One reason may be there are now more area-specific backpacking forums. I primarily post on High Sierra Topix. It just got too cumbersome to post on two forums. I still post here occasionally because I would like to see this forum continue. When I look and see most posts are a week or more old, I tend to loose interest.

I prefer HST because it is much more active and more trip report oriented than gear oriented. That is just me. Nothing wrong with a gear-oriented forum as long as it stays active. HST also includes great databases where everyone adds descriptions of off-trail mountain passes. Over the years, this data has become a very valuable resource for trip planning. We have some VERY tech-savy and active moderators- their knowledge is WAY over my head.