I was born and raised in Louisiana and had a pretty normal childhood. Our family didn’t travel much, in fact, no one I knew did. From a young age, I have been fascinated with travel. I can remember when I was around six seeing Machu Picchu in my dad’s National Geographic magazine. Just looking at the picture brought me a sense of wonderment and adventure. As a child staying in one place for more than five minutes made me uneasy. Well, that translated into adulthood. 

As soon as I was old enough, I took a construction job with my stepdad on the road. Not really for the money but for the experience of travel. “Off to explore the open road,” I thought. Those thoughts faded quickly into long work weeks of 60 to 80 hours in the blistering southern summer heat. Somehow, I was content with my home being away from home.

Over the next 13 years in my construction job, I worked hard and was at the top of my trade. All of the measurements that people use to gauge success, I had; but, something was missing. I realized that my whole life was based on other people’s opinions of who I should be and why – family, girlfriends, bosses, society, politicians, religions. For once I wanted to be my own captain, and steer the ship myself. I started to do research on a possible vacation. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. I knew it needed to be out in the wilderness; not for weeks, for months.

During the beginning stages of researching where I wanted to go, I met Nuthin. We hit it off right away. I can remember telling her how I planned to go long-distance backpacking for months at a time. Everyone else said I was crazy to plan things like that. “It’s too dangerous. Are you going to bring a gun? What about bears?” Those were the 3 most common responses. Nuthin encouraged me to keep planning and follow my heart. She helped show me that excited little boy looking at the National Geographic with wonderment that I thought was long gone.

It took me 3 more years to plan my extended vacation. I decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT is a 2,650-mile trail that starts at the Mexican border and ends at the Canadian border. It traverses California, Oregon, and Washington. As I was planning the final details of the hike I decided to invite Nuthin. After all, her support was one of the main reasons I didn’t abandon the trip. She said yes and quit her job. So, there we were no jobs, lots of maps and trail food, and no long-distance hiking experience. 

On May 5, 2016, we set out for adventure. It took us five months to hike 2,500 miles. During this time the trail shaped and molded us. There was desert heat which cooled to beautiful sunsets in the evening. Sketchy mountain passes were covered in ice but the views were like nothing we had ever seen. The cold relentless rain of Washington gave way to the fall colors contrasting with the granite and evergreens, creating a striking landscape. We emerged different people, but we didn’t fully comprehend the magnitude of the change.

When we were done, I thought that was exactly what I needed. A break, a chance to regroup. Nuthin and I settled down. I went back to construction, Nuthin found another job, we got an apartment and a dog we named Merci. When we reentered what some would call “normal society,” things seemed worse than before. Life seemed bland – without color.

On our journey, my eyes had been opened to so much freedom and beauty that all I wanted to do was go back. Not necessarily to the place, but to the feeling. Nuthin and I ignored these feelings and decided this was just a phase that would pass with time. Well, after one and a half years, it hasn’t. During this time, we thought we would maybe like to travel long-term again. We lived simply and saved our money for the next possible adventure. We have decided to take one year off work to explore the world, along with our dog Merci. I think Henry David Thoreau gave me inspiration when he wrote, “This spending the best part of one’s life earning money to enjoy a questionable liberty at the least valuable part of it…[doesn’t make sense].” 

Long-term travel has changed how I look at the world. During our journey on the PCT, I had the least amount of possessions that I have ever had but was the most happy. This seems counterintuitive. I have found that what truly makes you happy and what society says should make you happy often differ greatly. The reason I wanted to create this website was to share the excitement and adventure that we have experienced, but more importantly to inspire you to go outside of your comfort zone and plan your own…