Getting Off the Trail

imported
#1

Please be considerate of the Trail Journals readers. If you are keeping a journal on Trail Journals and are getting off the trail for any reason; sick, injury, wedding, personnal reasons, etc. please take your Trail Journal off with you. It is very frustrating to be reading your account and then it stops. It really doesn’t matter what the reason is. It is frustrating to read of journeys and to have them end. When you return to the Trail then I believe it is appropritate to place your journal back on the active list.

There will be a tremendous amount of entries on Trail Journals over the next several months. Please let those hikers and readers the opportunity to read about updated entries. Thanks for everyone’s cooperation. I hope that everyone that does want to thru hike in '05 has a safe and wonderful experience. Good Luck to you along the way. There will be thousands of us that will enjoy reading of your experiences.

Bilko

#2

“It is very frustrating to be reading your account and then it stops.”

My first thought is, why do YOU care? I’m trying to be a jerk, but really, it’s not like you’ve paid cash to read these journals. They owe you nothing, although for myself I would expect to at least see a truthful journal, and not something falsified.

My second thought is, if anyone should reprimand the journalists (or better yet, the transcriber), shouldn’t it be the webmaster? I mean, if there are a slew of unfinished journals taking up too much and basically clogging the site, then I’m sure the guys can handle such an issue internally (and get a moderator for this forum - oops, did I say that out loud?).

My third thought (didn’t expect to have so many), is quite simply, do the math. If some journalist is doing the AT and they have a total of 18 entries in their 2004 journal, its a pretty good indicator that the journal will come to a quick and abrupt end (the exact amount of each journalist’s entries are in fact listed next to their name). It takes something like 150-180 days to hike the Appalachian Trail. So if there’s only 18 of them - or 8 of them - my guess would be they quit the trail.

I mean, be realistic here. You know the stats for a AT thru-hike. 1 out of 10, or something like that? Do you then suppose that by having an online journal they are fail-proof? Not quite. Journalists fail too. And sometimes they just can’t say goodbye.

Or maybe their transcriber died. Ever think of that :eek: ?

Kineo Kid

#3

i’m NOT trying to be a jerk

Boy, am I gonna hear about THAT one… :wink:

Kineo Kid

#4

Unfinished journals are all part of the reading experience. I think the most anyone should expect is that the hiker change the status of his journal to “got off trail.” If you have to get off the trail, updating your journal is probably not at the top of your list of things to do. You may think you’ll be back. You may not want to admit for a while that your hike is over. You may have to figure out a way to explain what happened. Any of that stuff is good enough reason to delay wrapping your journal.

I used to get frustrated when I read a journal and then the entries just dried up, usually, I assumed, because the hiker got off the trail. Sometimes, though, the hiker would just get tired of journaling and update less frequently. In either case, if I came back and checked once in a while, it was a real surprise and pleasure to find a new journal entry, perhaps explaining what happened. Several years ago, I was reading a hiker’s journal, and she got off the trail in NY (I think) for no reason that I could discern. She seemed to be hiking strongly, making good progress, she wasn’t sick, just seemed discouraged all of a sudden. Just a couple of months ago, she piped up with an entry here in Trailforums that explained the whole thing. I love stuff like that.

Strongly agree with what KK said. Seems to be a lot of common sense there.

Disco

#5

I am annoyed at the original post. I did not know I was accountable to my readers that are complete strangers. I set up the journal for family members and friends to keep up with my hiking adventures.

While we are on the subject though, when someone drops off the trail there may be a high level of defeat and embarassment that that person may face. Updating their journal may be the last thing in the world they want to do. If someone wants to take some time off of their journal after dropping off the trail, I think they are entitled too. Hell, if they never come back to the site, that is their choice. It’s all about choice. There are no rules to posting a journal on this site (for the most part) and there should not be.

This site is a tremendous resource to hikers and hiker wannabes everywhere. Whether people drop off the trail and do not update or not. Bilko, being annoyed because someone dropped off and did not give you a reason is just the price you will have to pay for living vicariously through someone elses hike.

Tribes

#6

Kineo Kid, My journals will only have about 20 - 25 entries because I am a section hiker who goes for about 2 weeks + per year until I can do a thru. I do keep and post a journal and have some who read my story, and I assume it is ok to post a journal for a section hike since Leif and Zip Drive have not asked me to stop. Just concerned that if you suggest that every journal with less than 150 entries is a failed hike, my journal and others like it will be skipped over. That may not have been your intent, but I just wanted to give an alternate viewpoint about what it means when a journal with fewer entries is posted. Thanks. CBiscuit

CBiscuit

#7

Every yr there are journalists that haven’t made an entry in 4 months and it’s september so you assume they got off trail a long time ago, just to find out that they DID finish. This is pretty frequent. Some people find it’s too much pressure to hike and journal (its difficult folks) and sometimes their transcribers fall through and have a life of their own and cannot keep up on the duty. Its a huge duty for both journalists and transcribers, so keep that in mind as readers.

A-Train

#8

As an '05 thru hiker that has not yet started I appreciate the journals of hikers who have had to get off the trail for an infinite variety of reasons. Once it’s established that they did not complete their thru hike I go back into their journals entries and try to discern what led them up to this choice. I then take this information and look at myself to see if I need to make changes in my prepartion or attitude toward the trail. Many times it’s an unavoidable situation like injury, illness, something in the family, but it’s often the result of choices the hiker made early in their planning. I appreciate all journals for what they bring to the table and offer me for my intended thru hike.

Nimblefoot

#9

I think it is common courtesy to leave a note on your journal when you get off the trail. There are many people who get as interested in these journals as they would reading a novel. Except it’s better than a novel because it’s real life, and real adventure.

By starting an online journal, you are giving up an aspect of your privacy. You know that many people will be reading your journal, and perhaps even following your journal. (Just look at all your guestbook entries!) Don’t you owe it to them to give some closure? If you are brave enough to share your trail experiences with the world, perhaps you should be brave enough to share how or why it ended.

Okay, I know that things happen, and perhaps it’s too embarrassing to give details. Sometimes you can’t say goodbye. Then just switch your account from “active” to “got off the trail”. This is not some sort of celebration of people getting off the trail, but closure.

There is nothing wrong with “living vicariously through someone else’s hike”. In fact, that is mostly why this website exists. If updating your journal is a priority while on the trail (which is much harder), maybe it should be when you get off the trail as well.

Wallaby

#10

Getting off the Trail was one of the most devastating experiences of my life. When I got to my Mom’s house in Maine, I tried for days (and then weeks at home) to post more…to finalize my journey. I just couldn’t write anymore. I still hope to be able to finish what I began in 2003. I was able to put away 37 more miles last year, and will at least chip away at the remaining 138 this summer. Maybe I couldn’t write more because I’m not done…who knows? Anyway…just thought I’d give a “gotten off the Trail” hiker’s perspective…

Woods Dragon

#11

I’m reading page after page of well-written, timely entries and then “I DID IT! Summited Katahdin in the wee hours of a sultry July day. I will catch up on the details later.” and later never happens.

I guess it is because (as someone posted) the journal is written for family and friends. The hiker gets home and TeLLs the family and friends all the glorious details… and now there is not much point in journaling those details.

We anonymous readers are like eavesdroppers on a conversation at a coffee shop. If the patrons at the other table get up and leave, we can’t very well stop them at the door and say, “Hey! don’t leave me hanging, here – finish the story.”
The story wasn’t being told to “us” in the first place.

My only suggestion would be to post in the the guest book regularly so that a hiker knows you are reading. Or, offer to transcribe - then you’ll get the story first;)

Wild Hare

#12

Yeah, I have to second that about journals written for family and friends. There was a hiker last year who had a journal here, and it was overly laden with little ‘in-jokes’ and references to things that have nothing to do with all that goes with hiking the trail, and it was very difficult to read.

And CBiscut, I do know that some do the trail differently (HYOH, in other words) and their journal will reflect that. My reference was to the slew of journals with only 3 entries (you won’t have far too look in last year’s bunch). I do have an account with trailjournals (last I looked :nerd ) but in order to ‘activate’ it and have it come up with all the others, I would (as you know) have to post a minimum number of entries in order to do so. For many reasons, I have not made those entries yet. Like you, I may have to complete the AT in sections, unless I wish to start in the dead of winter like Bono (and I don’t).

Kineo Kid

#13

How many times can you write,"I went up, I went down, the view was great, the view sucked. It rained, it was cold. Ive finished more hikes than journals, if you dont like it, dont read it.

Chef

#14

I had an experience with another journal which may add some perspective here. I was a Peace Corps volunteer many years ago, and, for the only time in my life other than on the trail, I kept a journal. I finished my full two-year tour of duty, but for some reason, I stopped writing in my journal a few weeks before I went home. You know, things were really busy just before I left and after I got home, and once I stepped off the plane, I lost the thread. Now I go back to that journal and really wish that I had made the effort to finish it. It would have just taken half an hour. I have shared my journal with other people, but it’s too late – that last bit of my experience is gone forever.

Snowbird

#15

I’ve got around 100 family, friends and co-workers that are following my trip through my journal. Anyone else is welcome to read it too but there is no one outside the webmasters on this site that is going to dictate my writing etiquette. As Chef said, if you dont like that I invite you not to read mine as well.

swift

Swift

#16

Who died and made Bilko boss. Im new to trail journals and I think I might be messing up by not checking with him before I post a thread or do a journal

fatback

#17

I am truly impressed…
what a bunch of fish
you are soo right too

l;kj;lll

#18

Did he actually say it frustrates him to read journals and have them end? i thought most do come to an end. The last time i checked there are still only 15% - 20% completing the entire trail. They are going to come to an end. my suggestion get used to disappointment and leave the journal mgt to lief & zip. It would be nice to have them give a reason why they got off the trail to wrap things up though. - worries

noworries