4 months into the trip outside Phoenix, AZ
It wasn't a mid-life crisis. My identity was intact. My emotions and self-confidence were both stable when I decided to sell my house and move into my truck. But life on the road did change me. Here are some of the things I learned. I'll start with the positive things I discovered on the road, then finish with the reasons I left the road and settled down again. Starting at the beginning.
The last day in my classroom, May 2022
Life on the road was good for my health. As soon as I stopped teaching full time, I started recovering from it in a certain sense. A huge responsibility was lifted from my shoulders, and with no concern about the upcoming school year I felt younger and had a different vibe. More sure of myself, healthier and relaxed. I think the photos above show the difference. I also had some annoying digestion issues before I quit teaching. They started to fade as soon as the stress was gone.
Once I got used to life on the road I actually felt safer than I had at home. I don't know that I was actually safer, but that is how I felt. I think the feeling was based on a couple factors. Right out of the gates I started exploring. Backpacking in the San Juans, backpacking in the Winds, and bouldering alone in the backcountry.
That is objectively dangerous, and I had one close call where I missed the pads, but I never got hurt while on the road. Knowing how bad it would be if I did get hurt, and the lack of distractions when I was by myself, put me into a low key free solo mindset. It felt like I was aware of the dangers and could see how to avoid them. Feeling calm, centered and focused whenever I was alone and far from help, paradoxically lead to a feeling of security.
I wasn't a true local anywhere while on the road, but when I didn't have a home, everywhere I traveled felt like home. I also had less worries. When living in a house there was always something that might go wrong. Would the roof leak, would the furnace break, why isn't that part of the sprinkler system spraying right, why is that branch dying, will it fall on the house, what is the neighbor up to this time? My 2019 Toyota Tacoma felt reliable in comparison to my previous houses, and if anything wasn't looking good I'd just drive away. I could even avoid most unpleasant weather just by driving a few hours.
The weather on the road can be so good!
My health insurance was better on the road. I didn't really know how the system works until I tested it. When I was a full time teacher in Colorado my health insurance deductible was $5000 dollars. I had to pay that full amount when my daughter got appendicitis. When I hit the road I had to sign up for Obamacare. My premium was lower and my deductible was $600. My next year on the road my low income qualified me for Medicaid. I didn't have a deductible. There is a safety net if your income is low enough. I could have qualified for food stamps too, but I didn't apply. I never used my health insurance on the road. Ironically, the only time I got sick happened because I had to stand in line to apply for Medicaid. They were giving out free Covid tests at the same location. I came down with Covid two days later.
I saw more boulders in those 18 months than I'd seen in a decade living in a house.
A lack of boulders isn't the limiting factor for bouldering.
There are so many amazing untouched boulders.
Arizona had a lot of places I never knew about until I went nomadic.
Like Pima Canyon, it's a little bit of Hueco Tanks right in Phoenix.
I found a lot of great places with these little old school topos found in some local gyms and outdoor shops. Thanks for making them Marty!
I could keep posting photos of boulders all day. There are lifetimes of boulders to develop at multiple areas in the southwest.
I doubt it's a real phenomenon, but it started to feel like the animals weren't scared of me anymore. At least sometimes they weren't. I'm not sure why.
I gained new political and economic perspectives. You can't see a thing clearly until you get some distance from it. There is no escape from our political and economic system, but you can get a little space from it and look at it a little more clearly when you have the time, the ability to travel, and no need to participate in making money for an extended period of time. I read books from many different points of view. I saw public lands that were cared for, and public lands that have been abused for decades. I saw places where people were happy and thriving, and places in north Texas without public lands where people appeared to have learned nothing from the Dust Bowl. I'm not going to organize or explain the ideas in this post, but just as we preserved wilderness so people could see the natural world as it could be, I think it's important to preserve the ability for people to take extended time-outs in order to see life as it could be.
I learned about relationships. Friendships can be fragile things. It's usually easy to reconnect when you're in town, but people don't get in touch that often when you're gone. As easy as it is to make friends through climbing, sometimes you realize that climbing was the only reason you were ever friends in the first place. The friends who kept in touch while I was traveling and the friends who didn't taught me about the relative strength of the relationships. I was able to date on the road, but not to build anything lasting. I don't like dating long distance. I don't like hurting anyone. And I always felt pain when it was time to move on. I could see that the situation would repeat every time I uprooted myself. The stronger the attachment, the worse it would be. I didn't like that. That simple realization was a major factor in deciding to settle down again.
I learned the cost of life on the road.
The other major factor was economic. Life on the road feels worth it to me if it can keep you from needing a job. But it doesn't feel like it would work well while having a regular job. Life on the road was inexpensive compared to living in a house, but food, gas, car insurance, the occasional hotel or climbing gym membership was costing me about $50 a day when I averaged it all out. My guidebook income wasn't $50 a day and my savings weren't going to get me all the way to my pensions. I needed more income. So I applied to be an Access Steward for the Access Fund at Indian Creek twice. Was interviewed both times, but never got the job. I applied for a writing grant, but didn't get it. I thought about, and started working on various guidebook and publishing ideas, but economic realities and my passions weren't aligned. So it was time to find an exit from the highway. I'll explain how that happened in my next post. But let's conclude this one.
I'm very happy that I lived on the road while I did! The rest of my life will be better because I chose to live on the road for an extended trip. I'll continue to explore the places I found during my trip, and have the lessons I learned on the trip guiding my life.
There's really is so much to explore
even at a single major climbing area such as Cochise Stronghold.
Entire worlds can be found in the big mountain ranges and deserts of the west.
You can keep exploring until you reach the end.
If you can only find a way...
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