A Beginner's Journey To Becoming An Accomplished Backpacker
Picking up a sport at 24.
August 13, 2008. My 24th birthday. I had been in college for six years and was looking at another one ahead of me. I had spent my entire life in academia and felt I hadn't learnt anything of value. So I came up with an idea, a little spark that lit a bonfire inside of me. In 2010, I am traveling around the world.
My original plan was to spend 8-12 months travelling around the world, from Amsterdam to Brazil. Now, though, I am considering several shorter trips so I can see places during the best times. (Peru, for example, is supposed to be travelled from April to October, to avoid Monsoon season, and my original plan landed me in Peru right in the middle of it!) And because a little thing like "The Real World" seems to keep getting in the way. Timing, however, was never the important part of my idea, the experience was, and a bit part of that experience was to do it bacpacking. The last time I went backpacking, though, I was twelve and spent much of the trip conteplating throwing myself off of small cliffs just so I could get Life Flight-ed out. The biggest reason I didn't, was I didn't have the skill to guarantee a broken leg without adding a broken neck!
I found myself in a bit of a pickle. I want to shlep myself around the world and I haven't the foggiest idea how to do it. I live in the perfect place to learn, Boise, ID; but not quite the perfect community for it. In the world of the outdoors, Idaho has a fabulous reputation, but, like any tightnit community, it's a bit difficult to break into and the intimidation factor is huge. But I am a person who embraces a challenge and refuses to let the people keep me from anything. So here I am, a terminally almost-graduated student facing my biggest physical challenge ever.
I invite you to come along with me on this journey. I want to explore every part, every mistake of learning how to become an adventurer. Whether you want to start backpacking yourself or if you are an ol' timer willing to impart some great advice, join me, learn with me, and adventure with me!
