Notebook

I was living a comfy-but-unfulfilling life in 2015 when I met my first thru-hikers, my heralds, my calls to action. They said it was "never too late," and even though I didn't think I was too close to death's door, I saw they had a point. So nine months later I quit my job, put my furniture in my parents' basement, and started my NOBO thru-hike, which, when a stress fracture grounded me 675 miles later, turned into a LASH. But the trail taught me what I needed to know about myself, which is that although I will never like lashing rainstorms on mountainsides, I can survive them. This fact gave me the courage to start a freelance life, one that is breathtakingly more authentic than the one I had before. If you're on the fence, leap. If you want to read more of my writing, check out www.mathinacalliope.com Hugs, Notebook. Twitter: @mathinacalliope IG: mathinacalliope

Posts

Review: Right On Trek Backpacking Food Delivery

Review: Right On Trek Backpacking Food Delivery

What we fuel ourselves with on the trail is as personal and important as anything else we carry, if not more so, given how infinite the approaches

Feb 5, 2021 : Notebook
Start Here: How Shenandoah National Park Is a Backpacker’s Nursery

Start Here: How Shenandoah National Park Is a Backpacker’s Nursery

Basically, it’s a classroom for Backpacking 101.

Oct 26, 2019 : Notebook
Consider the Timber

Consider the Timber

Shenandoah National Park, September 8–16, 2019 Dispatch 2: Megaflora It can be hard for anyone to see the forest for the trees, but in the

Oct 7, 2019 : Notebook
Tourists and Citizens on the AT

Tourists and Citizens on the AT

Shenandoah National Park, September 8–16, 2019 Dispatch 1: Backpacking Is Not Thru-hiking The two-and-a-half months I spent on my LASH three years

Oct 3, 2019 : Notebook
Just Taking a Vacation

Just Taking a Vacation

Going out for a section three years after an aborted thru-hike attempt

Jul 5, 2019 : Notebook
There Are No Solutions, Only Trade-Offs

There Are No Solutions, Only Trade-Offs

To be effective, you have to say no to good opportunities.

Sep 12, 2018 : Notebook
How to Be an Internet Hiker: Free Tips for Pajama Blazers

How to Be an Internet Hiker: Free Tips for Pajama Blazers

Step 1: Have some backpacking experience. That one time, when you were 12? And went with your scout group? That oughta do it. No need to actually

May 21, 2018 : Notebook
I Love(d) Not Camping

I Love(d) Not Camping

We arrive at our decisions to thru-hike in all sorts of ways. Some of us get there in a more roundabout manner than others. When I decided in 2015

Apr 27, 2018 : Notebook
Four Ugly Truths and Four Beautiful Realities About the Suck

Four Ugly Truths and Four Beautiful Realities About the Suck

The suck is an inescapable aspect of long-distance backpacking; no one eludes it. It is savage and unrelenting. It also, if you manage not to flee

Jan 8, 2018 : Notebook
Sharing Thru-Hiking’s Power with a Nonhiking Audience

Sharing Thru-Hiking’s Power with a Nonhiking Audience

Sometimes it takes a long time to make meaning from dramatic events in our lives. I got off the trail fifteen months ago with a broken foot, not

Sep 20, 2017 : Notebook