about the 30km, that's funny, I can be maniac about this kind of thing too, but i find it silly, so i do it hidden.
Nice you don't feel compeled by those abitrary goals.
the animal's journal
Re: the animal's journal
He seems like such a great guy. Loved "getting to know him" a little in the documentary 180 Degrees South (may be my favorite movie!)
Pretty darn sure he says that in the movie. Have you seen it?
Awesome and insightful updates as always!
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RoamingFrancis
- Posts: 593
- Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2019 11:43 am
Re: the animal's journal
Incredible to me that you guys are doing the PCT with a kid. Thank you for sharing these updates!
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Western Red Cedar
- Posts: 1234
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:15 pm
Re: the animal's journal
I love to see these updates and those on your blog as well.
I think the celebrity status is well-deserved though. In an era where most thru-hikers are shedding weight, cutting straps, and going ultra light you've gone in the opposite direction and pursued something that is pretty far beyond the hikers and adventurers overton window.
Get some sleep and enjoy the southbound trek!
Reflecting on how people respond to hiking 70,80,90 percent of the trail is fascinating. I will admit that I think there is a romantic notion of walking (or riding, paddling, running, etc.) from one border to the next. But people seem to get so enamored with the feat that they fail to realize the transformation happens along the journey. The main reason I knew you and your family would have a successful trip is that you weren't particularly concerned about this, and were open to a flexible itinerary based on what you encountered along the way.theanimal wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 12:38 pm-There have been multiple Germans who have been very befuddled after hearing that we decided not to go to the northern terminus, hiking the same 30 miles twice. The reactions have been nearly identical and they do not seem to comprehend such a strategy. We are still happy with our choice and would do the same again if we weren't able to enter from Canada like before. The post at the terminus is arbitrary, the journey in between is what gives it meaning. For the same reason, we also do not assign any higher meaning to the southern terminus at the Mexican border.
-We have become somewhat of local celebrities on the trail. People ask to take a picture of us daily and we are often approached by people who've heard of us that we've never met.
I think the celebrity status is well-deserved though. In an era where most thru-hikers are shedding weight, cutting straps, and going ultra light you've gone in the opposite direction and pursued something that is pretty far beyond the hikers and adventurers overton window.
Get some sleep and enjoy the southbound trek!
Re: the animal's journal
PCT Pt. 4: The Sierras
Sometime in the first few days of September, baby animal and I were walking the aisles of Grocery Outlet in Quincy when a woman stopped us to ask about our trip. She was skeptical about us heading into the mountains at this time of year and was asking why we were going so late. "We're actually ahead of schedule and positioned to get through the mountains well before the first average snowfall." She dismissed this and talked about the hurricane and recent storms that dropped snow in the mountains. She then paused for a moment, glancing from me to Baby animal and with a stern face said, "I'd be looking for snow."
As if travelling with a baby wasn't enough, moving into the Sierras upped the ante for us. We walked deeper into the mountains where we found ourselves regularly dealing with afternoon thunderstorms and hail, including some storms that resulted in high water levels that prohibited us from crossing swollen creeks on trail. With the colder days and nights, we added our cold weather clothes to our load, topped off with a couple of bulky bear cans to satisfy local management area requirements. Our bigger packs got bigger, mine weighing in at 50 lbs, prior to taking on a bear can and some of our cold gear.
Getting our Butts Kicked
We had heard from others earlier on the trail that 20 miles per day elsewhere is more like 15 miles per day in the Sierras. We weren't sure what to make of this, was this just due to most people experiencing big mountains for the first time early on in the trail or were conditions actually that difficult? After waiting out a storm for a couple days in Pinecrest, we made our way up Sonora Pass and shortly thereafter into Yosemite National Park. The trail brought us up one canyon, down another and up again. Again and again and again. Gone were the dirt paths with a light duff layer of pine needles. In their stead, were cobblestone paths and deep sets of rock steps. Coupled with the dwindling light, we found ourselves working all day striving to hit 20 miles. We only managed that once, otherwise the new normal seemed to be walking full days of 16-18 mi with 6,000 ft elevation gain.
The long days, steep terrain and heavy packs left us exhausted at the end of each day. Throughout the trail, we had little down time to ourselves. There was always something to do whether on a break or at camp. Change diapers, wash diapers, feed baby animal, get water, filter water, entertain baby animal, make dinner, setup the tent, put baby animal to sleep and more. The only free moments we had to ourselves were usually after putting baby animal to sleep, which we typically used to review the day and cover the next days plan before falling asleep ourselves. We learned that many other hikers download movies and tv shows and spend their evenings being entertained by their phones in their tent. It felt as if we were hiking different trails.
The Horocrux
Early on, we dubbed the baby carrier, "the horocrux" as it felt as if it was stealing part of our souls. Baby gear is not designed for long hikes, let alone thru hikes and we came across the limitations and downsides of the pack early on. The biggest issue we dealt with was related to the frame. Part of the frame runs along the base of the pack behind the hip belt. There is no padding in the center of the hipbelt which results in the frame digging into our lower backs, especially on uphills. We tried to ameliorate this with small pieces of foam padding and things like our winter hat but nothing fully prevented it from causing us pain. It bothered Mrs. Animal more than I, so as a result, I had been taking baby animal and the pack whenever possible since early in Oregon. However with the increase in clothes, the bear cans and more food, I had to take our other pack. This left Mrs. Animal with the carrier and it continued to be a problem. So much so that it caused a big lump on her back and prevented her from sleeping on her back at night. Frustrated with the trail and not wanting to aggravate the injury any further, Mrs. Animal opted for a break once we hit Tuolomne Meadows. We met Adam, a trail friend of ours in Mammoth, and the two of us agreed to continue on together. Mrs. Animal and baby animal would go south to @AxelHeyst’s place to rest and we'd see them later on.
The behemoth under a full load
Into the Storm
I'd spent nearly 1,500 miles hiking with baby animal and Mrs. Animal and heading out without them was strange, offering a different experience. There was no need to recite Dr Seuss stories aloud or sing my usual array of lullabies while walking down the trail. At breaks, I just sat down and ate what I wanted and looked around. There were no diapers to be changed or washed. And at night, I didn't even need to set up the tent, instead simply laying out my sleeping pad beneath a piñon pine and sleeping under the stars and full moon.
I had been apprehensive about continuing on prior to leaving town due to seeing a forecast for snow later in the week. On Thursday, our second day on the trail, we ran into someone who confirmed that and mentioned that it looked pretty serious. In a brief spot of cell reception, we checked the forecast and saw there was up to a foot of snow being forecasted for Saturday alone, with more to come Sunday. I had 6 more days worth of food but wanted no part of that. Like with fire, problems in snow storms can compound and escalate quickly, resulting in serious consequences that can be very difficult to resolve. We opted to make a push for two long days and exit the mountains into Bishop via Bishop Pass.
Muir Hut at Muir Pass, just shy of 12,000 ft.
Our days started with headlamps on the trail and ended with headlamps on the trail. We forded rivers in the dark and walked below granite mountains and along alpine lakes by day. The last day brought us up and over two ~12,000 ft passes over 32 miles. By the fading light of our headlamps, we made it to the parking lot at the trailhead at 9 pm Friday. The wind was already blowing strong and dark clouds hovered over the mountains but we were more or less out of trouble.*
*The parking lot was full but we didn't find anyone leaving or heading back to town at that hour, forcing us to make camp. There were no campsites and we couldn't find any places out of the wind, with the exception of the leeward side of the pit toilets. We plopped ourselves down next to them, wrapped our sleeping bags in our tents and tried to fall asleep. Rain and eventually snow, covered our sleeping setup and I retreated to a spot inside the restrooms on the concrete floor for shelter. Not the most pleasant night.
End of the Trail
We hitched into sunny Bishop the next morning, refueling at a local bakery while watching the dark clouds surround and envelop the high peaks. With the storm set to last for the weekend and being followed by near freezing temperatures, @AxelHeyst offered to pick me up and came up along with Mrs. Animal and baby animal. We fled further south to his home in the high desert, where the storm meant temperatures in the 60s and a light smattering of rain.
I was content from my travels with Adam in the mountains and didn't have much interest in continuing on without Mrs. Animal and baby animal. Mrs. Animal's back had healed a substantial amount with the time off the trail, so we opted to just continue south from @AxelHeyst's into the desert. After a few days rest for myself, @AH dropped us off and we were back on the trail.
The trail shot up steeply from the road and towards the top I found myself plodding along sullenly. It was hot,a few dozen gnats swarmed around each of our heads, my shoulder hurt, my knees ached, my legs felt weary and baby animal was fussing. At the top, I mentioned to Mrs. Animal I'm not sure I want to do this anymore. "Really? Then let's be done with this and just go back to @AxelHeyst's." Mrs. Animal had been frustrated with the trail for a while and had thought about leaving multiple times but continued on. With rested legs and a clearer head come morning, I wanted to push on. But Mrs. Animal had no interest. We had agreed early on in the trip that if one of us felt like it was a death march, we would stop. It was clear that we had pushed past that point. Our time on the trail was over.
Descending the final few miles of trail to the road, I found my mind racing through many of the events and memories from our almost 3 months on the trail. I began to think of the things that'd be different and what we wouldn't be experiencing anymore. The simplicity that comes with having all that you need on your back. Spending nearly every moment with my family outdoors. The satisfaction that comes from reaching our daily goal via our own physical efforts. And the memories of baby animal gaining confidence in herself and her movements and interacting with her surroundings.
We traveled nearly 1,500 miles as a family. There were many who doubted us prior to the trip and said that hiking the whole thing is not possible. I don't think that's true, nor do I think it's important. Our goal from the start was to spend time as a family outside and do something that was immersive, fun and challenging. We largely achieved that and will be leaving the trail with memories for a lifetime.
-----
As for what's next. We have been hanging out at Quail Haven and will be staying here for another couple weeks. After that we will be going to Mexico, spending about 2 weeks in Mexico City, a month at a workaway for a lime and avocado farm and then some time with one of Mrs. Animal's friends in Queretaro. We don't really have plans beyond that at the moment but we'll probably be heading back home to AK sometime in January or early February unless something else comes up.
Sometime in the first few days of September, baby animal and I were walking the aisles of Grocery Outlet in Quincy when a woman stopped us to ask about our trip. She was skeptical about us heading into the mountains at this time of year and was asking why we were going so late. "We're actually ahead of schedule and positioned to get through the mountains well before the first average snowfall." She dismissed this and talked about the hurricane and recent storms that dropped snow in the mountains. She then paused for a moment, glancing from me to Baby animal and with a stern face said, "I'd be looking for snow."
As if travelling with a baby wasn't enough, moving into the Sierras upped the ante for us. We walked deeper into the mountains where we found ourselves regularly dealing with afternoon thunderstorms and hail, including some storms that resulted in high water levels that prohibited us from crossing swollen creeks on trail. With the colder days and nights, we added our cold weather clothes to our load, topped off with a couple of bulky bear cans to satisfy local management area requirements. Our bigger packs got bigger, mine weighing in at 50 lbs, prior to taking on a bear can and some of our cold gear.
Getting our Butts Kicked
We had heard from others earlier on the trail that 20 miles per day elsewhere is more like 15 miles per day in the Sierras. We weren't sure what to make of this, was this just due to most people experiencing big mountains for the first time early on in the trail or were conditions actually that difficult? After waiting out a storm for a couple days in Pinecrest, we made our way up Sonora Pass and shortly thereafter into Yosemite National Park. The trail brought us up one canyon, down another and up again. Again and again and again. Gone were the dirt paths with a light duff layer of pine needles. In their stead, were cobblestone paths and deep sets of rock steps. Coupled with the dwindling light, we found ourselves working all day striving to hit 20 miles. We only managed that once, otherwise the new normal seemed to be walking full days of 16-18 mi with 6,000 ft elevation gain.
The long days, steep terrain and heavy packs left us exhausted at the end of each day. Throughout the trail, we had little down time to ourselves. There was always something to do whether on a break or at camp. Change diapers, wash diapers, feed baby animal, get water, filter water, entertain baby animal, make dinner, setup the tent, put baby animal to sleep and more. The only free moments we had to ourselves were usually after putting baby animal to sleep, which we typically used to review the day and cover the next days plan before falling asleep ourselves. We learned that many other hikers download movies and tv shows and spend their evenings being entertained by their phones in their tent. It felt as if we were hiking different trails.
The Horocrux
Early on, we dubbed the baby carrier, "the horocrux" as it felt as if it was stealing part of our souls. Baby gear is not designed for long hikes, let alone thru hikes and we came across the limitations and downsides of the pack early on. The biggest issue we dealt with was related to the frame. Part of the frame runs along the base of the pack behind the hip belt. There is no padding in the center of the hipbelt which results in the frame digging into our lower backs, especially on uphills. We tried to ameliorate this with small pieces of foam padding and things like our winter hat but nothing fully prevented it from causing us pain. It bothered Mrs. Animal more than I, so as a result, I had been taking baby animal and the pack whenever possible since early in Oregon. However with the increase in clothes, the bear cans and more food, I had to take our other pack. This left Mrs. Animal with the carrier and it continued to be a problem. So much so that it caused a big lump on her back and prevented her from sleeping on her back at night. Frustrated with the trail and not wanting to aggravate the injury any further, Mrs. Animal opted for a break once we hit Tuolomne Meadows. We met Adam, a trail friend of ours in Mammoth, and the two of us agreed to continue on together. Mrs. Animal and baby animal would go south to @AxelHeyst’s place to rest and we'd see them later on.
The behemoth under a full load
Into the Storm
I'd spent nearly 1,500 miles hiking with baby animal and Mrs. Animal and heading out without them was strange, offering a different experience. There was no need to recite Dr Seuss stories aloud or sing my usual array of lullabies while walking down the trail. At breaks, I just sat down and ate what I wanted and looked around. There were no diapers to be changed or washed. And at night, I didn't even need to set up the tent, instead simply laying out my sleeping pad beneath a piñon pine and sleeping under the stars and full moon.
I had been apprehensive about continuing on prior to leaving town due to seeing a forecast for snow later in the week. On Thursday, our second day on the trail, we ran into someone who confirmed that and mentioned that it looked pretty serious. In a brief spot of cell reception, we checked the forecast and saw there was up to a foot of snow being forecasted for Saturday alone, with more to come Sunday. I had 6 more days worth of food but wanted no part of that. Like with fire, problems in snow storms can compound and escalate quickly, resulting in serious consequences that can be very difficult to resolve. We opted to make a push for two long days and exit the mountains into Bishop via Bishop Pass.
Muir Hut at Muir Pass, just shy of 12,000 ft.
Our days started with headlamps on the trail and ended with headlamps on the trail. We forded rivers in the dark and walked below granite mountains and along alpine lakes by day. The last day brought us up and over two ~12,000 ft passes over 32 miles. By the fading light of our headlamps, we made it to the parking lot at the trailhead at 9 pm Friday. The wind was already blowing strong and dark clouds hovered over the mountains but we were more or less out of trouble.*
*The parking lot was full but we didn't find anyone leaving or heading back to town at that hour, forcing us to make camp. There were no campsites and we couldn't find any places out of the wind, with the exception of the leeward side of the pit toilets. We plopped ourselves down next to them, wrapped our sleeping bags in our tents and tried to fall asleep. Rain and eventually snow, covered our sleeping setup and I retreated to a spot inside the restrooms on the concrete floor for shelter. Not the most pleasant night.
End of the Trail
We hitched into sunny Bishop the next morning, refueling at a local bakery while watching the dark clouds surround and envelop the high peaks. With the storm set to last for the weekend and being followed by near freezing temperatures, @AxelHeyst offered to pick me up and came up along with Mrs. Animal and baby animal. We fled further south to his home in the high desert, where the storm meant temperatures in the 60s and a light smattering of rain.
I was content from my travels with Adam in the mountains and didn't have much interest in continuing on without Mrs. Animal and baby animal. Mrs. Animal's back had healed a substantial amount with the time off the trail, so we opted to just continue south from @AxelHeyst's into the desert. After a few days rest for myself, @AH dropped us off and we were back on the trail.
The trail shot up steeply from the road and towards the top I found myself plodding along sullenly. It was hot,a few dozen gnats swarmed around each of our heads, my shoulder hurt, my knees ached, my legs felt weary and baby animal was fussing. At the top, I mentioned to Mrs. Animal I'm not sure I want to do this anymore. "Really? Then let's be done with this and just go back to @AxelHeyst's." Mrs. Animal had been frustrated with the trail for a while and had thought about leaving multiple times but continued on. With rested legs and a clearer head come morning, I wanted to push on. But Mrs. Animal had no interest. We had agreed early on in the trip that if one of us felt like it was a death march, we would stop. It was clear that we had pushed past that point. Our time on the trail was over.
Descending the final few miles of trail to the road, I found my mind racing through many of the events and memories from our almost 3 months on the trail. I began to think of the things that'd be different and what we wouldn't be experiencing anymore. The simplicity that comes with having all that you need on your back. Spending nearly every moment with my family outdoors. The satisfaction that comes from reaching our daily goal via our own physical efforts. And the memories of baby animal gaining confidence in herself and her movements and interacting with her surroundings.
We traveled nearly 1,500 miles as a family. There were many who doubted us prior to the trip and said that hiking the whole thing is not possible. I don't think that's true, nor do I think it's important. Our goal from the start was to spend time as a family outside and do something that was immersive, fun and challenging. We largely achieved that and will be leaving the trail with memories for a lifetime.
-----
As for what's next. We have been hanging out at Quail Haven and will be staying here for another couple weeks. After that we will be going to Mexico, spending about 2 weeks in Mexico City, a month at a workaway for a lime and avocado farm and then some time with one of Mrs. Animal's friends in Queretaro. We don't really have plans beyond that at the moment but we'll probably be heading back home to AK sometime in January or early February unless something else comes up.
Re: the animal's journal
New business idea: the animal carrier. Great story and storytelling
Re: the animal's journal
Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures!
Re: the animal's journal
@Ego- Ha! Mrs. Animal has a whole line of gear that she'd like to develop as a result of this trip. A new type of carrier is on that list.
@delay- Thanks for reading.
@delay- Thanks for reading.
Re: the animal's journal
Good stuff, sounds like you had a fun family summer, one to be remembered fondly. Was great to follow along, thanks for sharing!
Re: the animal's journal
Memories of a lifetime, well done. I still remember you discussing the problem of finding a girlfriend up there in Alaska. Not only did you find someone but it appears you've won the lottery with your wife. Again, well done. You guys are living blessed lives.
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mooretrees
- Posts: 764
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:21 pm
Re: the animal's journal
Wow, it’s SO FREAKING COOL that you and your family had such a great experience on the PCT. I’m also really happy to read that you all called it when it stopped being good for you. That’s clearly a skill and probably a result of having done many previous outdoor experiences. After reading your last entry I immediately started figuring out how to get more outdoor adventure time with my family. Thanks for being an inspiration!
Re: the animal's journal
Sublime
What a great read thanks theanimal
What a great read thanks theanimal
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Western Red Cedar
- Posts: 1234
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:15 pm
Re: the animal's journal
Beautiful. Thanks for the great stories and inspiration. I hope the desert provides the necessary rest and relaxation before the next leg of the adventure. Keep on truckin!
Re: the animal's journal
Thank you for the comments everyone! I appreciate the kind words and support.
————
Quail Haven
After finishing the trail we spent about a month at Quail Haven. I couldn't think of a better spot to transition to life off the trail. We took too exploring the desert with @AH, working on developing local infrastructure, whipping up all kinds of delicious meals from stuff on hand and trying to be idle. Baby animal set the example for the last one.
Mexico and Workaway
We've now been in Mexico for a month. We spent the first week and a half in Mexico City, checking out museums, sampling different tacos for culinary research and walking around the city. The food was outstanding and I was able to glean a lot on how I could improve my ability at Mexican cooking. Our favorite part of our stint there was traveling out to the Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacan. There I suckered myself into buying a little obsidian skull with engravings on it for $80, from what I can figure, one of the most unnecessary and consumerist purchases I've made in years. Oh well. It didn’t take very long before we found ourselves sick of museums and doing tourist things.
After Mexico City, we went to our workaway in Arandas, Jalisco. The orchard was very pretty, but that was unfortunately one of the few positives. In brief, we felt uncomfortable from the beginning with how the host interacted with his family, his workers and people elsewhere (he was very kind to us for the most part). He was extremely strict with his kids ( 7 & 5 yo) bringing them to tears multiple times. We debated whether we should leave and go elsewhere, but without a good alternative we decided to just stick it out. That changed a few days ago when I saw him smack the 7 yo across the face for something extremely minor. We left the next morning and are now in Guadalajara.
@AH gave me a way to better approach this going forward using the framework PACE (OG h/t @quadalupe). When planning it’s good to have a primary, an alternate, a contingency and emergency plan. Looking back, we didn’t have an alternate so we ended up staying longer than we should have. Lesson learned.
We have two more weeks in Mexico before we head back to the US. Both of us are tired of traveling and just want to be home. We are trying to make the most of experience, as we are unlikely to return here anytime soon. We’ve been asked a few times by locals if we are on vacation and have kind of struggled to respond each time. We don’t really consider it a vacation, it’s just kind of our life and this is where we are. Each trip has been useful, as we continue to learn more and more what we don’t like. Slow travel outside the US is not as appealing for me as I would’ve thought. It may just be that doing the PCT immediately before coming here sapped our willingness for this type of thing. I don’t know. Mrs. Animal is sick of Mexico but I think she still has an interest in going other places. We’ll see, we’ll at least be better informed for next time.
The trip has been successful in that I’ve achieved my primary objectives, namely improving my Mexican cooking and practicing my Spanish. In nearly every area we’ve been, we’ve been the only gringos so in that regard it has been an immersive experience. My cooking has leveled up from interacting with others along with some observations/sampling of local vendors and practice. I now have in my repertoire 4 solid vegetarian taco options, 2 different fish taco options and six different salsas. Next I’d like to focus on making tamales and chilaquiles. Whenever I am next successful hunting, I will focus on making carnitas.
PCT Book
Towards the middle to end of October, I started writing a book about our PCT trip. The idea is for the book to be mostly narrative based, with a strong emphasis on the experience with baby animal, with some musings on wilderness, societal expectations and other things. Many thanks to @WRC for the idea! So far I’ve written 30k words and probably have about another 15k before I finish up with the first draft.
I’m working on building up an audience simultaneously via social media. I’ve been employing @mF’s strategy inadvertently by doing delayed posting. Currently, I am mainly focusing on Instagram and have been doing a day by day account of our trip. I’m a few weeks in and haven’t really had significant growth in followers yet, almost all of them are people I know. The most promising avenue is via the PCT Association, who would like us to write an essay about our trip for their newsletter. I’m going to hold off on that until I have a publishing date and can direct people to the book.
Misc
An interesting side effect of the trail is that it has more or less completely destroyed my desire to listen to podcasts. I've listened to only 3 in the past 5 months. Before the trail, I would listen to at least one everyday, if not 2-3.
————
Quail Haven
After finishing the trail we spent about a month at Quail Haven. I couldn't think of a better spot to transition to life off the trail. We took too exploring the desert with @AH, working on developing local infrastructure, whipping up all kinds of delicious meals from stuff on hand and trying to be idle. Baby animal set the example for the last one.
Mexico and Workaway
We've now been in Mexico for a month. We spent the first week and a half in Mexico City, checking out museums, sampling different tacos for culinary research and walking around the city. The food was outstanding and I was able to glean a lot on how I could improve my ability at Mexican cooking. Our favorite part of our stint there was traveling out to the Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacan. There I suckered myself into buying a little obsidian skull with engravings on it for $80, from what I can figure, one of the most unnecessary and consumerist purchases I've made in years. Oh well. It didn’t take very long before we found ourselves sick of museums and doing tourist things.
After Mexico City, we went to our workaway in Arandas, Jalisco. The orchard was very pretty, but that was unfortunately one of the few positives. In brief, we felt uncomfortable from the beginning with how the host interacted with his family, his workers and people elsewhere (he was very kind to us for the most part). He was extremely strict with his kids ( 7 & 5 yo) bringing them to tears multiple times. We debated whether we should leave and go elsewhere, but without a good alternative we decided to just stick it out. That changed a few days ago when I saw him smack the 7 yo across the face for something extremely minor. We left the next morning and are now in Guadalajara.
@AH gave me a way to better approach this going forward using the framework PACE (OG h/t @quadalupe). When planning it’s good to have a primary, an alternate, a contingency and emergency plan. Looking back, we didn’t have an alternate so we ended up staying longer than we should have. Lesson learned.
We have two more weeks in Mexico before we head back to the US. Both of us are tired of traveling and just want to be home. We are trying to make the most of experience, as we are unlikely to return here anytime soon. We’ve been asked a few times by locals if we are on vacation and have kind of struggled to respond each time. We don’t really consider it a vacation, it’s just kind of our life and this is where we are. Each trip has been useful, as we continue to learn more and more what we don’t like. Slow travel outside the US is not as appealing for me as I would’ve thought. It may just be that doing the PCT immediately before coming here sapped our willingness for this type of thing. I don’t know. Mrs. Animal is sick of Mexico but I think she still has an interest in going other places. We’ll see, we’ll at least be better informed for next time.
The trip has been successful in that I’ve achieved my primary objectives, namely improving my Mexican cooking and practicing my Spanish. In nearly every area we’ve been, we’ve been the only gringos so in that regard it has been an immersive experience. My cooking has leveled up from interacting with others along with some observations/sampling of local vendors and practice. I now have in my repertoire 4 solid vegetarian taco options, 2 different fish taco options and six different salsas. Next I’d like to focus on making tamales and chilaquiles. Whenever I am next successful hunting, I will focus on making carnitas.
PCT Book
Towards the middle to end of October, I started writing a book about our PCT trip. The idea is for the book to be mostly narrative based, with a strong emphasis on the experience with baby animal, with some musings on wilderness, societal expectations and other things. Many thanks to @WRC for the idea! So far I’ve written 30k words and probably have about another 15k before I finish up with the first draft.
I’m working on building up an audience simultaneously via social media. I’ve been employing @mF’s strategy inadvertently by doing delayed posting. Currently, I am mainly focusing on Instagram and have been doing a day by day account of our trip. I’m a few weeks in and haven’t really had significant growth in followers yet, almost all of them are people I know. The most promising avenue is via the PCT Association, who would like us to write an essay about our trip for their newsletter. I’m going to hold off on that until I have a publishing date and can direct people to the book.
Misc
An interesting side effect of the trail is that it has more or less completely destroyed my desire to listen to podcasts. I've listened to only 3 in the past 5 months. Before the trail, I would listen to at least one everyday, if not 2-3.
Re: the animal's journal
Add one more to the potential book audience. You are leading a rich and interesting life. The writing on your posts is always engaging. I think the story has a lot to offer - both entertainment and wisdom. I'm looking forward to it now 
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Western Red Cedar
- Posts: 1234
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:15 pm
Re: the animal's journal
I'm looking forward to hearing more about the book! I'm assuming you are planning on self-publishing?
I think there are probably some mainstream podcasts that might be interested in hearing about your story and would provide you an opportunity to promote the book. James Clear said one of the reasons that Atomic Habits was successful was that he pre-planned a variety of interviews on different podcasts, that catered to different audiences. He said, surprisingly, the Crossfit community was one of the largest purchasers.
I listen to a bunch of random stuff that overlaps with the trip and the theme of the book (travel, alternative lifestyle, etc...) and I'm happy to PM some suggestions. I don't know how receptive large podcasts are to cold calls/emails, but your story is really compelling so it would be worth a shot. Writing and editing is just the first step. Marketing is a different facet of the journey
I've also heard that transitioning away from a long-term trek is challenging. It is great that you had a nice landing pad at Quail Haven, but I wouldn't be surprised if stacking a Mexico trip on top of a PCT trek was a bit much consider the family dynamics and the demands of the road.
I appreciate you sharing the workaway story. It gives me additional information to ponder as I approach our upcoming trip. I hope you make the most of the rest of the time in Mexico.
I think there are probably some mainstream podcasts that might be interested in hearing about your story and would provide you an opportunity to promote the book. James Clear said one of the reasons that Atomic Habits was successful was that he pre-planned a variety of interviews on different podcasts, that catered to different audiences. He said, surprisingly, the Crossfit community was one of the largest purchasers.
I listen to a bunch of random stuff that overlaps with the trip and the theme of the book (travel, alternative lifestyle, etc...) and I'm happy to PM some suggestions. I don't know how receptive large podcasts are to cold calls/emails, but your story is really compelling so it would be worth a shot. Writing and editing is just the first step. Marketing is a different facet of the journey
Long-term travel is a bit paradoxical in that it looks appealing, but is often much more work than staying home and adhering to established routines. It certainly isn't a vacation, and I've observed figurative peaks and valleys on every trip that was 1+ month, but particularly those of at least three months. Sometimes the reality of life away from home just doesn't match up to the dream.theanimal wrote: ↑Fri Nov 24, 2023 2:57 pmWe have two more weeks in Mexico before we head back to the US. Both of us are tired of traveling and just want to be home. We are trying to make the most of experience, as we are unlikely to return here anytime soon. We’ve been asked a few times by locals if we are on vacation and have kind of struggled to respond each time. We don’t really consider it a vacation, it’s just kind of our life and this is where we are. Each trip has been useful, as we continue to learn more and more what we don’t like.
I've also heard that transitioning away from a long-term trek is challenging. It is great that you had a nice landing pad at Quail Haven, but I wouldn't be surprised if stacking a Mexico trip on top of a PCT trek was a bit much consider the family dynamics and the demands of the road.
I appreciate you sharing the workaway story. It gives me additional information to ponder as I approach our upcoming trip. I hope you make the most of the rest of the time in Mexico.
Re: the animal's journal
Ah man, I only come here rarely but your journal is so good!
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mountainFrugal
- Posts: 1144
- Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 2:26 pm
Re: the animal's journal
Delayed posting is the best way to fight against the social media addiction slot machine (if you must use it). It decouples your enjoyment of the experience(s), art, whatever from immediate and random interval likes. I tested this with friends. They would like a post and it would not show up right away unless they also posted a comment. Instagram in particular throttles the feedback so you get random interval rewards. Much more addicting that way.
I am game to give your book a beta-read.
.Re: the animal's journal
@Scott - Thanks for the kind words! I’ll do my best in making it something that’s worthy of your time.
@egg- Thank you! I appreciate you reading.
If anyone has strong opinions or suggestions about other self publishing platforms or even traditional publishers, I’d be open to hearing them.
I’ve also thought about writing a short essay describing the trip for other outlets beyond the PCT Association. Maybe some outdoor sites, gear blogs or even newspapers. We’ll see. There is a PCT facebook group with 60,000 or so members run by the PCTA. I’m not sure about the rules about self promoting on the page, but last we talked with the PCTA they were really excited about our trip since they are trying to find ways to get more families, kids and diverse groups of people out on the trail. So maybe that would work too, better than nothing.
@egg- Thank you! I appreciate you reading.
That’s the idea for now. I haven’t really looked into it too much, figuring I’d at least get the first draft out of the way before looking more in depth at the logistical stuff. I know that Amazon makes it really easy to self publish yourself and they strongly incentive anyone publishing through them to sell only on their platform. From what I remember reading, the example they gave showed something like 5x the royalties per book to keep it only on Amazon versus being available on Amazon as well as to other bookstores and libraries. I would definitely like to release an audiobook as well. I’m very aware that most people don’t read and that many (most?) books these days, the audiobook is the highest selling version. Also,most thruhikers are listening to books/music/podcasts while hiking and I like thinking of the possibility of someone listening to it while they are on the trail.Western Red Cedar wrote: ↑Sun Nov 26, 2023 8:53 pmI'm looking forward to hearing more about the book! I'm assuming you are planning on self-publishing?
If anyone has strong opinions or suggestions about other self publishing platforms or even traditional publishers, I’d be open to hearing them.
Yes, please! Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I think you’re right in that getting exposure early on before or around the time of publishing can work wonders. I’ve heard someone mention that Tim Ferriss schedules guests who are releasing books that way. Something about the algorithms and preorders end up creating far more sales later on. But yes, I’m sure the large podcasts get hounded by dozens of people daily looking to get on. It’s worth a shot though, worst case scenario I’m where I’m at now. I guess I need to work on an elevator pitch.Western Red Cedar wrote: ↑Sun Nov 26, 2023 8:53 pmI listen to a bunch of random stuff that overlaps with the trip and the theme of the book (travel, alternative lifestyle, etc...) and I'm happy to PM some suggestions. I don't know how receptive large podcasts are to cold calls/emails, but your story is really compelling so it would be worth a shot. Writing and editing is just the first step. Marketing is a different facet of the journey
I’ve also thought about writing a short essay describing the trip for other outlets beyond the PCT Association. Maybe some outdoor sites, gear blogs or even newspapers. We’ll see. There is a PCT facebook group with 60,000 or so members run by the PCTA. I’m not sure about the rules about self promoting on the page, but last we talked with the PCTA they were really excited about our trip since they are trying to find ways to get more families, kids and diverse groups of people out on the trail. So maybe that would work too, better than nothing.
I’ll definitely take you up on that. If anyone else is interested, I’ll be looking for others. I’m probably about 3-4 weeks away at best from that happening though. I’ll make another post here when I’m closer to being ready.
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Western Red Cedar
- Posts: 1234
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:15 pm
Re: the animal's journal
Paul Millerd has a couple detailed posts about self-publishing that explore all the options for an aspiring writer. They are worth checking out, and one of them is even in a PowerPoint format so it is pretty easy to digest. I've mentioned him on the forum a couple times and enjoy a lot of his podcasts:theanimal wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 10:38 pmIf anyone has strong opinions or suggestions about other self publishing platforms or even traditional publishers, I’d be open to hearing them.
Yes, please! Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I think you’re right in that getting exposure early on before or around the time of publishing can work wonders.
https://think-boundless.com/category/self-publishing/
His podcast (The Pathless Path) was one that jumped to mind in terms of promoting a book. I think there are some with large audiences that still just host regular people occasionally. Some of the others were Deviate w/ Rolf Potts, Zero to Travel, Dirtbag Diaries, Tangentially Speaking w/ Christopher Ryan, and a handful of FIRE or financial podcasts. (And of course another appearance on Advanced Retroadaptics
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