The excitement was at an all time high as we loaded the van for our road trip, but I had that feeling inside of me that I was forgetting something. Yet, I couldn’t put my finger on it. What could it be?

I checked my clothing list, everything was there. I checked my food list, yup, all here. I checked all my other lists, I had everything. Yet, I still had that gut feeling I was forgetting something. Without knowing what it was, I continued to load the van and we hit road. Putting miles between me and our home, I worried I would forget something.

Turns out I overlooked a few things!

Now that we understand what type 2 fun is, where does inspiration come from behind this video? My adventures. Since 2016, I have dedicated my life to adventures that range from the grand to the micro. Just the idea of adventure get’s me excited and I often read books about adventures just to get the ideas flowing.

Five years have passed since my last cycle tour, it was new again. Pavement moved under me as I zipped downhill. Wind froze my hands. Trees and a river whipped passed at 15 miles an hour. Freedom, smiles, energy pumping through my body I have not felt in years. I’m where I am supposed to be.

While in Yosemite National Park climbing and sleeping in the boulders, a couple of things happened. First, I committed to my second seasonal job as an outdoor educator. Second, I met some famous climbers. Both of which pulled me in opposite directions.

On a cloudy day along the Northern California coast, I went for a walk to try out my new lens; the Tamron 50-400mm. Now, I don't know much about the lens other than I like the range, so I clicked it onto my Sony camera body and went for a walk to see what I could find.

Thank you Big Agnes for the opportunity to create with you all. I have enjoyed the process of learning your style and doing my best to contribute to you all!

Living in a city is full of noise. Beeps, honks, sirens, birds, people… you name it, a city has a sound for that. Well, almost. What a city doesn’t have is a sound for silence. To seek that, we packed our backpacks, sleeping bags, a few meals, and headed out to the woods for a weekend get away.

In this photo essay Dalton Johnson documents Ryan Lynch hand shaping a surfboard from a blank. Documenting the process of how to make a surfboard from start to finish, this photo essay shows the beauty of the hand made process. If you are curious on how to make a surfboard, this photo essay will give you a look behind the curtain at how to make a surfboard.

As a kid, I had two dreams. First, to play a sport in college. Second, see the world. The outtake above is from a childhood conversation I distinctly recall as a kid. As an avid lover of the History and Discovery channel, I have always been blown away by this planet, the diversity of landscapes, and the endless adventures. With curiosity often at the root of my adventures, I have taken this mindset into adulthood.

We came to Indian Creek on a week-long climbing trip, but mother nature had other plans. It was our third day of the trip and we awoke to a full-blown snow storm. We went to bed watching the sunset over the red landscape, only to open the van doors to a winter wonderland.

Is there anything better than holding a warm beverage and watching the sun dip behind the horizon as the clouds and sky change colors? If so, I want to know what! Sunsets are a daily light display that makes my jaw drop when all of the ingredients align; slightly cloudy, something interesting on the horizon, and a nice jacket to keep you warm after the sun disappears. Over the past seven years of vanlife, I have prioritized watching sunsets, often stopping everything I am doing to enjoy this daily gift. In doing so, I have had many evening where my mind is blown by the beauty while living on the road. So, here are a few of my favorite sunsets, with the locations, so you can go watch them for yourself!

After a three day digital detox in Joshua Tree National Park, void of vibrations and pings, penning a note felt like the perfect way to continue the slowed down lifestyle and show some gratitude for time well spent with good friends. Pulling a pen from the drawer, tearing out a blank sheet from his notebook, and sitting down with a fresh cup of coffee, Dalton Johnson shares the story of a weekend adventure.

In this episode, we chat with Ryan Lynch, the founder and head shaper at Timber Surf Co. Throughout this interview we chat about a wide variety of topics, but there is a theme; pursue your dreams. I know, this is cliche, but Ryan has embodied this mantra as he quit his corporate job working at Tesla, road tripped through Central America as a honeymoon—for several months—, and started his own sustainable surf board shaping business. Over the past few years, his shaping bay has transformed, as his goal of moving the shaping industry towards a scalable and sustainable endeavor. Check out his boards, give this a listen, and enjoy the video at the bottom!

Sucking it up, I put my big boy pants on— mainly to avoid being left behind by Kristin—and head to the hot spring. It was my first time here, I didn’t know what to expect and I was blown away. The landscape was cloaked in a orange glow as the light danced down the mountains and across the fields in the distance. Staring out from the warmths of the hot spring, I was proud that we persevered.

The time has come to pack your backpack, hit the trail, and sleep in the dirt. Backpacking is an adventure combining hiking with backcountry camping, so be ready for a deep thigh burn and dirt under your fingernails. Living out of a backpack combined with the lack of conveniences makes backpacking an enjoyable type two activity. In the moment, as you labor up a steep grade, you might question your decision to go on this trip, but as you roast a marshmallow for s’mores and stare out at the Milky Way you’ll cherish those steep grades like a badge of honor. If this is your first backpacking trip, or your 10,000th trip, I promise there will be a nugget of goodness in this article.

Rewinding one calendar year, to September 2020, I was slouched and red-eyed, staring at google earth dreaming up ideas, such as climbing notable peaks in a single season in three different mountain ranges like the High Sierra, the Tetons, and the Cascades. All of these ranges have a lifetime of climbing within them, so I knew I would be a guest, cherry-picking the classics, but I still wanted to give this a try. So, I started training. As the plans for the trip developed and I connected with past climbing partners, like Luan, Beau, and Kristin. I started to get psyched, but felt a void.

Two days later, I pedaled away from the hostel the man at the airport had suggested. Winding through the city streets of Christchurch, I was eager to make it to the main road that circles New Zealand’s South Island. Upon arriving at the T, I asked myself, “clockwise or counterclockwise?” For the first time, I had a hunch that I knew what I was doing. Feeling confident, I recall thinking, it’s the second half of summer, I should go south now, so I am in the north for the fall. So, I went right and pedaled along the coast, embracing a freedom that I had never known before.

A micro-adventure is a mindset and physical outing directed to exploring. Since these are small, most micro-adventures will happen in your backyard, wherever that be. Now, some people will be luckier than others because of where they live, but even a city-dweller can have micro-adventures. The goal is to change your perspective on your current life situation and push yourself to go. Most of the time a micro-adventure will leave you asking yourself, “why would I ever do that?” The answer is “because it sounds like fun… kind of.”

While six pack abs and bikini season are always around the corner, van life might prevent you from getting to those goals. Yes, you are closer to access the outdoors if you plan your van trips correctly, however you aren’t going to have much space for working out, especially if the weather does not agree with your routine. If you plan on being a weekend warrior in a van, fitness won’t be a point of topic you’ll stress much about. However, if you decide to commit full time and have aspirations of maintaining your gym-centric body, guess again! With that said, below are five tips to maintain your fitness level while crammed in your tiny home on wheels.

In 2016 I took a leap of faith, bought a plane ticket to New Zealand as a graduation gift to myself for finishing college, and cycled around the South Island of NZ. Without a plan of action, all I knew was that I needed some time to sit with my thoughts and process as much as I could during that time. Sixty-two days is a long time without music, internet, social media, etc. but I can say, 62 days went quickly and wasn’t enough time to unpack the 24 years of living I had experienced. Getting caught up in the social conditioning of America is a road map to safety. Well, being safe isn’t living, and I wanted to live. While pedaling through rainstorms, almost sliding off roads, and sharing cookies and tea with strangers, I started to feel alive.