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Backpacking & Writing

tylermoney

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Jan 16, 2024
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So I love riding motorcycles, camping and backpacking. Nature in general.

This coming May, I'll be going on a backpacking trip in Colorado with my best friend. We went last year, and we're returning this year to improve upon our backpacking skills. Anywho, earlier that year I had begun writing down some of my stories—I had been doing journaling prior to that, but this was my first foray into actual stories, essays, etc. Since then, I have been trying to keep a weekly, if not daily, writing practice going.

In preparation for my trip, I have been contemplating how to keep up my daily writing. I'll most certainly have a book with me, but relaxing in the middle of mountains, next to a creek, with coffee while in a tent seem like a perfect time to also do some writing. Here is the trick. I don't think a notepad/paper/pen will work for me. My handwriting is quite horrifically terrible... Yes, I might be able to get some writing done, and though it might satisfy a subconscious urge, I don't think I'll be able to read much of it. Maybe that's fine?

Additionally, all my current projects are in digital format. A laptop would be too large/heavy to bring on a backpacking trip, and it's fragile. I could bring a little ipad mini with a keypad maybe? I'm not sure. Mine is old.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a light, affordable system to write digitally on the move? Specifically while on the Lost Creek Wilderness Trail in Colorado? :)

Much obliged.
 
Do NOT succumb to the pressure to write on paper. You'll quickly discover that in the wilderness, it's far more fragile than the other options. Over the years, a whole host of devices that are perfectly suited to your needs have come (and gone.) The Alphasmart Neo is the classic, vintage device of the category. You'll sometimes find them in thrift stores or on Ebay. Make sure they can communicate with your home computer - they can sometimes.

The most appealing similar device currently in production seems to be the Freewrite Traveler. (Note that Freewrite also has a device called the "Alpha." I wonder what that's supposed to remind you of?)

 
Oh no!! Voice recorders are a whole different can of worms! ... and so are ambient sound recorders.

Doesn't this add the task of transcription? Or do you side with John McPhee and say that the thinking during the transcription process is the time he does his best writing?
 
Another typing hardware thought; there used to be a whole category of tiny, lightweight notebooks called "netbooks." If you can find one in a used computer or thrift store, you can make it work with a lightweight version of Linux like LXDE or Puppy Linux. (not easy, but not as difficult as it first sounds.)
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Some interesting things to consider. These devices seem intriguing... and I never thought about recording/dictation devices, or doing that on my phone for that matter. Luckily I have a few months prior to my trip to look into, practice, and think through all the above. I'll update with what I end up doing for the trip.
 
Tyler, I've tested the phone vs sound recorder already. Phones will do a better job than any recorder of picking out your voice - or any one voice at a time. Many can also transcribe the voice they pick up. Recorders can pick up all sorts of things. Interview a farmer, and the barnyard sounds a hundred yards away will be rendered wonderfully and the person's voice? Not half as good as a phone.
 
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