What follows is a trailism status update for those interested since I stopped posting on Instagram in January of 2025. I occasionally lurk on Instagram, but have effectively left and plan to remove the app 2/28. I still post some photos on Flickr occasionally. Keep the emails coming. I have a poor track record of creating posts, but here’s one for the record….
One of the reasons I rarely post is that the site isn’t really a blog, or a personal one, though some posts and pages are certainly just that. I also struggle to pick a specific trail topic or subject to talk about that someone else isn’t already doing elsewhere. The site is geared more towards being a placeholder for a somewhat current hub of general and specific trail building information, but now there is ai… waiter, there’s an ai in my trail…. tr-ai-lism. I hope you have found this nearly ad free unmonetized trail infoshop of sorts helpful.
Three worthy things of mention, thanks in part to discovery through Instagram, that I have not added to the resource pages yet are Trail Builder Magazine and Freehub Magazine. They speak for themselves, perhaps you will find them entertaining. I am a big fan of this well rounded venture: Trail Crew Stories. I feel like it’s where I could have taken trailism, or would have. I am so glad they are doing it how and why they do it.
2024 was a nice year for me. I worked on a number of neat projects in neat towns throughout New York, and even a few close to home rather than an air b-n-b or my van. I love the travel required for trail building, it’s one of the draws for me, but getting to come home for more than the weekends is nice. Many trail builders are gone away from home for months. I’m usually not in that group.
2025 looks to be more of the same, but with more time set aside for volunteer trail work, musical endeavors, and learning Spanish, possibly Swedish(again). I settled with trying the Pimsleur language app. For the first time in a while as I can recall, the winter has been cold enough to stop work in the Hudson Valley for a few weeks. Of course I happened to be working on a job close to home during this seeming anomaly, which has now delayed the projected end date, but it has been nice to take advantage of the down time at home.