Category: Backpacking

Bonded for life.

thegnomadheart May 26, 2017

I want my first post post-TCT to be about the scariest thing imaginable….the hiking buddy you never met before.

Yes. I posted about my trip on FB (so I would not have to go alone) and a random girl committed to the whole trip from Day 1. It kind of took me aback because I didn’t not expect that and because now I had a whole other slew of new things to consider. For instance, I don’t know this girl. AT all. What if we don’t get along? What if that ruins the trip? What if she is this crazy person who has no business hiking? What if she ruins this special trip of mine? Plus, my coworkers wouldquestion it as well causing more doubt in my mind. Read More

Nervous AF. TCT.

thegnomadheart April 24, 2017

Not going to lie, I am having major and minor anxiety about this trip. Read More

Retail Therapy – Backpacking Tent.

thegnomadheart April 10, 2017

I did a bad thing. Like a thing I shouldn’t do because I don’t have money. The funny thing is that I know I should feel bad, but I don’t! Lol. I actually feel much better, and cannot wait to get my hands on this thing. Smh, when will it stop?

I will tell you why this happened…

TCT: The Walkabout

thegnomadheart April 6, 2017

Can anyone share in the excitement that builds in your mind when thinking about adventure and new hiking trips?

It has gotten to the point that if I have important deadlines to meet, I allow myself time to ponder about hiking and such nonsense only as a treat for finishing my tasks. Nothing has ever motivated me more! Read More

Trans-Catalina Trail: The Beginning

thegnomadheart March 31, 2017

So I had a boyfriend, once upon a time. Many moons ago. Still single AF now…but anyways, haha.

He wanted to go on vacation with me, but back then I was a very different gal than I am now. I knew nothing about this word, “vacation,” and it actually gave me anxiety since it was something totally out of my comfort zone (all our vacation as a child fell through). Read More

Havasupai – A Beginner’s Recap.

thegnomadheart March 30, 2017

So let me just start by saying that I had NO camping experience, much less backpacking experience. In fact, in preparation for this trip, I went on ONE hike that was about seven miles long and just a couple hundred feet in elevation. That is it. Read More

A True Beginner’s Backpacking Gear List: Havasupai

thegnomadheart February 1, 2017

Before August 2016, I had NO EXPERIENCE either hiking, camping, or backpacking. To be clear, I think I had gone on one local hike earlier that summer, I went camping when I was a little girl, but I do not remember any of it, and that is about it. But just to be even more clear, I DID NOT FORGET A SINGLE THING, or at least anything to make me regret it. I think I may NOT have used just two items as well.