Our thighs were burning as we tromped up Keasarge Pass to gain our first view into Kings Canyon. All three of us have explored different sections of the Eastern Sierra and JMT, but none of us had been to this area. To avoid the burn, we diverted our attention to the "What do you think is over there” game, trying to see who could paint a better picture of what was on the other side of the pass. Turns out, we were all wrong.

At the chance of sounding like a self-help book, “Are you wandering, feeling a bit lost, and looking for a solution?” Well, I have the cure, just pay me $500… LOL! In reality, I was feeling like the above statement and was truly wandering, without much direction, until I was introduced to the concept of Ikigai. Now, I will be totally honest with you, I am not sure if Ikigai is a way-of-life, a philosophy, a concept, a practical guide to life, etc. Ikigai was introduced to me by a Jesuit Priest as he was reflecting upon his own life. While out at lunch, he shared his perspective and encouraged me to look into it for myself.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to photograph a project for MiiR. The concepts were a bit broad and sounded a little something like, “we are releasing new colors to our classic bottle and want to showcase them in a lifestyle manner. We like your work and want you to just do what you do.” Now, when I receive assignments with directions that parallel this, I am usually at a loss. The wide open instructions for a photographic assignment often intimidates me for two reasons…

The real question is, “When was the last time you were upset after relaxing in a hammock?” As summer approaches and daylight extends well beyond that of a 9-5 job, what better way to spend your evening than in a hammock, maybe with a book or journal. For myself, living on the road my work hours are all over the map, but whenever I can find a place to hang a hammock and take in the view, I am in my happy place. Below are four of my favorite spots that I have hung a hammock.

When I first sat down to write this blog, I wanted to express the beauty and elegance longboarding holds. Erased line after erased line, the string of words could not match the self-expression and feminine endearment longboarding requires. My ego and masculinity wanted to force together words, hoping to create prose. Instead, I was faced with a challenge, similar to that of riding the nose or cross-stepping, to surrender.

Dalton Johnson seeks to answer the question, "Where does freedom live?" in his latest video from the UT desert. He spent a month climbing, canyoneering, and trail running around Moab, Utah. The visuals all come from the surrounding areas of Moab. In this project, Dalton visited Indian Creek, Arches National Park, and Canyonlands National Park.

My name is Dalton Johnson and I am a wanderer with a camera, a pencil, and paper. Now, that may sound vague and entice you, but please understand, that means most would consider my days to be quite long and boring. Often you can find me by a river contemplating, dangling from a rope on the side of a cliff, struggling to breathe as I swim in alpine lakes, or walking for hours without an endpoint. The reason I am writing this letter is to spark your curiosity, foster your nurturing gifts, and to encourage you to spread your love.

As we age (I know, not what we all want to acknowledge) we begin to rely on our past experience. Fortunately, our experiences have kept us alive and thriving over the last “X” number of years. Unfortunately, this experience removes the natural curiosity we had as a kid, potentially blinding us from seeing this world as it presents itself to us. Our experience allows us to see “between the lines” and blocks us from being surprised by one’s actions. Yet, what happens when we can no longer surprise ourselves? Have we become stagnant? Well, that is possible, but there is an easy way to get out of that rut. Simply, be that annoying a kid again, and ask yourself “Why?” until you can’t go any further.

Most likely you have not heard of Ikigai, however, its background story and correlation to the Japanese island, Okinawa, which is home to the most centenarians in the world gives this Japanese practice an unparalleled lifestyle design resume. Living in the west, we have a consumer-based society, where our value is based on our belongings. That is not the case in Ikigai.

The societal climate appears to be hot and toasty. Often, the rhetoric is negative and disapproving of our society, yet what are you doing to make it a better place? How are you creating an environment for others to see the good in society? Below are four ways to connect with other humans and improve your perspective on society.

We all have 24 hours in a day and you can choose to spend those hours however you wish. It does not matter if you work a 9-5 or live in a van. We are the creators of your schedules. We are the puppet master pulling our strings. Our actions are ours alone. Why not embrace the traveler’s mindset and get the most out of your 24 hours?

Who questions are a great place to start whenever you are trying to take a deeper dive into your cognitive process. The reason, people are often the trigger, or influence, into why we didn’t stick to our truths. In our hearts, we know what is correct, but often it is our environment that changes the typical results for what we want to achieve. Please note, this influence can be both, constructive and destructive.

Another way to think of introspection is the discovery of one’s cognitive process. I use the word discovery because I do not think nearly observing nor examining is enough. To discover something, one must be curious to look around the corner, poke and prod, asking questions you may not want the answer to, but know it is important to find out. Also, I change the mental and emotional process to cognitive because one’s cognition also adds the senses to the process.

When we begin questioning the path we are on, oftentimes it is because we are in downtime, or are not seeing the results we had expected. The fifty questions below are a way to work through these downtimes and remind ourselves of what we are capable of doing, remind ourselves of the successes we have had, and to begin pointing your compass towards your true north.

Cycles define our lives. We ebb and flow, much like the tides pulled by the moon’s gravity. Some cycles are short, while others last a lifetime. Our relationships, our work, our creativity all require attention (the flowing) and withdrawal (the ebbing). Recently, I have been wondering what would it take to control these cycles. Are they controllable? Well, my intuition lands on a simple answer, no. No, I do not think we can control these cycles, but we can learn to recognize and embrace each orbit.

In the world of taxes, mortgages, car payments, student loans, utility bills, etc. we—or at least myself—fall into the trap of forgetting to play. I don’t mean going out with friends or surfing your favorite break. The play I am talking about is the kind you enjoyed as a little kid. Growing up in a rural place, I often played naked in the backyard during a rainstorm with my GI Joes or I was pretending to be Tarzan climbing trees. While I keep my nudity to a minimum these days, I hope you get what I mean.

Stepping out of the van, the temperature is 29 degrees Fahrenheit, there is a fresh layer of snow in the desert. Quickly closing the door in hopes of keeping my partner’s warmth within, I begin to wander. The goal, return with a few images I can be proud of on this unique morning. I mean, how often do you get to see snow in the desert?

Until this past weekend, I had no idea the term “Digital Nomad” existed. Turns out, earning a living through a digital medium, like photography, and living on the road or in a nomadic style, makes you a digital nomad. Low and behold, I can call myself a digital nomad. Thank goodness I have another box to fit within! As I scrolled through the wiki page, I realized the box which fits me best is a sub-category of nomads called Van-dwellers. For some odd reason, I like the term van-dweller more than van-lifer. I wonder if anyone else has these same thoughts? Anyways, I digress. I wanted to share some tips and tricks I’ve learned as I dawn this fancy new Digital Nomad title from these past 4-years of roaming.

Then reality hits me and I’m brought back to the present. My hands are relatively warm, my feet hurt, but my heart is filled with joy. Not far off, I can see the tents. Once there I will sit with others, and share a cup of tea.

Growing up I was constantly reminded that, “life is a marathon, not a sprint.” My mom, coaches, teachers, and other adults would tell me this almost daily. At times, I thought they were all in on a cruel joke! I hated these reminders! They did not make sense, why would you tell somebody that has a goal to slow down? Devoted to a pool, putting in 3 hours a day staring at a black-line does something to your mental state. I just wanted to go faster.