Where are the trip reports for this summer?

[wildhiker]

Hello Mike, I am talking about transferring actual content.

Ian, have you tried to simply copy and paste from your posts on HST and saving in a program on your computer? That works for me.
-Phil

[c9h13no3]

I don't post anything more than quick condition reports mostly because my trips aren't done in a style most folks appreciate here. The demands of young children and a job make my trips all in-a-day efforts. Throw in skis or a rope, and the audience here dwindles pretty rapidly.

I spent only 4 days this year between Tower Peak and Cirque Peak, not nearly enough!

[SSSdave]

A basic issue is, HST is an informal free form outdoor community web forum using standard board software with few rigid guidelines, designed to accommodate a broad range of users with different levels of computer technical skills and personal situations. As someone that worked decades in a Silicon Valley career working with technology, I have a significant advantage versus others within online communities that I prefer to take a low profile within in order to not inhibit others with higher levels of posting expectations or generate too much envy from others. And note I also modestly manually code in HTML and other computer languages.

That noted, IMO there are some ways the board could improve. I've made a few suggestions in the past but prefer to let others lead, thank you. When it comes to trip reports, @Maverick 's !! PLEASE POST TRIP REPORTS !! sticky post at sub-forum top should guide how we post. In order to locate older trip reports, the primary tool is the site's Search function. The majority of users obviously understand how to use it though in my experience from many web forums, there will always be enough non-technical members that will need help in how to Search, especially Advanced Search.

And especially examples of useful search terms. So yeah, an admin thread with examples could help in that way. I've occasionally posted links to old threads when members are discussing posting on new threads we've already discussed at length in the past. Examples are threads on dealing with mosquitoes, lightning, backpacking late season etc. From that, it is obvious some people almost never search, that ought be encouraged. Searching for useful trip reports could be most enhanced by improving thread titles.

As it is, if one say searches with "Humphreys Basin", they are going to receive several times more hits with that text than just trip reports and then be discouraged from drilling down for whatever. One feature of the Advanced Search function is either searching on both titles and post text or more narrowly just Title text. Thus if a keyword like "TR:" was embedded say as the first element of any trip report Title, one could easily just get hits for trip reports. If so, one might use "Humphreys Basin" "TR:" and just receive hits for trip reports to that area. To make that more useful, someone with time and admin access might edit older trip report threads Titles starting with the current year of 2024, to make our board more functional since we have years and years of valuable reports. So no need to create a separate sub-forum. As it is many visitors probably rarely if ever look in web community sub-forums beyond a most generally used main forum.

For my own trip reports, I have 10 years worth of highly detailed ready to use digital trip reports on my web homepage top right at https://www.davidsenesac.com under the Trip Chronicles links. As a 4 decades landscape and nature photographer, my reports are photography oriented without providing much about the journey, gear, or say fishing, or peak bagging, etc. My pages are not meant to entertain an audience but rather as a record I'll be able to use when I begin publicly exhibiting my large detailed images with 8k monitor or video wall displays. So I only post links to my own web pages with a token image or three plus a bit of minor text. Without the recorded text given memory and recall limitations, most of my experiences would be lost forever. The entry point for this 76 year old's quiet productive 2024 work:

https://www.davidsenesac.com/2024_Trip_ ... les-0.html

[giantbrookie]

I had some short fall trips that I had thought about writing up, but thought that they wouldn't be that fun to read owing to the fact that they were pedestrian and the fishing was rather middling except for one visit to the easiest-to-reach place which I visited for the third time in 2024. I have considered posting all of this as a composite trip report of sorts.

[tomba]

I tend to get reports out quickly so others can benefit from conditions information but everyone is so busy in the summer. Perhaps it is better to submit reports later in fall or winter.

I like seeing trip reports posted right after the trips. Not just for up-to-date conditions. Sometimes it turns out I met that person on my trip in the same area. Additionally, it feels fresh for some reason. Easier to relate to any recent weather conditions.

Of course, it is much better to post trip reports late than never.

As for my trip reports, during the season I don't have time to post trip reports between backpacking and work. I post condition reports that I think may be useful. Sometimes I post other tidbits from my trips. Sometimes as a reply to someone's post.

I did nine trips in the Sierra this year. Some were just 2+ day weekend trips. Some were over a week long.

It might be easier to post trip reports incrementally in small parts. I could try that.

[Wandering Daisy]

I did not intend to make anyone feel bad about not reporting trips. I certainly understand lack of time. When I was raising small children I did not even have time for trips! I hope new members do not feel intimidated by some of the more difficult or long trips that some of us do. We are all just sharing our love of the outdoors. A trip report does not have to be fancy, long, or written perfectly. It is your own creation done with respect to your own time constraints. I enjoy every trip report! I sometimes post day trips that I do in the winter near home or on the coast- these go into "Beyond the Sierra". Even if you do not want to post a trip report, adding to the "Conditions" thread is REALLY helpful.

I do feel trip reports are the foundation of this forum. And I also appreciate our moderators. I think they do a great job.

[balzaccom]

^^^ 100% agree!

[BillyBobBurro]

I'll try to do better going forward and post some trip reports. I almost never take any pictures which makes me feel like I would be leaving out the meat of a good trip report. And if the fishing is decent I never take out a camera.

[grampy]

Maybe I can do one (in the "Beyond the Sierra Nevada" forum) for a road trip my wife and I did up the Oregon & Washington Coast. Got a few decent photos in Olympic N.P.

[creekfeet]

A big reason I don't post some of my trips, and I'm guessing this applies to others as well, is that not only am I not a photographer, but I frequently don't even bring a phone with me out in the cut, and wind up doing a lot of trips sans photos. And I feel like a trip report with photos is more or less DOA. Also, for whatever reason I really only post reports for areas that haven't been covered much before. For instance, I felt compelled to post a TR about Brothers Lake a few weeks ago because it's never been mentioned here before.