Why do I READ trip reports

[dr_wu002]

Seems like in those other threads people are arguing about other people's motivations for putting up trip reports.

This person brags.

That person is too slow!

I write 'em because I want to share with the world my experiences

I want to give something back

Look, about all I can say is that I have fun writing trip reports. Sometimes it might be because I really did like and area and want to write about it. Sometimes it might be an inside joke that I want to confuse the world with. Sometimes I want to write something funny. Some times I want to discuss a route, or if I did a bad route want people to tell me what I did wrong. Sometimes I'm proud of an accomplishment. Other times I like to enter the land of make-believe or I want to piss people off or lace my story with total lies and half-truths. And, for those who didn't catch my humor -- I don't actually write trip reports because I hate myself.

What I can't control is who reads them and why. Not that I care who in particular reads my trip reports. To a large extent it doesn't matter because my trip reports are usually at best fringe so I can imagine people take a sense of annoyance, humor, frustration or confusion from reading them. Or, they just don't read them. I also follow certain patterns that some might not like: I enjoy discussing the turd that I saw on the trail or describing some totally irrelevant thing Eric was wearing or doing. Or I write a trip report to trick people into wasting their time watching some completely meaningless video that I put up on Youtube. But I can't force anyone any of my trip reports.

But anyway, I don't read all the trip reports that I come across. Often times I ignore reports for certain mountains or areas or ones written by certain people. It's no dig at anyone and I'm not judging good or bad it's just my personal preference and I will exercise that. There are some people who I will read their trip report to the bathroom if they put it up -- and that doesn't always mean that I'm impressed: maybe I think they're an awful writer and I want to see what abomination they conjure up this time. I have my reasons, you have your reasons, but in general, that's what we control is what we read.

I can write 10 trip reports over the course of 2 or 3 months but I can read 400 or 500 during that same time. What makes you read?

 

[albee]

I read them because I'm bored at work. I also read them because I like being amused, confused, confounded, and annhilated with the obscure wit of some members of these forums. I also also read them because it can be really voyeuristic, especially when people post lots of pictures. (Why don't people post more inside-the-tent pictures?)

By the way, I got dibs on the next "Why do I POST POLLS thread:"

 

[Neil]

You forgot a poll choice:

I never read reports by Dr. Wu.

I only read a TR if it's gonna be good. I know it's gonna be bad when it starts off:

We met xyz at the McDonald's in Conway at 7:32 am EST, we were 5th in line. The coffee was at 140 degrees farenheit.

My faves are the bushwhack TR's by people like Onestep, Timmus and so on.

It's a good thing Frodo dosn't write many of his up, I'd get out of breath reading them.

 

[David Metsky]

This is the LAST poll on trip reports. If anyone wants another one please ask the moderators first before creating.

-dave-

 

[dr_wu002]

You forgot a poll choice:

I never read reports by Dr. Wu.

Well Neil, there were only 10 choices. I figured that putting something specific about me in it would appear shamelessly self-promoting and self-congratulatory. Remember, I wrote this, not you.

This is the LAST poll on trip reports. If anyone wants another one please ask the moderators first before creating.

-dave-

Good idea. I wouldn't want those other threads to get in the way of this one!

C'mon people! It's yer last chance to vote until November, get the fingers clicking.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Tom Rankin]

I pretty much voted all of the above!

I agree, Timmus writes extremely well, even if English is not her first language! Ditto for Rejean!

Neil's are sometimes over the top, but hey, keep 'em coming!

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

You forgot a poll choice:

I never read reports by Dr. Wu.

I only read a TR if it's gonna be good. I know it's gonna be bad when it starts off:

We met xyz at the McDonald's in Conway at 7:32 am EST, we were 5th in line. The coffee was at 140 degrees farenheit.

My faves are the bushwhack TR's by people like Onestep, Timmus and so on.

It's a good thing Frodo dosn't write many of his up, I'd get out of breath reading them.

Agreed!

I like T.R. like this one.
Now that trip sounds like FUN!

...and no that's not the NH 4,000 footer.

 

[giggy]

its just fun. I like to read reports with some nonsense humor tossed in and thats how I write them.

 

[Bob Kittredge]

I'm looking for new and interesting trails to do myself.

I want to learn from other people's mistakes so I won't make them myself and end up in Mohamed's Accident Reports.

I like good pictures.

I like a laugh.

THAT SAID, there are some TRs I avoid:

Ones that are way too long and wordy. Keep 'em short and pithy. I have a low tolerance for purple prose. Funny is good. Explicit timetables are a bit much.

Photos that seem to have been dumped straight from the memory card to the Internet. Suggestion: Transfer the pics to a folder and then take a quick run through it, deleting the duplicates and crappy shots. Then upload the remaining ones to the net. Then, if you have the time and the ability, label the pics so we have some idea of where and who they are of.

 

[Zimmer]

Yeah, I know it's tongue-in-cheek, but I'll answer anyway.

I'm looking for info that isn't in the trail guides. A couple of years ago, someone posted a Mt. Tremont report that precisely described the location of a bees' nest in the ground. Very helpful information.

It was no help to me, of course, since my DH was leading at that point, and when he stepped over the birch log that had been so meticulously mentioned in the trail report and I asked him whether there was a bees' nest there, he told me there wasn't. He, of course, had unwittingly managed to disturb the bees but not get stung. I'm the one who got the multiple stings (and yes, we're still married ).

I also read them in the spring to figure out where the snow line is and what to bring along equipment-wise (or whether there's just more snow than I feel like dealing with in May...).

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Suggestion: Transfer the pics to a folder and then take a quick run through it, deleting the duplicates and crappy shots. [/U]Then upload the remaining ones to the net. Then, if you have the time and the ability, label the pics so we have some idea of where and who they are of.

I concur with this thought. I will tend to read the shorter trip reports, and if they are too long, I'll skip right to the pictures. I'm much more likely to watch the entire show if it flows, is labeled, and the junk or duplicate shots are removed. I'm also less likely to read about places I'll never visit, and likewise more likely to read about trips to the NH48 or NEHH. Someday, that will probably change.

That said, I strive to write my reports and organize my photos in this manner.

I read TRs for a few reasons:

1. It kept my head in the game and motivated me to continue the boring knee rehab program
2. I like to see either the real trail in relation to someone's photos, or vice-versa, depending on whether I read first or hike first
3. I use the TRs and photos as additional beta prior to the hike (complementing Mohammed's info, the WMG and TOPO maps). This is why I like them to tell a story. The photo sequence sticks in my mind better than the trail description.


Stay hydrated today!
Tim

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Yeah, I know it's tongue-in-cheek, but I'll answer anyway. ...

It was no help to me, of course, since my DH was leading at that point ...

Hmm ... what's a DH? Designated Hitter? Darling Husband? Neither?

 

[Zimmer]

DH = "Dear Husband".

Except when he stirs bees' nests. Then it's "D@#$ Husband".

If he does it twice, I think it will be "Departed Husband".

(DW (wife), DD (daughter) and DS (son) and DF (fiance(e)) are also pretty standard abbreviations).

 

[Kevin Rooney]

DH = "Dear Husband".

Except when he stirs bees' nests. Then it's "D@#$ Husband".

If he does it twice, I think it will be "Departed Husband".

(DW (wife), DD (daughter) and DS (son) and DF (fiance(e)) are also pretty standard abbreviations).

Thanks. The BB's I frequent aren't usually that civil!