I do know a few outdoorists have gathered here, and are interested in talking about how we can integrate the outdoors into our lives effectively. It seems like most of the online outdoor social networks are focused on gear or “extreme” activities, but I’m sure we could find a home elsewhere online if I decommission this site. Does anyone have any votes? Outdoorzy.com or a Facebook group come to my mind – any other alternatives we should look at?

Meanwhile, as we research outdoor destinations in Arizona, we find a list of closed and partially closed parks among the many signs of budget cuts.

If there is one thing that’s crucial for an outdoorist, it’s public land. We still have a lot of it in the US, thankfully, but I don’t think we can afford let any of it slip away. I’d even put it on the same footing as health care, because I know my health depends on it. I wonder how many other people depend on public land for their physical fitness? No health care system can work without a healthy population, yet the debate doesn’t seem to focus much on the things that keep us healthy. Without public lands more of us will turn to gyms, and gym memberships may very well compete with health insurance in our budgets.

Is there any evidence to support this theory? I haven’t found any specific studies, but I think supporting statistics could be mined. Look at the American College of Sports Medicine’s fittest city list, and it compare it with CNN’s list of cities with the most parks. The top 20 entries in both lists have 11 cities in common. What other evidence is out there?

As an outdoorist just getting started on new path in these uncertain times, my prevailing thought is: public land is health insurance.

I know a few underground outdoorists still make it to this site now and then. I believe we should keep track of each other and our lessons learned. I’ve made it easier to register for this site, and I’m totally open to letting others write and edit the site. As a WordPress developer, I know that the software running here will give us even more ways to collaborate in the coming year.

Happy new year all, from my 4-wheel-drive software laboratory!

I’m no exception. I reveled in life as a Weekday Warrior while it lasted, but I’m back to chasing income during the week. Success in my work is paying less, and I’ve struggled with physical ailments. I’m still freelance while I can manage it, but writing about outdoorism has receded into the background for now. I think it’s okay to let the site be quiet for a while. Some of my favorite outdoor experiences have involved extended quiet times.

I break the silence for two reasons. One is to refresh my own commitment to outdoorism by writing a few of my recurring thoughts here. The other is to remind anyone else out there who may need to hear it that at least one more outdoorist continues to press on. Outdoorism remains a primary focus and value for me, even with fewer opportunities to express it. Should the hardships continue, I take some comfort in the fact that our most basic survival is rooted in an outdoor life, even if a few of the labyrinthine structures we’ve built on it collapse.

I know at least one of our fellow outdoorists, Kate Calder, has done the same. Anyone else? Do you have other favorite outdoor calendars?

When I ran across Bryan Conant’s website, I knew I’d found a map-loving Outdoorist’s dream come true. Bryan has produced the definitive trail maps for the wilderness areas outside Santa Barbara, California. I arranged a phone interview with Bryan to find out how he accomplished this, and what it might mean to the rest of us.

Bryan Conant Interview mp3

Thanks to freesoundtrackmusic.com for the groovy intro music.

It was not yet my time. I managed some traveling, but was mostly supported by my family along the way. Eventually I found myself lurking at my dad’s house, in limbo, unable to find work. When a job as a government contractor came my way, I returned to life as a Weekend Warrior, and not for the last time. My outdoor values continued to grow, though, and I never stopped updating my cyberhobo web site.

I’m now four months into another attempt at establishing myself as a Weekday Warrior. I’m freelancing again, and have a growing base of good clients. I choose my hours, and spend a respectable of amount of high-quality time outdoors. But I’m not yet making a living. My wife is currently a Weekend Warrior. As fortune would have it, she’s found the best full time job of her life here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We find ourselves in a mixed marriage of sorts, uncertain which way to proceed. We are certain of the importance of the outdoors in our life, and our intention to keep pursuing it.

So even though I’m not yet a self-reliant Weekday Warrior, I have taken note of a couple of tactics that helped me get this far.

• Establish a network through free labor. Independent, part-time workers all need some kind of network of clients or customers. I attempted a few entrepreneurial projects, and the one that ended up bringing me clients is an open-source product that I developed myself and make freely available to anyone. This is an old pattern of “paying your dues”, but I really had to see it work to believe it.
• Be persistent. Some of my projects failed. Many ideas came and went. I had to keep my day job longer than I hoped. I got tired, and often felt I was making no progress. I still feel that way sometimes. But whenever I feel the least bit inspired, I plug away at whatever project seems to hold the most promise at the time.
• Seek renewal outdoors. I can’t quite force it to happen, but sometimes I return from the outdoors completely refreshed and ready for anything. The more I go out, the more reliable a source of energy and vitality it is.

These are some of my lessons learned so far. My greatest liability is probably my tendency toward social isolation. The more people I can meet that share my values, the more opportunities I’ll have. I hope to meet Weekday Warriors more successful than I, and get them to share their secrets with us here…