I ran into VFTT long ago early in the sites history. At the time despite living right in the White Mountains, the number of folks in the area who actually hiked was pretty low (and still are) and the ones who did tended to hike with the same people they grew up and tended to be pretty closed groups.
There was really no source of trail conditions especially in the winter. About the only way to plan on a packed trail was to go out the day after a scheduled AMC trip
. When the 98 ice storm hit, the woods were impassable and VFTT was the source for finding out what trails were passable. Due to the characteristics of the damage, it was mostly the lower elevation trails that got hammered and there was a distinct possibility that someones selected escape route would be impassable so knowing what was open was essential. When the Saco ranger district started using VFTT to report which trails were cleared and other districts followed it was affirmation that the VFTT trail conditions were the default for the whites.
Another aspect was reading about what others were doing and the utter amazement at some of the feats people were pulling off. Just as interesting was many of the reports to places off the beaten paths over the years.
Of course any discussion of VFTT has to include "the lists", I expect a high number of those working on the various lists have come to VFTT to find out the latest info on the best way to bag the latest one on their list. I dont think the Isolation bushwhack, the Black Pond bushwhack, the Brutus route and the Firewardens trail would be much more than a foot note if they were discussed on the site.
The Gatherings, always a member organized event, were a great place to meet the diverse hiking and other outdoor activity crowds. It was also a place where at least at first many people felt "safe" going to a event in person to meet people that they only knew by their postings. Many folks came and went over the years and a lot of the friendships were formed. Of late for various reasons, the amount of new members has lapsed a bit and many of the "old timers" have moved away or lost interest and new forms of media have replaced the activity on the trips and events forum. Despite a lack of recent formal Gatherings, a few of the spawned events, like UFC's event and the ADK BBQ and arguably Flags on the 48 still are going strong.
Hats off to the moderators over the years and to Darren in trying to maintain a civil discourse, I realize that some people just couldnt live with what I considered reasonable moderation, but the site is better for it.
May it last in some form for many more years !
