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<DIV><FONT size=3>Dear Dr. Bob ~</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>A very good point indeed and I, for one, certainly thank you
for making it. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>A whiney, long-winded, self indulgent journal should be kept
private. </FONT><FONT size=3>That</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>being said, the well intentioned advice is offered
to those who specificially</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>wish to post a public journal for the world to see. As
most will notice,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>those journals will be read by somewhere between 20,000 and
</FONT><FONT size=3>150,000 people.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Many read these journals in preperation for their own hike, so
providing some</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>of the recommended information is a tremendous gift to
them. Thus, if</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>you want your journal to be interesting and relevent, kindly
follow the</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>recommendations. If not, as in Dr. Bob's example, keep
them private. And I,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>for one, will thank you. Thank you, thank you very
much.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>One thing I like about trail journals is their wide diversity,
reflecting<BR>the individual. The fact that all journals do not follow the
same terse<BR>guidelines helps one with insights into differing personalities
and the<BR>trail day as experienced in differing ways by different people...
the<BR>essence of HYOH. Besides, for whom is a trail journal
written? Is it to<BR>entertain or educate others and written with an eye
to avoiding critical<BR>comment? (Gee, should I write this...? I may
be viewed as "whining.") If<BR>so, some might suggest it may be flawed
from the outset. I use a MP3 player<BR>to talk into as I hike. It's in my front
pocket and several times a mile I<BR>grab it to record thoughts, sightings,
people's names, as well as host of<BR>comments on my physical state of being
that I want to remember as part of my<BR>trail experience. Example: Whew,
did I just have projectile diarrhea! (No,<BR>not this posting, folks).
Sometimes I ramble on (just like this post,<BR>folks). I am guilty of writing
more a trail diary than a log or journal. It<BR>is precisely because of
comments like the well-intentioned guidelines<BR>suggested below that I have
never publicly posted my four trail "journals."<BR>While I sure enjoy reading
other accounts occasionally, mine proudly include<BR>whining and stay
deliciously private. :)<BR><BR>Dr Bob <BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>