Archive for the 'site news' Category

New Site Stuff

Published on June 12, 2008 in site news. 0 Comments

I had a little extra time today, so I took care of some items on the site to-do list that had been long neglected:

1. Cleaned up the sidebar. There was an irritating ad that was stretching out the page width unnecessarily. Now it’s gone.

2. Every single hike write-up I’ve ever written now includes a “Map It” link in the description. This will automatically send you to the marker on a larger version of the Modern Trail Map, where you can see other nearby hikes and get driving directions to the trailhead.

3. A new, “L.A. Hiking” page! If you’re new to hiking in Los Angeles, or just want to get a better idea for where these hikes are, be sure to check this page out. It separates L.A. hiking trails into distinct regions, describes them, tells you what cities are nearby, AND gives you my personal favorite hikes in each zone. This page will grow and change as I keep getting out on to the trail — especially in the San Bernardinos.

I hope these changes help you navigate the site more easily, and allow you to find the best hikes in Los Angeles. As always, feedback is welcome — if something is confusing or not as easy as you’d like it to be, drop me a line.

Out of Town for a Few Days

Published on June 1, 2008 in site news. 0 Comments

I have a few hikes to write up, but sadly will be out of town for a friend’s funeral. I should be back up and writing by next weekend.

New RSS Feed

Published on May 6, 2008 in Geek Stuff and site news. 0 Comments

I know there’s a few of you guys out there who subscribe to Modern Hiker via an RSS reader.

That’s great, and I encourage it, wholeheartedly. But hey, can you guys do me a solid and change your subscription to the Feedburner RSS feed? Not only will it give me a better idea of who’s reading the site, but it will also allow me to add stuff like comments, links to email the post, and other fun stuff in the RSS feed itself … at least, in theory.

All you have to do is click on that big orange RSS logo to the left, or click here.

Modern Hiker recommends — and is also horribly addicted to — the Google Reader. But whatever floats your boat is fine by me.

Thanks!

Lack of Posts

Published on April 1, 2008 in site news. 0 Comments

… just wanted to let everyone know that I am recovering from some sinus surgery last week, which is why the posts have been few and far between since then.

In case anyone’s wondering, the surgery went really well — but I’m not allowed to engage in “strenuous activities” for two and a half weeks — which means no biking to work and no hardcore hiking. But maybe some easier trails. This could be a good excuse to go check out Griffith Park.

Back from Havasu

Published on March 18, 2008 in backpacking and site news. 0 Comments

I got off the bus back from Havasu late on Sunday night, and had to take a personal day on Monday to sleep and wash the twelve layers of canyon dust off of all my gear.

The trip was great, and I’ll be doing an in-depth write-up soon. It’s probably going to be a few days, though, as I’ve got some upcoming medical issues to take care of in the immediate future.

Until then, just know that Havasu Falls is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. None of the pictures I’ll post will do it justice.

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Few Days Off

Published on March 13, 2008 in site news. 1 Comment

I’ll be taking a few days off from the site for a backpacking trip to Havasu Falls. Overnights look cool, windy, and maybe wet.

Everyone take good care of the San Gabriels while I’m gone!

Open Thread / Questions For You

Published on January 31, 2008 in site news. 1 Comment

Trailspotting’s Google Maps style is similar to what I envisioned working on MH, but since WordPress broke my geo-mashup plugin back at the last upgrade, I haven’t been able to get it to work. Although it’s much more work and potentially less streamlined on my end, I’m considering ‘downgrading’ to a static Google Map to take its place, just to make it easier for users to visualize where these trails are in relation to them.

I’m going to try to do some site clean-up this weekend, but I was wondering — is there anything in particular you want out of Modern Hiker that you’re not getting yet? Different ways to find things? Different organization? Different layout?

Are you getting enough information from the write-ups? Is there anything you want more or less of?

Leave a comment or drop me an email. I can’t make any immediate promises, but I’m listening!

Video Trial

Published on January 22, 2008 in Web Sites and Apps, hiking and site news. 7 Comments

I got back in from an excellent stay in Joshua Tree, and will be trying to catch up with some of my write ups for the site over the next few days. I just got slammed at work, so it may be a bit, but I’ve got three varied J-Tree hikes to add to the list, as well as a pre-tree journey to Sunset Peak by Mt. Baldy.

So I’m gonna be busy. Also, I’m still in the process of cleaning out all my equipment.

In the meantime, however, I thought I’d do a little experiment with some video. Now that ReadySetConnect is very kindly hosting the Modern Hiker, I’d like to abandon the Google Video for some higher-resolution QuickTime videos stored locally, instead.

This is NOT a replacement for all of the information and commentary offered in my usual write-ups, but if people dig these and think they add some value, I’ll work to incorporate them more prominently in the future.

Keep in mind, this particular video from Sunset Peak is rough … and there wasn’t a whole lot of finesse put into it, but it’s a start. Let me know what you think / if you’d like to see better ones on hikes in the future. I’ll try to put my camera’s video function to better use.
Continue reading ‘Video Trial’

Enjoy the Weekend

Published on January 18, 2008 in site news. 0 Comments

I’m off to Joshua Tree for a few days, and will return with several new hike write-ups, if all goes well.

Enjoy your long weekend and get outside!

2007 in Numbers

Published on December 20, 2007 in hiking, motivations and site news. 5 Comments

Well, I’m about to fly off to New England for the holidays, which means it’s probably the end of meaningful Southern California hiking for the year.

Although I didn’t get to all of the places I wanted to, I still had some pretty impressive milestones — I went on several long-distance day hikes, qualified for the Sierra Club’s Hundred Peaks Chapter, and had my fair share of backpacking adventures — both ill and well fated.

My mileage for this year was actually a bit lower than last (I’ll blame hot summers, fire closures, and my new discovery of ‘The Beach’ for that one), but I almost doubled my elevation gain numbers for ‘06. Peakbagging will do that, I guess.

Total Mileage: 209 miles.
Total Elevation Gain: 89,090 feet (15.2% average uphill grade)
Total Time Spent Hiking: 3 days, 22 hours, 18 minutes.

The site itself has taken off a bit, too. From a lil’ ol blogspot site to some adventures on my former host to the current, sponsored-hosting, I’ve been lucky to find myself a little web-niche and gain an audience of tech-savvy outdoorsfolk — as well as (hopefully) some Angelenos who are just learning our sprawling megalopolis has some great nature nearby. Traffic has been steadily increasing since I launched last November, and I’m grateful for everyone who reads and explores.

2008, hopefully, will hold more improvements and adventures. I want to get my Map working again, and continue tweaking the site design to make information easier to find and access. I also have a nice chunk of Paid Time Off stored up, and want to hit up those elusive Utah National Parks — as well as bag San Gorgonio, San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and (maybe even) Whitney.

I’ll be doing some sporadic site work from New England — and hopefully going snowshoeing, now that they have seasonal weather again.

So congrats to everyone who laced up a hiking boot this year — let’s get ready to do it again in 2008.