High Sierra Topix

I'm really beginning to think that I not only getting old but getting cranky old! Has anyone else noticed the (to me) annoying regularity of questions about where to go early in the season this year? With two primary responses--Cottonwood Lakes and Hetch Hetchy! Yes there have been a few alternatives proposed, #1 being the Coast Range. But all in all it has been a broken record. It reminds me of an old saying, Give a man a fish and he has a meal, teach a man to fish and he has a lifetime of meals. I kind of think we should institute a similar philosophy. Tell a person where to hike and they get a trip of a lifetime teach a person to search and they have a lifetime of trips. Maybe that should be part of Mavericks suggestions for trip info requests. Review past posts before asking questions that have been answered in the past, sometimes only the day before.

Cheers to everyone!

Mike

OR wrote " Maybe that should be part of Mavericks suggestions for trip info requests".

It is in there OR, but a lot of folks do not take the time to read it, as a matter of fact it
get sent to everyone who becomes a member of HST as suggested reading.

As written: "Please take the time to use the "search function" before requesting
information there are many different subjects, and area's that have all ready have
been covered before."

Maverick

Thanks for setting me straight! :retard:

M

I will also join the old and cranky crowd! In the "old days" we did not have guidebooks that told us every step of the journey. We had to do our homework, study maps and then go out and explore. Today it seems like everyone wants a trip "recipie", with no work on their part. If you are on the internet and found this forum, you should also be able to use "google" and do some homework. I dislike the questions "I am thinking of A to B, can I do it in 5 days"- well, get out a map measure distance, calculate elevation gain, divide by the number of days, and does this seem reasonable? Once you have the basics down, THEN ask specific questions.

My answer to those asking about early season backpacking -- learn to deal with snow. It is a fact of life in mountains. I spent 20+ years backpacking in Wyoming and if you were not willing to step on some snow, you would never backpack. And you should learn to navigate so you do not get lost simply because snow covers the trail.

I think you may have a few years on me, Oldranger, but I share your crankiness. I've noticed a few new posters who, despite being directed to properly request info, never do. In a few cases, I was pleased to see no one replied to their requests with good information.

I don't much like the "use the search function" reply, as I feel it doesn't really foster a good community, but I can see it becoming trying for the long-time users here to have to reply to the same question again and again. If someone takes the time to properly request info, then that is deserving of a response in my opinion. Otherwise, I'd say let the thread sit unanswered until the new user takes the time to read and use the forum properly.

OK, let me chime in with a slightly different perspective (hey, this is "The Campfire," right?)

First, I do kind of agree with the crankiness, but I also find myself asking more questions than maybe I'd be comfortable with if somebody printed out all my posts and put them down in front of me. There are two reasons for this: first, I love to anticipate my trips by talking them through, and second, as a right-coaster I can only get out to the Sierra every couple of years, so my [recent] experience is limited, and I also want to make every trip out "count." Turning back and heading home a couple of days early is a much more serious consequence when "home" is a thousand bucks away! And, since the trips are few and far between, I like to milk them for all they're worth by getting out the maps and guidebooks and studying the routes, setting up strings of GPS waypoints (which, truth to tell, I seldom actually use), and, yes, searching for others' trip reports of the area and nearby alternatives. Also asking questions on the forums.

I also think there's an Internet phenomenon at work here that I frequently see in my students. The resource is there, so why not use it? Here's a forum with hundreds of experienced hikers, most of whom like to chat, so why not take full advantage of it?

So I think my advice is, if you're tired of people asking so many detailed questions about where to go and how to get there and what conditions will be like, just don't answer those posts and skip through them with a minimum of dander-raising.

I find that if I read some of the requests submitted, there is repetition, but that is to be expected. I sometimes, just for fun, deconstruct the request and use the search function just to see what hits. There is so much info here after 6 years, It's about the only way to effectively use the forum, and find some of the treasure buried in the forums.

In some cases, i will turn around and answer a request, but now i will include examples of searches which may lead the requestor to the information that already exists. I think in heavy snow years, we're gonna see a lot of questions about snow.

BSquared wrote: So I think my advice is, if you're tired of people asking so many detailed questions about where to go and how to get there and what conditions will be like, just don't answer those posts and skip through them with a minimum of dander-raising.

Well said, even if I don't understand what the emoticon means.

quentinc wrote: Well said, even if I don't understand what the emoticon means.

Oh, it was just supposed to be somebody with his dander up...

BSquared wrote:Oh, it was just supposed to be somebody with his dander up...

This apparently-not-quite-old-enough person wants to inquire what exactly is a dander?

I agree with BSquared. The best way to avoid encouraging repetitive requests is probably to not reply to them, and eventually they'll take the hint and start using the "search" function. It's a planner's dream though; I've spent countless hours reading through old threads, searching for posts written by certain members, etc. There's truly a wealth of information on this board, and it's all nicely indexed!