What makes a good trip report?

[adktyler]

I hope this is the correct section of the forum for this.

As you all know, there are some great reports on here. I often see "great report" or "great job, way to go" replies to peoples reports. So here is my question: What makes a great trip report?

Is it one that includes detailed information?
One that is funny?
One with great pictures?
One that is short and to the point?

Maybe this is a matter of opinion, but I'm curious. Not only for my own information, but also to better my trip reports and give people an interesting read. What do you like to see in a trip report? Care to share?

 

[sli74]

For me it depends on what I am looking to get out of that particular report. Am I using it for beta for an upcoming hike, for inspiration or to find out what friends have been up to, etc, etc. But in general,

Is it one that includes detailed information?
YES, particularly if I am going on a similar trip soon.

One that is funny?
ABSOLUTELY, I love funny trip reports and reports with emotion or a report than conveys the feelings of that hike for that person.

One with great pictures?
Definitely, a pictures is worth a thousand words. I like seeing pictures of places far and near, in different conditions, etc.

One that is short and to the point?
Not usually, I prefer middle of the road. A report that is too short doesn't entertain me enough. Plus, i tend to be long winded so I feel less guilty for being such a "talker" if others are lengthy in their reports as well.

 

[WinterWarlock]

One that is short and to the point?
Not usually, I prefer middle of the road. A report that is too short doesn't entertain me enough. Plus, i tend to be long winded so I feel less guilty for being such a "talker" if others are lengthy in their reports as well.

I agree (not that you're long-winded...I enjoyed reading of your thru-hike) - I've seen some that are so short you don't get a sense of being there, which is what I'm looking for. Tyler - your Street & Nye report is a perfect example...just right! Descriptive, funny, and a good image of what you saw is conveyed to the reader.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

You might want to read these three threads:

"I Don't do TRs": http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18142
"I Do TRs": http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18135
and
"I Read TRs": http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18152

Personally I'm in the part-beta, part-story camp, with inline pictures, both when I write them and when I read them.

Tim

 

[arghman]

Photos and/or a description of something interesting that has happened.

And a judicious use of brevity.

A great day on the mountain and a new trail with friends and rain and getting a little lost and cooling off in the brook are something most of us can all appreciate (or commiserate if it's something bad) but it's really hard to convey that kind of specialness in words.

Be glad, share a few special moments / impressions, and move on to other things in life....

 

[NewHampshire]

I look for something entertaining. What "entertaining" is for me....that is tough for me to describe, but hey, I ain't exactly a man of words

Brian

 

[Fisher Cat]

What makes a great Trip Report, to me anyway, is when you can tell by the writing style who it is without ever seeing the name or avatar. Each one of us is so unique, yet we are bound by a love of hiking, or the outdoors, or the mountains themselves, or being in the woods with our families, or whatever it is that makes it important to us. Its always great to include the "why's" and "how's" and pictures too, certainly. A good TR captures a moment in time, be it past, present, or even future, and it takes us there. Write with feeling, heart, emotion, motivation. There are so many good TR writers here that make you wish you were there with them, and often they succeed by their words or pictures in doing just that.

And if you don't have a style, don't worry. I look back at earlier TR's I've written and have seen how they have evolved from factual to expression. All of a sudden someone hit the switch. Now I weave in events of childhood, things my mentors said or did, lessons they taught us, things that happened. Everything I can remember and retain from growing up in NH. If life truly imitates art, you will find it fluid as you keep writing. It will become an art without even trying. And if life does imitate art often I feel I've been drawing in crayon. But that's OK.

Its a recipe. Humor, facts, observations, happenstance, all that you can think of and a generous seasoning of what you didn't expect. In doing so, you will truly make it enjoyable for yourself (that's most important) and for us too!

Looking foward to your TR's of the future!

 

[David Metsky]

Moved to General Backcountry.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Overcoming a little adversity along the way is always good.

Knowing when to press on vs turn back.

A sense of humor.

Conditions and weather details.

Not too long.

 

[Bobby]

I think the trip itself is what makes a TR great. What happened, what you felt along the way and what thoughts were going through your head. It's always nice to read about the trail conditions and what kind of weather you had.

We have all hiked in many of the same places, but our individual experiences are what makes each report different. I know that on solo trips, I tend to get a little introspective...OK - maybe a lot introspective. With a group, it seems to become a day long improv comedy show. Both are fun to write, we get to share a little about ourselves.

 

[Papa Bear]

I'll add a little different perspective here - Why do I write trip reports and who is my intended audience?

The answer evolved mostly the first season I got back to hiking after a long (as in 30+ years) hiatus. Namely when I section-hiked much of the north part of the AT in 2002 and 2003. I was not part of VFTT at that point (I don't recall if it even existed then) so I wrote fairly detailed reports with lots of pictures and put them on my (then brand-new) web site. Then I would send a mass emailing to family and friends. Usually a few would say they were good and it made them almost feel like they were with me. A few others said politely "please take me off your mailing list".

But then a funny thing happened - at the start of the next season, I re-read my own reports and discovered that lots of memories came back that I had lost. I was back hiking again and it was great. In a sense I lived through the experience 3 times:

1. When I did the hike.
2. When I dug up the pictures and wrote the report some weeks or months later.
3. When I re-read the report, sometimes years later.

And this sense of reliving the experience multiple times is still true today. When I read about my wrong turn on the AT in Pennsylvania after taking a break (heading back to where I started that morning) or fording the West Branch of the Pleasant River in Maine - it all comes back to me again.

After I joined VFTT in 2003, the reports went up here first, and then I eventually move them to my web site.

So the answers (as I now understand) are:

Why? To allow myself or others to relive the experience.
For whom? Mostly for myself, and then for anyone else who is interested.

Are they successful? For me they are, for others? That's for them to say.

So happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, Kwanzaa or whatever to everyone, and I'll try to keep those reports coming for anyone who may enjoy them.

 

[WinterWarlock]

we get to share a little about ourselves.

Bobby - I think you hit the nail on the head with this one...some reports seem mechanical, and some clearly show the writer sharing their experience and themselves, and sometimes their mistakes or lessons learned. Those are the best ones to me...

PapaBear - to answer your final question...I enjoy your reports, and always come away wanting to go wherever you have just written about.

 

[RoySwkr]

I would say that most of the "great report" comments come on reports that are witty, philosophical, or have nice pictures. These reports can be enjoyed by people who never intend to go there.

There are also reports that contain detailed information on how to visit a certain offbeat place, but while these are highly valuable for folk who intend to go there they are more tedious to write and much less useful to the general readership so don't tend to draw comments. That's a shame because I'd like to see more real information on this site.

A photo of a group standing at the trailhead is interesting to those who like to put faces to names, while a photo of a ledge or stream crossing is useful to someone who might want to go there. (Anyone have photos of washed-out bridges on Garfield road?)

 

[Snowflea]

Personally, I like reading about epics and hikes that are creative and different -- the types of trip reports I used to occasionally post when I lived in the area.

Madison via Valley Way? Yawn.

Lafayette by way of OBP? Zzzzz...

OTOH...

A Hancock-Captain-Carrigain traverse? Yess!

Jefferson via the trailless Jefferson Ravine? Ooooh!

The entire Davis Path on one winter day? Yep, I'd read that one fershur.

Warning: If you decide to report on your epic, you may be accused of being self-serving, of bragging. Ignore these negative people. Many of us would love to read your stories!

Self-deprecating humor helps, too.

 

[Puma concolor]

I enjoy trip reports that are full of inside jokes and traces of social networking.

 

[funkyfreddy]

I hope this is the correct section of the forum for this.

As you all know, there are some great reports on here. I often see "great report" or "great job, way to go" replies to peoples reports. So here is my question: What makes a great trip report?

Is it one that includes detailed information?
One that is funny?
One with great pictures?
One that is short and to the point?

Maybe this is a matter of opinion, but I'm curious. Not only for my own information, but also to better my trip reports and give people an interesting read. What do you like to see in a trip report? Care to share?

All of the above or......

a TR with heart in it........ doesn't have to have to perfect grammar either...... just got to have soul and show appreciation for life like a good piece of music!