Girl meets boy. Girl likes boy. Boy wants to take the girl backpacking.
Say what?!
Heya there! My name is Andy!
When I met my husband, Alex, back in 2012 he asked me if I’d ever been backpacking or camping before. Truth be told, I lied and said I had.
He didn’t need to know that my camping experience could be summed up in one failed experiment. When I was a teenager, my dad bought a tent – he thought it’d be nice to have a father-daughter bonding experience. That lasted only a few hours when, freezing, I ditched the tent and walked back into the warm house.
Yep, I left my dad in the tent.
Needless to say, when we started going backpacking and camping I was a complete newbie. I didn’t know how to read a map, cook over a campfire, what to do if I saw a bear (besides take copious amounts of photos), nothing. I didn’t even know how to identify poison oak – the most likely thing that could land me in the hospital.
But in 2014, I bought my first backpacking boots. After that, whether it was hiking, camping or backpacking, being outside became part of my life. And I am thankful for it as it’s been a constant journey of education, discover and beauty.
After I’ve gained some know-how in both backpacking & camping I noticed that there were certain aspects of both where I could hardly get advice or information.
Some of these included: gluten-free backpacking, DIY dehydrated backpacker meals, camping on a budget and honest reviews.
Then in 2016 I began traveling and was still was struggling to squash anxiety & stress. I couldn’t find gluten-free places to eat, which attractions were best for a short trip, or how to navigate a new city.
This got even WORSE when I started traveling internationally.
That’s why I decided to start a blog. This is the place where I am happy to share not only my success stories but also my failures, my knowledge and to help encourage others to get outside or to hop on that plane.
So if you’re looking to trek a mountain or fly a thousand miles away, Thousand Mile Boot is here to help you every step of the way.
4 Comments
I remember my first real backpacking- 2 years in Hawaii in the 70s. I ditched 10 lbs of rice from my backpack at the Honolulu airport when I couldn’t even lift my pack off the luggage carousel! Haha!. Who knew how to pack!!! ?? I look forward to your blog.
That’s a lot of rice! Thanks, Annie!
Growing up I often went camping with my dad. I really enjoyed being surrounded by calm, peaceful nature. Well, until my dad would start telling bad jokes! I really want to go camping again and visit national parks with Andrew. He may need this blog more than me, for he has never gone camping before! Can’t wait to see where this blog takes both you and us!
Thanks for sharing, Dawn! That’s awesome! I’m so excited my blog is inspiring you to go camping. 🙂 I’ll definitely be posting more on camping in the next few weeks so keep an eye out for those!