September 2001 Trail Journals - Independent Reading (Adam Stillabower)

    I found it really interesting reading the trail journals in preparation for both the research project and assignment two. Although the site’s structure and design were a little dated, the sheer number of stories and experiences that it held was amazing. Everyone wrote about their encounters with the wilderness in a lot of different ways, everyone bringing a different perspective to their journals. I particularly enjoyed the function that allowed you to search by trail in a given year. Randomly, I chose 2001 as the first year and a considerable number of journals that I read from that year talked about the impact of 9/11. I always knew and understood the sheer weight that the tragedy had on this nation, as my father was actually a commercial pilot and was flying a different flight when those few flights were highjacked. But reading these entries, hearing about their thoughts, emotions, and feelings immediately following the disaster brought it into a new light for me.