When I first started out I made a LOT of mistakes as a nomad, but a few were doozies. Some were annoying, some could have been life threatening, but they all contained lessons.
Number One: Too Much Stuff!
This is the most common newbie mistake Nomads make! Even with the most detailed planning, you don’t know what you don’t need … until you’re actually on the road.
A few days into my first trip I quickly learned I’d loaded too much stuff into my van when I could hear my poor van engine straining to get up the steep hills of the Adirondacks!
My very first van purge was done immediately after that, those martini glasses I loved so much just had to go! I still do a routine purge a few times a year, and if I add an item I remove an item.
What did I learn? I’ve learned the simpler I live, the happier I am! Human beings can live, and thrive, with very few material possessions. Instead of things, I’m collecting experiences and memories.
Number Two: Inexperience Finding Camping Spots.
Like many nomads, my plan was to camp on free public lands, and avoid paying for campsites. On my launch day, I packed up my van for the first time, and taking the advice of my mechanic drove off to find the free camping spot he told me about. There was supposedly a “free camping” sign, and I used up the afternoon daylight looking for that damn sign … which turned out to be a faded slab of wood hidden deep in the bushes! Yep, I’d found it, an overgrown dirt path, headed straight up a very steep, very rocky, poorly maintained “road” into the woods. The sun was going down and feeling desperate, I gunned the Green Beastie … and heard dirt and rocks spewing out behind me!
My grand plan flew out the window. I was exhausted, but dammit … I wasn’t turning around. I checked into a nearby paid campground to regroup, and lying in my van bed that night, I had an all-out, think-I’m-gonna-die panic attack. Fun times! (Partially excerpted from Wild Women On The Road: A Women’s Guide To Nomadic Freedom In The Modern Age. Amazon.)
What did I learn? Have a back up plan, and a back up for the back up plan! Now that I’ve been on the road for years I usually know what I’m getting into, but recently I went looking for a free camping spot posted by another nomad, and her description of it being right off the highway turned out to be 17 miles off a New Mexico highway in the back end of nowhere! Thankfully, I finally did find it.
Number Three: Get Educated About The Weather
Another mistake I made as a nomad my first year out was getting caught in a heat wave in the Mohave Desert! It was so hot I was afraid my tires would melt! I got a motel, then contacted a more seasoned nomad for some guidance. Thankfully she knew to send me up into the much cooler Sequoia National Forest. These days I’m pretty familiar with my travel routes, and know when it’s time to leave before I get caught in dangerous heat or unbearable cold.
What did I learn? I learned to use detailed forecasts on Weather.gov and to check average temps. It’s also important to have a weather radio that isn’t dependent on a cell signal, and have some idea of what to do in a weather emergency.
As a side note, I learned to NEVER book a room where there’s a big sign at the front desk saying “NO REFUNDS.” That’s another story, but you can read my google review of the horror show called the Desert Mirage Inn & Suites here.
In spite of the mishaps, I also learned things have a way of working out … I got to see the beautiful Sequoias, and that trip also took me to Morro Bay in California, where I put my feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time!
Number Four: Don’t Make Friends Too Quickly.
Unless you’ve became a nomad to get involved with needy people who will have no problem draining your resources, be careful who you invite into your space. Nomads are the most generous group of people I know, but there’s a small minority who have no problem using other nomads to provide them with resources they should have already figured out.
My first experience with this was with a woman camped near me in the Arizona desert. She would ask for a few things if I was going out, no big deal, at first. I began to realize I was being taken advantage of when she gave me detailed instructions to get a case of a specific flavored kombucha for her, including what to say to the store manager if it wasn’t on the shelves! When we’re out on the road depending on our own resources and energy to live a challenging way of life, most of us don’t have the capacity to take on someone who has no problem using up ours.
Another nomad was always asking me for favors, in spite of being more than capable of doing things for herself. I finally made myself scarce to her when she talked me into taking a VERY full bag of human waste to dump, and then asked me if I could get (legal) drugs from the dispensary for her. Ahh, nope.
What did I learn? I had to learn to tighten my boundaries. When I first started out I would introduce myself to nearby campers and even give out my cell number. Now I take my time to get to know someone before I let them into my domain. Nomad life is a life of independence and freedom, and there are some out there do not care if they encroach on your independence and freedom.
Number Five: Putting Myself In Harms Way.
My first encounter with a possibly dangerous character was up in the Adirondacks. I was alone in a campsite that bordered a fishing stream, and it wasn’t unusual to see fishermen walking through the area. With the Adirondacks being generally safe, (Except for the year the serial killer was up there!) I felt pretty comfortable.
One morning an old RV pulled in across the road, and the lone fisherman came through my camp decked up in full-on fishing gear and a mosquito net entirely obscuring his face. Unlike the other fishermen, he didn’t respect the boundaries of my campsite and walked right through it. The next day he asked me if I was camping alone! Coming back through the campsite later on, he walked up behind me without warning, scaring the sh*t out of me. The next day I psyched myself up to confront him, and seeing him pull up, I CONSCIOUSLY FOCUSED ON FEELING STRONG CONFIDENT ENERGY IN MY BODY. I channeled my warrior woman energy and told him he was making me uncomfortable. He seemed embarrassed, and stayed away from me after that, but looking back, I definitely should have called the ranger!
Another time I was camping in the Coconino forest, where a sketchy looking couple walked by my van every day. (I know, judgy.) One morning I heard the woman yelling outside the van – and I opened the door!!! She wanted to know what time it was. With my attention on her, her partner had walked around to the other side of my van, a potentially dangerous situation. Nothing happened that day, but I think I was lucky.
There were definitely warning bells … but as a newbie I was reluctant to leave and find another spot. Some mistakes as a nomad are trivial, but not the ones that involve our safety. but Looking back I absolutely cringe – the risk for trouble definitely outweighed the inconvenience of having to move. I was lucky.
(Partially excerpted from Wild Women On The Road: A Women’s Guide To Nomadic Freedom In The Modern Age)
What did I learn? There have been other similar encounters since I’ve started out, each one a lesson. I’ve learned to stand up straight, and use a firm loud voice if someone is bothering me. I’ve learned when to stop being “nice.” I’ll stand my ground even if I’m a wreck on the inside, troublemakers are just looking for an easy mark.
I don’t live in fear, but keep in mind how I can stay out of harm’s way.
Now I would NEVER stay in an area where I felt unsafe, which I put into practice a few years ago on a dark night in the Coconino forest when a group of rowdy men pulled into a campsite next to me. They immediately set off my alarm bells, and I was full on the most scared I’ve ever felt on the road! You can read it on my blog, My Scariest Nomad Experience. I wrote that a few years ago and it’s still rates a 10 out of 10 on my gut feeling of warning-warning!!
Part of the fulfillment of living on the road is developing the resilience to make it enjoyable. I’m proud of what I’ve learned from my mistakes, and of the beautiful nomad life I’ve created!
