2012, a year of hiking summarized.
Recently I completed a year of tramping. In November 2011 I closed my sustainable design build business and took a year to travel, think, look and learn.
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| In one year of Tramping all over the globe, the Cascades in Washington State are still amongst the best places to hike. |
During this year I hiked the TeAraroa Trail in New Zealand, 3000km of amazing people and magnificent terrain; the Pacific Crest Trail, 2650 miles of trail from Mexico to Canada; and then the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, 144 miles of Buddhist Himalayan Magnificence.
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| A lake, one of many, along the PCT in Washington |
I also started a fundraiser along the way, for the American Heart Association and the Pacific Crest Trail Association called
Heart on the Trail.
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| Leave no Trace thru hiker Mc Sasquatch meets (no pun intended) leave lots of trace multi billionaire Ronald McDonald somewhere along the PCT. |
I am unsure where my professional future lies, but it will involve design. Perhaps teaching at a university, doing product design for outdoor gear companies or helping to solve the worlds housing needs with Habitat for Humanity. I continue to look at all options and opportunities involving sustainable design.
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| New Zealand, far north end of South Island, Queen Charlotte Sound, the first track of the Te Araroa on the South Island. |
This summer, I'm blessed to be working for GreenTrails Maps maping our public lands for current and future users. All last year I told myself, 'if only I could get paid for this (hiking)'. Well now I am.
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| Signs along the Te Araroa. Hand made and not sanctioned by DoC, they are still lovely and in a perfect place, half way along the Te Araro trail between Cape Reigna and Bluff |
All this started in 2011 with needing a break. I closed up shop for a couple weeks and did some hiking in Washington on the PCT headed the wrong way (south). This turned out to be the right thing to do since I met so many PCT thru-hikers along the way, headed north.
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Annie, PCT 2011, quoted 'I hate hiking, but I love the people.'
This quote will be with me always. |
Until this point in my life, I carried a 50 lb pack and thought that 12 miles was a long hike for one day! And until then, I also thought I was the only one on the trail that hated hiking. But then I met Annie. She shared briefly with me, but as I hiked on this cold rainy day, her thoughts stayed with me, resonating a clarity--sometimes we do things for other reasons.
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| Boots (2011) and Freestyle (2012), pct hikers from different years meet in Washington. We shared tobacco and beef jerky with two elk hunters, then marched on. This picture is the most popular picture I've ever posted apparently, given its continued high ranking on dbBrad related Google searches. |
Annie hikes to meet the people and in fact I do too now. You just never know who you'll meet on the trail -- dirty, smelly, and needing a shower and a new shirt-- A doctor, an architect, cop, game designer or even a Cartographer for your favorite map company.
So this year, swing on by my office and lets talk design, trails, or education. Just follow the Greentrails Maps to your nearest Trail Head and look for me, dbBrad!
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| Along the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, 2012 |
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The crew from 2011 Te Araroa, shown on a beach 2 days from our finish in Bluff,
It's too bad Madelein and Philipia and Brian and Annie weren't here to make the Photo complete! |
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