What is going on everyone, today I’m going to talk about my infatuation with exploring and camping in National Forests. I’m going to keep it real, I love National Forests but they are not without their downsides. I guess I can cover a few of those too… Lets get into it.

While I spent a lot of time flying in the military, I probably spent more time (not by choice) planning for the missions I would eventually perform. Through that experience, I do a lot of trip planning before setting out. I do this for a few reasons and the first one is that I enjoy it. I really enjoy dropping a line down on the map and solving the problem of how to get from one place to the next. The second reason is that I like to have a line to deviate from. I am not opposed to changing the route on the fly nor do I feel like I have to stick to the plan. The plan is just a baseline to deviate from and get back to should the need arise. My third reason for developing detailed plans involves me familiarizing myself with the area that I am operating in. For instance, if I come to a point where the planned road is closed, it isn’t a problem because chances are that I remember that a highway is on the other side of the ridge or maybe that I know I can get gas in a town and not risk running out on an extended adventure.

Managing expectations is a hard lesson I had to learn throughout my career; here are a few things you can look forward to in the near future.

One thing that I look for when reading or watching someone share their story is why they are doing it. If the perception is that they are more concerned with making $ over making good content, I immediately lose interest. I have been contemplating starting some form of content creation for a long time to build a community and simply share the things I learn through my travels. Recent events in my life have allowed me to make those dreams turn into action.