On the road again
Here & There 07.22.22
Hi all, it’s been a while but I wanted to share a few updates and recent adventures. It’s been a unique and enjoyable few months in London, especially as the weather has warmed up and I’ve spent a bit more time finding adventure in Europe.
I’m getting ready to wrap up my time in London next week. I’ll be spending August around Europe, visiting a few different places and hopefully finding some unique spots to work and adventure. I’ll be working most of the time, so actually doing the real “digital nomad” thing for a bit. The rough plan is to spend most of my time in smaller towns with good outdoor access in Austria, France and Switzerland before heading back to the US in September. If you have any suggestions (or folks I should meet up with), I’d love to hear them!
I’m hoping to write a bit more in the coming weeks about remote work, “slow travel” and the difference in the “outdoors” between North America and Europe. I’ve had trouble articulating my thoughts on this topic lately but I think there are a lot of interesting cultural and economic differences to delve into. And, obviously I’ll be looking to get on a few more cool routes in the coming weeks.
Fastpacking the Karwendel High Trail
The Karwendel Hohenweg is a ~42 mile, 6-stage route just outside of Innsbruck, Austria. Naturally, instead of taking a full 4-5 days as most people do, I decided to hike it in three. It was a spectacular experience and my first foray into European-style hut-to-hut hiking.
Champery, Switzerland
Just recently I did another long weekend in Switzerland (noticing a theme?). This little ski town is just a short train ride from Geneva and the jumping-off point for the Tour Dents du Midi, and the Tour Dents Blanche. Besides the incredible hiking, there’s also some of the best mountain biking in the world — all the local resorts in the Portes du Soleil region can be connected together.
We did an abbreviated version of the Tour Dents Blanche, hiking in to the Refuge du Vogealle for a night before looping back to Champery. The landscapes were just absolutely incredible.
Other things
I redid my website a bit (as I do, all the time). I mostly wanted to pull in more of my writing and experiences all into one place, and see if I could also work some SEO magic. Got a bit tired of trying to decide whether my website should focus on design, photography, or outdoor/travel writing and decided it’ll just be all smashed together.
Outside’s “Outerverse” web3 project finally launched this week, so I might write a follow-up on some of that stuff panned out.
I’ve been waiting on the 2022 Outdoor Participation Report by OIA to come out, but haven’t seen anything yet. It usually drops in June but 🤷♂️.
I’m spending the next month+ with only a 40L Patagonia duffel bag and my new Rab Aeon Ultra 28L hiking/running pack. It’ll be a nice test in minimal packing, while also having enough stuff for trail running and other adventures.
I’m overdue for a few gear posts, including a review of that Rab backpack. Will definitely be working on that.
That’s all for now, hope y’all are well!