HikeArizona.COM

Is it me, or does it seem like there are far fewer people hiking the Arizona hikes they would normally hike during the summer months, and instead more people traveling out of state to hike this summer/hotter early fall?

I noticed hardly any Wrightson or Humphrey logs or photo sets this summer. Usually, a certain percentage of the prominent members did an obligatory Humphrey Hike, a Wrightson Hike, and maybe something at the South Rim. Well, I don't know about the South Rim, I just threw that in there. I've seen a lot of photos from other states, and not just the crappy ones along the eastern seaboard.

At least there was a lot of recent activity in the Pinalenos. That was good.

Jim_H wrote:At least there was a lot of recent activity in the Pinalenos. That was good.

Yes, it was nice to see that.

@Jim_H
I think you’re the only one who’s noticed or cared.

Sometimes people hide their triplogs of those hikes, and other hikes, I know I hid at least one of those hikes mentioned this summer.

@LindaAnn
Cared, perhaps, but noticed I am not. They simply haven't posted.

I mentioned logs, but really it's the photos I care about. Logs are not that interesting. Hide those logs away. Photos are far more interesting.

I have to look more and more at alltrails for photos of the hikes I miss. know HAZ is written to be used on a phone, but alltrails seems to be exclusively phone based, and it shows in very annoying ways, like photos oriented in random ways. Not laptop friendly.

@Jim_H

Do you think it's the heat? I'm driving out for a North Rim trip this weekend and the temps still look rough.

@big_load I don't know I was thinking more that it was just a coincidence of people not hiking the Humphrey Summit #151, or Wrightson via Old Baldy, or loops on Mount Lemmon, or certain hikes in the White Mountains in ways they did in prior summers. More people hiking in Nevada, Washington, and so on.

Maybe it is heat related? Or, perhaps retirement has enabled people to go to other states with more ease.

@Jim_H
If something is popular on AllFails or Instagram, it’s probably losing popularity among the bigger HAZ users.

Humphreys—depending on origin point, you have to deal with: crowds, horrible trail, closed roads, fire damage, attempting to drive I-17, etc. It’s just not appealing when there are so many better options.

South Rim: crowds, crowds, heat, I-17, water issues. Many people are still postponing Canyon trips due to the heat.

Wrightson: seems like it’s been seeing a fair amount of use. I don’t take many pics of Wrightson anymore because they all look the same, and I’ve been there a couple of times this summer.

big_load wrote:the heat? I'm driving out for a North Rim trip this weekend and the temps still look rough.

It was north rim that we put aside to head for Pecos. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to plan a north rim itinerary at the end of September or beginning of October. But this year there is. Pinalenos and White Mtns are both still options, but also ones that I have done many times, and I like to explore new places.

And that's probably also part of the answer to the OP. If you've hiked Humphreys or Baldy or Escudilla or Wrightson 10+ times, and you're going to do it again, it's sort of like Pie. There's not going to be a lot of new photos. MikeW has been hitting a few of these for his first visit and dropping 100+ photos on them, which makes perfect sense if it's the first time you've done them. On your 5th visit, a handful of photos that illustrate something unique or visible changes from previous visits is probably all that gets posted.

Thankfully JJ3 keeps us regularly updated on the stability of the cherry dip'd cones at the peekachoo DQ.

LindaAnn wrote:I think you’re the only one who’s noticed or cared.

Sometimes people hide their triplogs

triplog.....what's a triplog?

@herdbull
That thing you last did 308 days ago to help other HAZ hikers.

and not the 100 hikes I've done since? I'm not even sure why that one shows up. Sorry, just not my thing. My original response was sort of tongue & cheek.