Quercus's Journal

[Quercus]

Hello! I have read the book, plenty of the articles and have lurked around the forum for a while now. I am especially enjoying the journals. I journal privately and have been thinking of trying a journal on the forum for a while now. I don’t know precisely what I am looking for by journaling in a semi-public way. We’ll see what I feel inspired to write about I suppose.

I am 27. I grew up in the San Francisco, San Diego and Minneapolis metro areas. I also lived/worked in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a time. I have a degree in environmental science. I had a mix of AP and PSEO credits that helped me finish my degree a bit early. During college, I worked part time and lived with my mom which helped me graduate without student debt. Post-college, I started work and completed an arborist apprenticeship program. After completing my apprenticeship I got a new job with a municipality.

I found ERE/FIRE in 2016 when I started my first post-college job. Maybe I will go into my financial history at a later point - not really feeling inspired to talk about it now.

I left my job this past September. I reached a - good enough for now - point with my savings and felt ready for a change. The work hiatus has been glorious so far!

I tried thru-hiking the Superior Hiking Trail. I have always loved the idea of doing a thru-hike like the PCT or AT. Till this point, my longest backpacking trip had been four nights. I finished the southern part of the trail which is the flatter and easier section in a week and decided I needed to switch out some gear. A five pounds tent along with a few other pieces of brick-like equipment needed to be changed. I retreated home, purchased some lighter-weight gear including trekking poles and headed back to the trail. For attempt number two, I started at the northern terminus and worked my way south. What a few small gear changes can do! The weather was thankfully warm for October and I didn’t have to contend with snow or freezing temperatures. The fall color was beautiful and my pack was light enough to make the journey a lot more enjoyable. I finished my thru-hike at Martin Road, just north of Duluth in a little less than two weeks.

Post-hike, I worked in my mom’s yard, harvesting the last of the produce and getting things ready for a Minnesota winter. For the past two/three-ish years me and my mom have been de-grassing the lot and switching over to a food forest type yard. There are a mix of fruit and nut trees, shrubs and herbs along with some native perennials. This past summer was filled with a lot of gardening misadventures trying to grow different vegetables. The successes include - tomatoes, chard, basil, rosemary, garlic, carrots, zucchini, winter squash, pumpkins and a few other things. My corn, cucumbers, broccoli and cauliflower need improvement. It was a bit of a rough summer trying to keep everything watered.

I took a mini-trip to see some friends in Wisconsin that I haven’t seen in a while. I have also spent a good amount of time with my grandparents. It has felt really great to spend more time with family and friends.

At the end of fall/beginning of winter, I did a lazy van conversion - some plywood and a mattress in the back of a minivan. I have been meandering to warmer climates for the winter. So far, I have visited the Badlands, Black Hills, Dinosaur National Monument, Flaming Gorge and Lake Tahoe. Currently, I am exploring the hiking trails in the east bay/San Francisco area. I am looking forward to more hiking adventures and longer days!

[mountainFrugal]

Welcome wandering oak. I look forward to following along.

[RoamingFrancis]

Welcome! Love the name, oak trees are some of my favorites.

[Jiimmy]

Welcome! Here’s to longer days and wilderness adventures!

[Quercus]

2021 Spending Review - currently 4.5% WR

2021 Breakdown:
Transportation - 1,756
Food - 3,207
Personal/Random - 2,269
Medical - 0
Rent/Utilities - 1203
Animals - 890
Trees/Plants - 3,336

Not sure if I have ever had a standard or normal year when it comes to spending. Sort of exchanged landscaping and random housework at my mom’s home for rent/utilities this past year. We completed a multiyear project of reducing the grass on her ¼ acre to a very small patch in the backyard. The rest of the yard is now a mix of trees, shrubs, perennials and a few garden beds for annual vegetables and flowers. A lot of the seed/tree expenses this year were bare root fruit trees and shrubs - this thankfully will not be a recurring expense.


2022 Budgeting Goals

Expenses - yearly spending less than 1 JAFI, $9400ish per year
Food - eat more whole foods, eat less meat and cheese, intermittent fasting, maybe some foraging and or dumpster diving, $150 per month
Transportation - get rid of vehicle, walk and use public transit, possibly get a bicycle, $100 per month
Medical - silver plan through marketplace, optimize for income tax credit, $275 per month - possibly less with tax credit
Shelter - tent and dispersed camping, hostels, staying with family and friends, $300
Income - intermittent or seasonal work, dividends, ROTH IRA conversions, $24,761


Miscellaneous Thoughts

Journaling
I started daily journaling in November of 2020. It makes me reflect on my day - the decisions I make, emotions I have or just a log of whatever happened for the day. I think it has helped me be more accountable for my actions. When I do things I don’t like or don’t contribute to my goals, it helps me reflect and usually makes me less likely to do those things in subsequent days.

I am hoping to do quarterly reports here to get inspiration and be more accountable for my longer term goals. I am currently reassessing my web of goals and what I want from the next 1-5 years.

Slow travel/camping
I don’t really have a set plan for the year. I would like to continue to travel around the western US. I drove out from Minnesota this past winter, but am thinking about getting rid of the van and walking/using public transit. I want to continue to visit some of the Nationals/State Forests, Parks and Wilderness Areas. Not having a vehicle could be a logistical issue, but I like to walk and it would definitely help me slow down.

I have backpacking trips scheduled in the Ohlone Wilderness and Kings Range National Conservation Area. I am thinking about trying a thru hike on the AT or CDT. Haven’t committed to either, but still have a bit of time to decide.

If the borders open up, I would love to travel to New Zealand and see my brother and his new fiancee. Ideally, I would like to go at the end of summer/beginning of fall just in time to experience their spring season.

Work
At my last job, I reached a point where I didn’t feel like I was learning anything new or being challenged, which are some of my favorite parts of working. If I find a place I want to settle for a bit or an interesting job. Right now, I am interested in intermittent/seasonal or part-time work that can increase my skill set.

Plants
Most of my plant knowledge is specific to the midwest. As I travel, I would like to work on my plant identification, ecology and ethnobotanical knowledge. I think starting a plant journal would help with my memorization. I have one ethnobotany book I plan to bring with me hiking going forward as well. At some point in the near or distant future I would like to work at a plant/tree nursery and learn more about plant propagation. Working at a small farm, orchard or vineyard could also be good learning opportunities.