Post: #1

I've read all the blogs written by men who have developed streams of passive income over the internet, and now spend all their time traveling. That's awesome.

Unfortunately, it's not reality for me. As a lawyer, I'm tied to certain states, courtroom appearances, and my office. I can't spend 6 - 10 months abroad, and my income isn't passive.

But... there is some stuff I've figured out to making a 9-5 work with a vagabond lifestyle.

What I like to do is just jet out of the city on a Thursday or Friday after the workweek has concluded and just head out into the middle of nowhere. Even if its just for the weekend, or a three day weekend. Just sort of drive around and find stuff.

These are my musings...

1. Buy a truck. I live in a major east coast city, and everyone tells me "Hank, a truck is impractical, blah blah blah. You should get a Honda Prius or something that lets people know you're a lawyer!"

Nope. I drive a truck. It's incredibly practical and cheap. Pickup truck, SUV, something that can both store your stuff and transport it. My truck has off-road tires and a snorkel. I store all my camping, fishing, and hiking gear in it.

I have never, ever once thought "Boy, I wish I had a Prius!" Never ever once.

2. Equip your truck for your lifestyle. This is what you will need:

a. A big ass backpack or duffle bag to hold your camping stuff. It will include: a mallet, a few head lamps, a flashlight, wine opener, heavy gardening gloves, long stick matches, a hand axe, charcoal fluid, a tin cup, instant coffee, rope, camping plates / utensils, batteries (AA and AAA), a battery or solar lantern, bug spray, and duraflame.

b. A small backpack for hiking like a CamelBak. It will include a compass, a first aid kit, head lamps, and poncho. Hike light. Just bring trail maps, water, first aid, and some Ostrim (or whatever).

c. A tent (I have a four season), sleeping bags, and blankets. When it's fall, you will absolutely need a sleeping bag.

d. A speaker. It can be a little bluetooth one, or a construction grade one like I have. Bonus: My speaker charges all my devices.

e. Cast iron cooking ware and a grill top. You can use it at home or in the woods. The grill top is like the thing you throw over a BBQ, except you can throw this over a campfire and cook all kinds of stuff.

f. Bag for clothes. I recommend getting stuff from Exoficcio. It's expensive but you can wash it in a sink, wear it for days at a time, and it's light. I do three pairs of underwear, three pairs of shorts, and three shirts. One sweatshirt. Hiking boots and hiking sandals.

g. Hygiene bag. Include soap (I use Dr. Bronner's), comb, deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste. All you need to camp most of the day but still be fresh enough for

f. Footwear. I go with hiking sandals during the summer (Merrells) and Salomon during the colder months. Do your research and buy whatever works best for your feet. Hiking shoes are fine for most day trips.

Optional:

g. Roofrack with crossbars. Tie a bunch of stuff like kayaks or bikes to your truck.

h. Kayaks, canoes, etc. These can also be rented.

i. Kindle Voyage or whatever. Reading is the best. Not hauling books is even better.

Cost:

Truck: $3000 and up depending on how elaborate you want to get with it. Mine was given to me by a client. I'd rather own a $5k truck than a $30k BMW. If you're not driving kids around, what's the point of something that won't store and transport your gear? What's the point of a nice car that's going to cost a fortune to service? I've found that even in my profession, where people expect lawyers to drive BMWs, no one holds driving a truck against me.

Camping stuff: Around $1200 for everything, including all the backpacks.

Camp site: Around $30 a night. They usually have running water and electricity. Meaning you can sit and do work from the middle of the woods, which is what I'm doing now.

Fire wood: $6 a bundle, give or take.

Unsolicited but necessary advice:

- Don't setup your campsite in the dark or in the rain, unless you're pretty experienced.

- Camping trips can be boring if it's raining. Try and gauge the weather before doing one of these. If it's going to rain heavy, you might be better just staying at home and doing other stuff.

Post: #2

Instant coffee?

I always carry my MOKA Pot. Easy to brew on top of the cast iron grill.

Good thread

Post: #3

This thread should probably be in the Travel or Lifestyle section.

Hank makes a good point here: Of course, exploring foreign lands and what they have to offer is exciting and all that. It doesn't always need to be a foreign country though if there's plenty to discover in front of your doorstep, which is pretty much the case everywhere unless you live in rural Saudi Arabia.

I've never felt the urge to venture out of a town when I lived in Europe (huge mistake), but I'm doing it now that I live in NZ. Since travelling anywhere from here is expensive, hopping in the car and driving around to explore makes sense. Unlike Hank I don't have a ute (pickup truck) to do this - keep in mind petrol is about double the price of the US -, and I don't just go somewhere, as it doesn't work as well here with the limited amount of roads.

Since I'm into hiking, I usually look up remote tracks and just drive there on a fine weekend. In NZ this usually has the nice side effect of finding yourself on gravel roads with views like this:

   

Elsewhere in the world this is even better as you don't only have beautiful nature, but you also can discover small towns, historical places etc. that you've never seen before.

So next time when you want to book a flight to city X: Hop in your car, on the bus or train and explore your surroundings instead! You may be positively surprised.

Post: #4

If you don't have a truck and it isn't a possibility, option B is this...

Pack a backpack with a hiking tent, mallet, charcoal fluid, compass, skewer, headlamp, utility knife, underwear, bathing suit, tin cup, and backup socks. Throw on some hiking boots. Go somewhere interesting.

The reason I put this in "game" is because women tend to think being outdoorsy is very masculine. It you take a woman on an outdoors trip, and don't look like a moron, she will love you forever. Catch her a fish or feed her some venison, and you're getting blowjobs for life.

Her last boyfriend probably cried when he saw a bug...

Post: #5

Good topic, but agree that it would fit more in life style.

To go with your grill, here is an extra tool for your truck:

Post: #6

Love it, been doing it myself for years, good for the soul.

Post: #7

(08-16-2017 05:58 AM)HankMoody Wrote:  The reason I put this in "game" is because women tend to think being outdoorsy is very masculine. It you take a woman on an outdoors trip, and don't look like a moron, she will love you forever. Catch her a fish or feed her some venison, and you're getting blowjobs for life.

Her last boyfriend probably cried when he saw a bug...

Totally legit, my current LTR said she fell deeply in love with me when I took her out in the RV for a weekend.

Post: #8

(08-16-2017 09:50 AM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  

(08-16-2017 05:58 AM)HankMoody Wrote:  The reason I put this in "game" is because women tend to think being outdoorsy is very masculine. It you take a woman on an outdoors trip, and don't look like a moron, she will love you forever. Catch her a fish or feed her some venison, and you're getting blowjobs for life.

Her last boyfriend probably cried when he saw a bug...

Totally legit, my current LTR said she fell deeply in love with me when I took her out in the RV for a weekend.

Setting up tents, starting fires, cooking food I caught, hiking through beautiful areas, explaining nature stuff... I've found that it's hands down the easiest way to differentiate yourself from all the other guys. Plus it's more fun than hanging out in a loud club with lame people.

When I have a plate who seems on the fence, I take her into the bush and it's a done deal.

Post: #9

This is great, I just got back from my first ever back packing trip. It was a 30 mile loop over 6 days in Mineral King, CA. Very epic scenery. Great experience over all. I went with 2 friends. It's probably the furthest I've ever been from civilization in my life. It was quite dangerous at times, with such highlights as:

-trying to get over a mountain pass at 11.6k elevation while a lightning storm is closing in
- walking across ice / snow shelves 10 feet off the ground without the proper footwear (would not have done it if it was not necessary to get across)
-treacherous river crossings
- trying to find the trail where it had been buried by an avalanche

It was a great time overall. Hank if you're ever on the west coast check out the Sequoia National Park. It's incredibly picturesque. I can PM some pics if you want.

Post: #10

But do you have room for your decanter?

Post: #11

I have an old F250 thats been in my family since '92. I drove it when I was 16, wrecked some things that met my grill and was brought up enjoying the outdoors. The benefits of having a trustworthy truck never ends. Find a nice desk on CL, costco run, mountain biking with buddies. Granted my family lives at the base of Lassen National Forest where it'd be impossible to traverse all the fire/gravel roads, we also cut several cord of wood per year.

I drove up from CA to Idaho for the eclipse. Standard gear for truck camping. No need for a tent. The truck will reach places others cant. Granted, with no tent you must be able to park and camp, which has never failed me on BLM land (another huge tip is to have BLM maps handy).

Notice I was with another car in this pic. There were a few dozen others camped out in this state park, which was under the path of totality in Idaho. Miles from here there were towns selling camping space/rv space. These vehicles simply did not know about the plentiful BLM land nearby from where they could enjoy the eclipse unencumbered by the masses, for free.

The truck will run forever, but it needs some body work. Will soon be looking for a newer ford or dodge diesel to replace.


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Post: #12

(08-24-2017 09:24 PM)Stakes Is High Wrote:  I have an old F250 thats been in my family since '92. I drove it when I was 16, wrecked some things that met my grill and was brought up enjoying the outdoors. The benefits of having a trustworthy truck never ends. Find a nice desk on CL, costco run, mountain biking with buddies. Granted my family lives at the base of Lassen National Forest where it'd be impossible to traverse all the fire/gravel roads, we also cut several cord of wood per year.

I drove up from CA to Idaho for the eclipse. Standard gear for truck camping. No need for a tent. The truck will reach places others cant. Granted, with no tent you must be able to park and camp, which has never failed me on BLM land (another huge tip is to have BLM maps handy).

Notice I was with another car in this pic. There were a few dozen others camped out in this state park, which was under the path of totality in Idaho. Miles from here there were towns selling camping space/rv space. These vehicles simply did not know about the plentiful BLM land nearby from where they could enjoy the eclipse unencumbered by the masses, for free.

The truck will run forever, but it needs some body work. Will soon be looking for a newer ford or dodge diesel to replace.

Fucking awesome!

This is why I love having a truck.

Post: #13

I recently got a full sized Chevy Suburban, and took it camping for the first time for the eclipse last week. It's great. If you take out the third row of seats and fold down the second row, you have a flat space as large as a long bed pickup, but it's carpeted and weather-tight. I put down foam and a couple of sleeping bags and comforters to make a bed, and it was like a real bed. I taped wrapping paper in the windows for privacy, but I'm going to make something reusable for next time, something with a perfect fit that's fast to put up or take down.

Not only can you camp out in the wilderness with this, but you can stay in town and camp in any Walmart parking lot for free. This cuts the cost of a weekend out of town in half from the usual cost when hotel is included. You can still hit all the bars, restaurants, museums, and outdoor scenic attractions, then sleep in comfort in your SUV for free.

I did get the truck a rockin' at one point. I don't know if anyone noticed, but no one came a knockin'.

Post: #14

(08-25-2017 11:27 AM)RoastBeefCurtains4Me Wrote:  I recently got a full sized Chevy Suburban, and took it camping for the first time for the eclipse last week. It's great. If you take out the third row of seats and fold down the second row, you have a flat space as large as a long bed pickup, but it's carpeted and weather-tight. I put down foam and a couple of sleeping bags and comforters to make a bed, and it was like a real bed. I taped wrapping paper in the windows for privacy, but I'm going to make something reusable for next time, something with a perfect fit that's fast to put up or take down.

Not only can you camp out in the wilderness with this, but you can stay in town and camp in any Walmart parking lot for free. This cuts the cost of a weekend out of town in half from the usual cost when hotel is included. You can still hit all the bars, restaurants, museums, and outdoor scenic attractions, then sleep in comfort in your SUV for free.

I did get the truck a rockin' at one point. I don't know if anyone noticed, but no one came a knockin'.

I forgot to mention that...

You can RV camp in just about any Walmart parking lot for free. I just sleep in the back of my truck.