mountain and field

Original “About Trailheaders” Post

Trailheaders is a travel blog for anyone who’s ever lost a job or gotten lost in a sunset… for anyone who squeezes life’s lemons into the sangria pitcher… and for everyone who treks their own trails.

It means a LOT to me that some friends and family have suggested, “You should write all this down!” so here you go. I hope I can offer some helpful hints, inspirational insights or provocative perspectives about what I’ve learned about paving my own path in spite of (or because of) being without a job, without a home and without a travel buddy.

What if:
• Google had a “Map My Life” app?
• There was a rest stop full of brochures and free coffee on the Road of Life?
• A rugged park ranger rescued us every time we veered off-course from our life paths?

If those “what ifs” were true, I would have deleted the app to free up phone storage. I would have arrived at the rest stop 20 minutes after it locked up for the night. I would have been too enamored with the park ranger’s biceps to hear which way to turn at the bridge.

I love maps and geography. I adore nature walks and hikes. I am compelled to follow the rules and stick to the trail, most of the time. But somehow, I almost always manage to get lost or take detours. The last year of my life has been so amazing and amazingly off-course, I finally learned to embrace what some people might call wandering. I’m not following anyone else’s path. I’m paving my own trail through solo travel, stumbling plenty but learning so much in the process.

The route of my relatively recent life has gone something like move to new city; land job in “job creation;” get laid off abruptly; give up apartment to save on rent; crash in beachfront condo; road trip across U.S.; fly to Paris and meet foreign man for happily-ever-after and to road trip France, Spain and Italy; realize happily-even-just-for-a-few-weeks isn’t going to happen and part ways in Italy; backpack Europe solo for two months; road trip again, this time alone, all up, down and across the U.S.; delve deeply into family history and connections — all the while, apply for jobs fervently and gasp, occasionally, at decreasing bank balance.

All this traveling solo is not something I initially set out to do, not at all! Some people are all about it and only want to travel alone. A lot of them blog about it. This is not one of those blogs. For me, circumstance and stubbornness kicked off and continue to fuel my solo journeys. I’ve been waiting for what feels like so long to find the right partner and/or travel buddy. Time slipped by, the monuments eroded millimeter by millimeter, and there I was, still waiting and wondering. I turned my lustful wondering into wanderlusting and haven’t looked back since.

Author’s Note: This was originally published on December 28, 2014 with the launch of Trailheaders. In May 2017, that section was updated to reflect the results of strategic planning and a refining of the Trailheaders mission. Check it out here.


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