Social Media Promoting Our "Hidden" Hikes

[SpiderLegs]

Cats out of the bag for many hikes due to social media. Now that I'm running the gear rental counter at a local shop I see first hand the lure of Havasupai and R2R for not only Arizona locals but for people all over the world flying in to do them. This week on Facebook and Instagram someone started posting pics and descriptions of doing the Four Peaks MotherLode. To their credit they tried to go out of their way to dissuade the casual or inexperienced hiker from even attempting the hike. Based on the many comments and shares it will be interesting to see how many people attempt the hike in the next few months.

Do we have a responsibility to warn people about going to certain locales or do we just sit back and let the Darwin Affect do it's job? I remember doing my first R2R back in the mid-90's and only running into a handful of other people attempting it. Plus ran into a NPS ranger who thought we were crazy to attempt such a feat and tried to talk us out of it. Now 20 years later there are literally 100's of people doing R2R every day during the prime months of May and October. What was once thought to be an extreme hike is now an every day occurrence.

[azbackpackr]

Why did this page pop up a year later with no new posts?

There is a particular social media page where I often see Jason, Tewa and others. I like those guys, but I find that page to be annoying in the extreme, I don't like it at all, but habitually look at it anyway. I would never post my photos there. I can't stand the gushing and fawning, the "we must do this one" aspect of it. It pops up in my feed with my friends in it, so I look at it. I know I could get rid of it, but I haven't yet.

As for Supai, I once said I would never go back there because of the horses. I then found out way more than I wanted to know about the main person who was promoting the boycott, and decided to boycott that person instead, now blocked on my pages, etc. The tribe has taken some steps to fix the horse problem, but it is probably never going to be completely fixed. I even have a job application in to lead commercial hikes down there. I probably won't get the job, but I know I won't get it if I don't try. You can all hate me for it. I don't give a care.

[Tough_Boots]

@azbackpackr
You're obviously talking about that huge Facebook group. It's the absolute worst-- like watching a trainwreck.

[azbackpackr]

@Tough_Boots
Yep

[DarthStiller]

@Tough_Boots
You and Chumley are sometimes part of the show over there...

[chumley]

@DarthStiller
I'm just bored at work sometimes.

[Tough_Boots]

We're over there saving lives.

[chumley]

@Tough_Boots

Pretty sure there are more than a few where it's too late already!

[DarthStiller]

@chumley @Tough_Boots

My favorite Facebook notification is when I see both of you guys have responded to a post. I haven't been disappointed yet.

And chumley, your Havasupai post last month was GOLD!!

[chumley]

If you didn't see this article that came out last week, and you have some interest in social media and how it's affecting interaction in the modern world, it's a fascinating piece to read.

Basically ... "likes" are addicting. And the guy who created them is jumping off the train.

He was particularly aware of the allure of Facebook “likes”, which he describes as “bright dings of pseudo-pleasure” that can be as hollow as they are seductive. And Rosenstein should know: he was the Facebook engineer who created the “like” button in the first place.

A decade after he stayed up all night coding a prototype of what was then called an “awesome” button, Rosenstein belongs to a small but growing band of Silicon Valley heretics who complain about the rise of the so-called “attention economy”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... y-dystopia

[SpiderLegs]

Wait... if Chumley and ToughBoots are over at that large FB page I may go back to check up on things. Got tired of the non-stop pics of the Wave Cave. Last time I was over there was to troll some folks doing a big alpine expedition up to Humphrey's. Didn't appreciate how fast I got up there and that I drank a couple of beers before heading down.

[azbackpackr]

@SpiderLegs

Seriously? It was any of their business how you hiked?
I only know a few real names. Didn't know so many were on there.

[DarthStiller]

@spiderlegs

It was probably one of them

[te_wa]

it was that page where i learnt that there are only four hikes in arizona. havasu(pai), fossil springs, water wheel, and flatiron. i can't WAIT to do one of them. i'll post pics!

[Alston_Neal]

Bwahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa I just figured out who this annoying Todd H. guy is over there. Thanks, I thought he was just another pompous social media twit.

[outdoor_lover]

Guess I'm not in that Group. Sounds like I'm not missing much except for some Entertainment now and then. The Squirrel tried to add me to a Group, but I declined. Just not interested in those Groups I guess, too much Showboating.

[RedRoxx44]

Count me in as the dinosaur--no Facebook, twitter, instagram none of that. Well, I guess I am here. I started a blog on Tumblr and got bored with it and haven't done anything there in months.

[Espi]

Guh the moment I saw that group. Its the same questions over and over and over. Its funny to notice, one person will do something and post pics... then it seems within the following weeks there are a handful more posting pics from that very spot. Funny how that works.

Any way, its more frustration than anything.

[chumley]

one person will do something and post pics... then it seems within the following weeks there are a handful more posting pics from that very spot.

This gives me a great idea. Anybody know when Goldwater has live fire drills? I've always wanted to explore more in that area anyway.

[azbackpackr]

@RedRoxx44
Besides, no one reads blogs except your mother. Your friends just say they read your blog. They're lying.

[azbackpackr]

@chumley
Do you mean the Barry M. Goldwater Bombing Range and Animal Refuge?