Too many VLogs on the tube.

[rocketsocks]

Don't you think you could find something a little more worthwhile to get your panties bunched up for? All that vlogging is just the natural evolution of slide shows and family vacation Super 8 movies, and the dinner parties people use to host to show off their slides and films. YouTube is a much more tolerable progression.



Come on Socks, that makes no sense.

Scary ain't it!

[Gambit McCrae]

I DONT EVEN SEE WHY THIS IS AN ISSUE. If you don't want to watch them then don't? I enjoy watching 2-3 people hike to Maine every year. Its a nice substitute for me not being able to, to reflect on the 830 miles I have seen, and to keep updated on happenings live on the trail. I don't let jealousy play a part in videos I watch on the internet....well, most of the videos I watch..

[rocketsocks]

...also the advent of the digital video/camera has allowed biologist, cryptozoologist and others to capture images which crushed the learning curve on the wilds

ah Tuckahoe I see my mistake now, I thought you were being sarcastic, but now I see my mistake, I was thinkin' crypto was finding new species, not big foot types.

[Tuckahoe]

ah Tuckahoe I see my mistake now, I thought you were being sarcastic, but now I see my mistake, I was thinkin' crypto was finding new species, not big foot types.

Yeah those nut job freaks

[swisscross]

As long as they turn off the camera on hike naked day.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I've seen a number of youtube hiking videos that I liked. I just wish people would stop putting up the ones that promote party/drug use on the trail. For some reason these are the type of videos that keep showing up at the top of the search and suggested video lists for the A.T.

[Miel]

Not something I stay up at night worrying about, that's for sure. Where's the harm? Video is the cool "new" media, still photos are kinda passé. I get that, old phart that I am. I carried a 35 mm SLR camera over much of the AT and many other hikes besides. No regrets. I have those images to treasure forever.

Here's a link to one of the best AT movies ever. Wonderful photography, along with a moving, personal story. Not shot with a GoPro. http://theatmovie.com/

Canon Ftb. June will be my 40th anniversary of owning it. A present from my parents after they consulted with my h.s. photography instructor. Still a spectacular camera. (And to show you how old I am, I still love Marshall's oils.)

[skinnbones]

I will pack a simple digital camera and snap a few pictures along the way, but not much more. I just want to thru hike next April and fulfill a dream. I do enjoy watching the videos for the entertainment and the valuable information they offer.

[JC13]

It's all about what kind of entertainment you are looking for. I have watched 30-40 different people from 2014-2016 so far, some I watch for the comedy, others because they have a good story, some because they are a couple(wife and I are starting our first section this summer), I will admit that I watched one because I knew they wouldn't succeed. I avoid some because I have seen the person in another video and their persona turns me off. So for me, I enjoy them for the most part because it gives insight into the trail.

[Dogwood]

Its just the new eyeroll that started with, "Glad to see you, I have the projector set up to show slides from our recent trip to Lake George".

LOL. Lookie lookie what I did and know about. The real test of this person is are they willing to show equal interest in what you experienced, know about, and life or else it's being a self absorbed limelight seeker. If you don't stop this the next thing you'll be looking are horrendous beach body photos of weird Uncle Johnny in his Speedos, socks, and Italian loafers bouncing little Tommy somewhat unnaturally on his lap. And, these are my 13 grand children. There names are … They live in….That's their dog. The oldest three are in college. Their girlfriends are….

Oh I have to go. I just remembered I'm late for an appointment. Good seeing you. I'll call you.

[AO2134]

I apologize for making videos, but I wasn't aware youtube forced you to watch videos.

Well you did mention vlogs; mine certainly aren't vlogs. Mine I guess I would call them a "video guide."

[rafe]

Never done a vlog, not really versed in video technology. But after a good hike, I do enjoy posting a few of my best photos. Usually on Facebook, so really it's just my FB friends that get to see them (or ignore them...) I do harbor a dream of publishing a small vanity book (or two) of my photos, and one would be exclusively photos from the AT. Most of 'em are already on my Wordpress site, but nobody goes there.

[SWODaddy]

I've seen a number of youtube hiking videos that I liked. I just wish people would stop putting up the ones that promote party/drug use on the trail. For some reason these are the type of videos that keep showing up at the top of the search and suggested video lists for the A.T.

Agree. When I first became interested in hiking the AT, I did some searches on Youtube and came across the same video(s) you're talking about (you're absolutely right that they pop up to the top). I was so disgusted I almost gave up on the idea entirely...then I came across Will Wood's videos (and later Joe Brewer) which reassured me that you can avoid that garbage if you want to.

[capehiker]

I'm a VLOG'er. Not really concerned about what the general public thinks as it more for me and my family/friends. However, I have enjoyed my growing number of subscribers and it encourages me to be more thoughtful and do better videos.

[Uncle Joe]

What must really suck is Youtube sending people to your home and forcing you to watch all these videos. They haven't found me yet.

[Another Kevin]

I don't really have a lot of patience for video - I'm not much for watching anything on the television except for the occasional instructional stuff, or maybe a short topical comedy sketch.

My vice is photo essays that are far too long and discursive. But some people have praised me for them. One reader recently told me, "you obviously care about the places, when you take the time to research them and tell their stories." I thought, how could I not tell the stories? On my last outing, the ground that I was hiking on was marked out by stone walls delimiting Great Lots of Rensselaerswijk Manor in the 17th century. It had been used to raise sheep for a felting mill whose ruins, twenty miles distant, I'd visited on another trip. It had been a battlefield of the Helderberg War in 1845, The weird railroad culvert near where the trail crossed a creek had been part of the washing and sorting operation of a gravel pit, and many 19th century artifacts were laid out on some old foundations next to it. The waterfall on the place cuts through the Helderberg Group sediments, which was where Lyell and Hall got the insight, by comparing with Smith's stratigraphy of England, that stratigraphy is repeated in different places. This insignt was arguably the birth of modern palaeontology - even though Lyell himself rejected the theory of directional succession.

And this is just one random place. History happened everywhere, if you can ferret it out. I spend nearly as much time writing about my trips as I do making them - and derive considerable enjoyment from it.

I'm sure that the videographers feel the same way. It's just that video isn't my medium.

[Pots]

When I started my hike this year I ran into a group of 3 that each had 65 pound packs full of camera gear for their 'netfilx documentary'.

[Another Kevin]

Once in a great while, a thru-hike vlog does turn into a passable documentary. Jester's films are pretty funny, and I kind of enjoyed The Long Start to the Journey. Definitely the exception rather than the rule, and as I said, I don't often have the patience for video.

[capehiker]

When I started my hike this year I ran into a group of 3 that each had 65 pound packs full of camera gear for their 'netfilx documentary'.

There was someone similar who was making YouTube videos. The camera was out of focus and god awful horrible. He kept saying "say something for my documentary". He quit at Franklin.

[greenpete]

I've read most of the comments on this issue and here's my take: sure, GoPros and video equipment and the like are harmless, at least physically. They're not going to bite you. Neither does litter. But one of the reasons many of us hike the AT is to get away from technology, which is all-pervasive these days, especially leisure technology (just walk into a restaurant and look at the patrons). To see it in the middle of a deep, peaceful forest is just disconcerting... at least, to me. It compromises the "spirituality" of a wild environment. We started with cameras. Then came cell phones. Then smartphones. Now GoPros. Next, I'm sure it will be personal drones buzzing through the trees. You can't fight it except to vent. I'm sure some techies out there will not like my stance. But there you have it, and I feel better now that I've vented! Peace.