[pct-l] Trail Journals

[G. Lowe aka Wheeew]

Favor:  Would all those post-ers that came up with "rules" for Trail Journals please send me the web addresses of THEIR journals, so that I might critique them??

And this:  If anyone writing a TJ IS following all the suggested "rules", I can promise you, I will never, EVER read your journal again!!!  

The point missed is this:  TJ's are (or should be) for the AUTHORS enjoyment, not the readers!!  If the readers should enjoy them as well, so much the better.  But write them for your OWN enjoyment.  Not all writers are created equal.  Like most people, I am inept at many things in life, and proficient at others.  The unmitigated arrogance of thinking that I, or other TJ authors "owe" you a "performance"  or need to follow a RIGID set of guidelines DICTATED to us is a shameful slap in the face to those who take on the labor-intensive act of keeping a TJ.  

I would rather poke my eyes out with a phillips head screwdriver  than follow the suggested "guidelines".  Let's hear if for artistic freedom!

Hike On!

Wheeew

Alison Rose <a.rose at sbcglobal.net> wrote:       Dear Dr. Bob ~
  
 A very good point indeed and I, for one, certainly thank you  for making it.  
 A whiney, long-winded, self indulgent journal should be kept  private. That
 being said, the well intentioned advice is offered  to those who specificially
 wish to post a public journal for the world to see.  As  most will notice,
 those journals will be read by somewhere between 20,000 and  150,000 people.
 Many read these journals in preperation for their own hike, so  providing some
 of the recommended information is a tremendous gift to  them.  Thus, if
 you want your journal to be interesting and relevent, kindly  follow the
 recommendations.  If not, as in Dr. Bob's example, keep  them private.  And I,
 for one, will thank you.  Thank you, thank you very  much.
  
  
 One thing I like about trail journals is their wide diversity,  reflecting
the individual.  The fact that all journals do not follow the  same terse
guidelines helps one with insights into differing personalities  and the
trail day as experienced in differing ways by different people...  the
essence of HYOH.  Besides, for whom is a trail journal  written?  Is it to
entertain or educate others and written with an eye  to avoiding critical
comment?  (Gee, should I write this...?  I may  be viewed as "whining.")  If
so, some might suggest it may be flawed  from the outset. I use a MP3 player
to talk into as I hike. It's in my front  pocket and several times a mile I
grab it to record thoughts, sightings,  people's names, as well as host of
comments on my physical state of being  that I want to remember as part of my
trail experience.  Example: Whew,  did I just have projectile diarrhea! (No,
not this posting, folks).   Sometimes I ramble on (just like this post,
folks). I am guilty of writing  more a trail diary than a log or journal.  It
is precisely because of  comments like the well-intentioned guidelines
suggested below that I have  never publicly posted my four trail "journals."
While I sure enjoy reading  other accounts occasionally, mine proudly include
whining and stay  deliciously private.  :)

Dr Bob 

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-Wheeew-
www.trailjournals.com/wheeew/
---->MexiCan----> 2008
       
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