No matter what type of adventure you’re on, if it’s long enough, the days will start to meld together. Over time this only gets worse as our memory starts to fail us. My friend (the one I mentioned at the start of the post) told me that each journal entry he made was different. His journal lacked consistency and continuity, which now after all the years, makes it hard to find certain dates or locations and also follow his thru-hike.

The easiest way to prevent this is to add structure to your journal. The next step is to use it everyday without exception.

My journal entries always start with a header like this:

6/9/17  Day 1
113.3 Miles, 113.3 Total
Banff, AB to Trail Side Camp (Koko Pass) 6000′
40’s overcast and lots of rain
Days of Rain: 1

The beauty of the above is that it’s super easy to search and find locations, dates, mileage and more when you go back to your journal. If you’re posting to a blog the extra information will improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) rankings too. Even without saying what I saw and did that day, it’s a perfect snapshot of my day. Think about the things you think are important to you and create your own structured header.

Your header can be detailed like mine or simple. Some might not feel the need for the weather or counting days of rain. Find out what works for you and use it everyday.