Trip Reporters are Amazing!

On Tuesday we thanked volunteers who turned out in droves for Public Lands Day. Today, I'd like to thank all of the hikers who filed Trip Reports this summer on this website.

You guys are the unsung heroes of WTA. Every time a Trip Report is posted, it helps another hiker plan their hike. Great details from the trail, inspiring words, and beautiful photos keep people coming back time and again to wta.org. Clearly, I'm not the only person who enjoys booting up my computer on Monday morning and perusing the Trip Reports from the weekend.

This week I spent a little time looking at Trip Reports from the summer. What I discovered was incredible!

• Hikers posted 1667 Trip Reports between the first day of summer and the last day. This was 329 more (25%) that were filed in 2009.
• 741 different people filed a Trip Report this summer. The majority filed one, but 197 folks posted two to four reports and 113 posted five or more.

I'm blown away by what a great hiking community we have here in Washington, and how so many people have come together to share their knowledge and their experiences with others. That's a lot of reports and a lot of reporters!

So who filed the most reports from the trail? Long time WTA members, Bob and Barb Griffith, posted 21 Trip Reports this summer under their screen name of "Bob and Barb." If you haven't checked out any of their reports you should - they provide just the right amount of details and include wonderful photos. Barb tells me that, "I write reports as I enjoy reading reports myself and getting ideas of where to go. Hopefully our reports help others in the same way!"

They do, Barb! And so do the reports that the other 740 of you penned this summer. Keep up the great work, and happy hiking!