Hi WhiteBlaze, I have a question for those of you who follow trail journals: what characteristics make trail stories most enjoyable to read?
I've kept a travel blog for a few years while teaching overseas and tried to strike a balance between tips/advice, humor, and simple reporting of the who/what/where. Now I've shifted the focus of the blog to hiking as I prepare for my Nobo thru, but my posts get too long when I try to combine all these elements. I don't think I'll want to write (nor will people want to read) a 2500 word essay every few days. I know everyone has different taste and I'll settle into my own style once I have a routine on trail, but I'm hoping for some ideas from my fellow hikers about which aspects of the hike to emphasize.
Mileage, terrain, and weather?
Other hikers and their stories (with permission)?
Overviews of the whole day, or specific little funny, detailed anecdotes?
I also like to doodle pictures to go along with stories, is that appealing? (Example attached here from my most recent post about bear bag difficulties on my shakedown hike. If you want to read the full (hopefully humorous) account of my shakedown misadventures, you can find it right here)
IMG_20180328_195356_2.jpg
To be clear, I'm also keeping a handwritten personal journal on trail, but the purpose of this post is to request tips regarding which parts of the hiking experience are most enjoyable to read about in an online trail journal/blog that I will update 1-2x per week.
Thanks and happy hiking!