > > www.sjmslaw.com<http://www.sjmslaw.com/>
> > >
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