Hiking Journal: Because Every Trail Has a Story Worth Keeping

Your trail stories deserve a home

Data? reflection? Why not both?

I love data. In the past, my hiking log book’s sole purpose was to track things like elevation, distance, and time. I finally (and gratefully) noticed that over the years it had evolved to become a journal of reflection. My post-hike writings were full of notes on wildlife, trees, rock formations, and waterfalls. I still record the numbers of course, but it’s the beauty of nature and the experience that I treasure.

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My Favorite Advice

Here’s the first thing I tell anyone new to hiking: hike the same trail in every season, in every kind of weather. It’s  remarkable to  experience the same trail in all different conditions and a journal is the best way to capture and note each varied experience. 

So, (shameless plug alert!) here it is, the Suburban Sanctuary’s favorite hiking journal.  Our journal includes room for both the data and the reflection. We believe we created something that anyone who hikes will appreciate.  Adventures on the Trail: A Hiking Journal is now available on Kindle.

What’s inside

There’s room for 52 hikes, which works out to one a week for a year if you want it to. Each hike gets two pages:

• The left page is for inspiration. It’s a thought to carry with you, from John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, and Wordsworth, plus a few gentle reminders from us like “Not every journey needs a destination.”
• The right page is for the details. You’ll record the date, trail, location, distance, weather, elevation gain, time, and who you hiked with. Then rate the difficulty and write about your adventure and your favorite moment. The last question is the best one: Would I hike this trail again?

At the back, you’ll find My Trail Memories for your favorite trails, best views, most peaceful spots, and wildlife you spotted. A Looking Back section asks, “Where will the trail take me next?”

There are no rules

I wrote this line in the front of the journal because I mean it: there’s no schedule, no finish line, just the next trail.  Scribble a sentence, write a page, doodle a picture. Make each entry your own.

It doesn’t have to be a big adventure

You don’t need a mountain to earn a page. A walk around the neighborhood, a loop at a local park, or a slow stroll through your own backyard all count. One of my favorite entries is a walk I took through my yard sketching the various types of mushroom that appeared after a particularly rainy week! Some of my favorite entries are the small ones.

Who it’s for

It’s for first-time hikers, seasoned trail lovers, and anyone who wants a reason to get outside and a place to remember it. It also makes a great gift for the person in your life who’s always planning the next hike.

Ready to start your first entry?

And when you fill out your first page, tell me about it. I’d love to hear where the trail took you