I've been lucky enough to enjoy the entire full length movie and write a review that Steve will use to promote his production this year.  Steve's film has won a couple of awards so it is now officially an award winning documentary. If he's fortunate more film festivals will pick it up. Steve has included a "surprise" in the movie that those currently familiar with all things Death Valley will enjoy. I think desert rats will enjoy it. Here's his trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fK6uSz0Sjw  

For those not familiar with Steve Hall, he's a passionate supporter and explorer of Death Valley National Park and maintains a website that even the National Park Service uses regularly to point visitors to the correct spots in the park to match their interests and expertise needs. I personally have benefited greatly and been inspired by his trip reports. Here's his site and blog:

http://www.panamintcity.com/

http://panamintcity.com/dvablog/

Thanks for this update - I am looking forward to seeing Steve's movie someday.

Reading his second update from Jan 24th, he mentions considering removing his website sometime in 2021-2023. Thinking about that ruined my day - I rely on his trip reports both for planning and for a welcome diversion when I can't be out there.

Here is the full text of Steve's comment.  At the moment, I am speechless.

(On a side note, I just wanted to let you know that I’m considering removing my Death Valley site from the internet sometime between 2021-2023.  I realize what an important valuable resource many in the world view this site as being for Death Valley hiking, but I kind of feel like I’ve done my part for the past 15 years by sharing my hiking reports with everyone.  I’ve kind of lost interest in writing up detailed hiking reports and moved on to other things.  However, if I do so, I will put something in print in book form so at least my information will remain available to those who would like to have it.  But I did want to give you all advance notice about this future likelihood.)

Steve is a bit.... sensitive shall we say? I think he's a good guy who's done a whole lot of exploring in DV, certainly among the best of any of us. I've certainly traded info with him behind the scenes and he knows more than he writes up, which is of course fine. He used to post at the old forum but then got in an argument and left, even though he was the much more valued (by the group) resource.

I don't get why you'd put all the hours and hours of work into the site that Steve has done, and which makes it one of the best, if not the best, site for broad coverage of DV, and then take it down. Unless he doesn't want to spend the money to keep it up. Or maybe he regrets making too much of the place he loves available to too many. I don't know of course. I would not be surprised if he reads what's posted here as a lurker.

When Digonnet's book first came out, I was rather shocked. I had discovered many of those places myself, by studying maps, my own photos, sat images, historical maps (there's always trails between contemporary old mining districts) and I felt a bit violated. But at the same time, at least half the book was entirely new territory for me, so in the end, a net win.

I think, especially in the days of the old forum, but maybe we can continue here, the online community shared within itself a lot of info as well, and in the process we all contributed immensely to each other's enjoyment. The forum has been, to my mind, one of the most successful uses of the Internet I've participated in. And I was certainly glad to have gotten to know Steve. There's always going to be some who give more and some who take more. But maybe he felt he just gave all the time

Again, I have no idea. Steve is obviously someone who loves to hike and be outdoors, and as such, is a kindered spirit.

(2021-02-17, 07:44 PM)MojaveGeek Wrote: When Digonnet's book first came out, I was rather shocked.  I had discovered many of those places myself, by studying maps, my own photos, sat images, historical maps (there's always trails between contemporary old mining districts) and I felt a bit violated.  But at the same time, at least half the book was entirely new territory for me, so in the end, a net win.

I always wondered if there was a relationship between Digonnet and any of the various DV forums. Well, I appreciate your generosity, Mojave, when it comes to sharing your knowledge with others. There have certainly been collections of places and trip reports that have suddenly disappeared over the years. Steve has a terrific collection of reports that I've relied upon heavily, and I probably would have skipped past the park a long time ago were it not for his site. I hope he'll keep the information up. There would be a pretty big gap in publicly available information if his site disappeared.

Hmm, the news regarding the future of Steve's site (or the lack thereof!) is very interesting. 

More than once, I've seen fans of a music artist set up an elaborate web site full of pics and information.  Only to one day decide to take it down, sometimes without any explanation.

At least we are getting plenty of warning this time!  

As for the idea of keeping places secret, or the theory that guidebooks ruin things, here is climber and guidebook author Gerry Roach's take on the matter...click on the thumbnail or link to see it bigger:

20210218_192054 by Candace66, on Flickr

(2021-02-18, 09:31 PM)Candace66 Wrote: As for the idea of keeping places secret, or the theory that guidebooks ruin things, here is climber and guidebook author Gerry Roach's take on the matter...click on the thumbnail or link to see it bigger:

20210218_192054 by Candace66, on Flickr

Thanks for sharing this---I think his comments are very well said.

(2021-02-17, 12:48 PM)trailhound Wrote: Here is the full text of Steve's comment.  At the moment, I am speechless.

(On a side note, I just wanted to let you know that I’m considering removing my Death Valley site from the internet sometime between 2021-2023.  I realize what an important valuable resource many in the world view this site as being for Death Valley hiking, but I kind of feel like I’ve done my part for the past 15 years by sharing my hiking reports with everyone.  I’ve kind of lost interest in writing up detailed hiking reports and moved on to other things.  However, if I do so, I will put something in print in book form so at least my information will remain available to those who would like to have it.  But I did want to give you all advance notice about this future likelihood.)

That last mention of "print in book form" sounds encouraging. If Steve decides to take his site offline, perhaps he will publish his own guidebook. That is somehow encouraging.

I can tell you that as a noob to DV, experienced people willing to share information are crucial. This forum, Steve's site and other places are and important resource to outsiders like me, that want to get to know more about an area.

In line with the quote posted by Candace66 I find this article by Paul M. pretty interesting and makes you think a little bit.
Thoughts on Gatekeeping by Paul Magnanti

Ideally a sense of shared ownership would guide people not only to visit places, but also to care for them deeply.

Steve's website is a great resource, but if we're talking books then there's only one worth getting – Michel Digonnet's Hiking Death Valley.

I have no inside information regarding Steve's motivations for shutting down his site, and haven't had any contact with him for many years. However, if someone wants to reach out to Steve, I am willing & able to take over hosting of his content, and insure that it remains online indefinitely.