Outdoor survey - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

Hi,

I am a member of a team here at Stanford University that is researching how people find the locations for their outdoor adventures. We’re basically four outdoor enthusiasts looking to develop cool new ways of making location based information more accessible and user friendly.

The survey should not take you more than 5 minutes so we would appreciate it if you helped out. We want your feedback.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=696391455891

Thanks!

Team Outdoor Adventures
Stanford, CA

Evan Tana

#2

It works. Leave off the [/u] that’s on the end~J.

Journey

#3

I get a message, “This survey no longer exists or is invalid.” And I left off the [/u] on both ends.

Not knowing what the survey asks (or asked), I’d like to just throw this out there: We have too few wild places that have NOT been widely publicized. Between books, websites, TV shows, and movies–many of the good places that used to be Best Kept Secrets–discovered if you will the hard way by individuals and small groups–are becoming “destinations.”

The worst offender in this regard, IMHO, is Backpacker Magazine.

So, if you’re looking for “cool new ways of making location based information more accessible…” maybe you should think about the ramifications too.

Skyline

#4

Survey worked for me. They don’t want to know where the great places are, just how you find out about places to go - word of mouth, magazine, etc. I did not offer my email address.

Turtle Walking

#5

But their post did say: “…looking to DEVELOP cool new ways of making location based information more accessible…”

Anyway, it worked for me just now, too. Guess it was a hiccup in the system before.

Skyline

#6

Skyline,

C’mon, it’s time to let go the angst about the publicity our wild places get. The age when legend and rumor about sacred places has passed, albeit sadly, but it’s gone and for the safety of everyone, the more information the better. Take this forum, for example. Thank God for this because I’ve gotten gear and location ideas from here that I otherwise may have missed. Heck, I might not even be involved in the outdoors if it wasn’t for spending boring nights at home reading Backpacker and National Geographic, taking note of some spectacular picture and wondering what it would be like to “go there.”

Suvid

#7

I do understand wanting to keep our special places special, but I think that instead of worrying about keeping info to ourselves on trails, hiking, etc, lets focus on education re “no trace”, being respectful of other hikers, etc.

I had a good chuckle recently when two separate folks both told me AFTER they built a new home in a previously wooded area that they thought no one else to be allowed to build there. It was OK for THEM to build there (their desire to build in that area was of course “different” from “those other people”) but not for anyone else!

Leah

#8

Suvid,

I agree that info on gear, safety, LNT and similar issues deserve a lot wider exposure. And reporting on places that already get a lot of visitation–well, the genie’s already out of the bottle, so what can we do?

But there are places that probably you or I or anyone else with backpacking/hiking experience have found on our own or by simple word of mouth (nothing in print, on the web, or in any media) that can still be considered “wild.”

Backpacker Magazine takes great delight in finding these places, promoting the hell out of 'em–including detailed maps about specific campsites–and the result is not good. A place we may have enjoyed with few if any other campers nearby, three years ago, suddenly has no parking left at the trailhead (didn’t even NEED a real trailhead before), litter, human waste and TP all over the no-longer pristine camping areas, and a lack of solitude due to all the newfound “company” in the woods.

Instead of “developing cool new ways…” IMHO we should exercise more restraint as it regards these places. Go out and discover them on your own (it’s more satisfying that way!), or develop a small network of friends who share info with one another, privately.

Informative articles or documentaries on HOW to find these places, not specifically WHERE they are, would serve everyone well.

BTW, I also enjoy reading Backpacker and have been a subscriber for about 13 years. I just hate it when they intentionally cause the overpopulation of pristine places.

Suvid

#9

Made a big mistake above! I wrote it, not “Suvid.” I typed Suvid’s name twice by mistake; of course–I should have used my name as the author.

Skyline

Skyline

#10

“…cool new ways of making location based information more accessible and user friendly.”

How does one make information friendly?
How about a web site all about hiking trails?
wow. clever.

Technocrat