The Trail Keeps Going
Every finished trail seems to reveal another waiting beyond it. Here's a look at why I recently began Rusty Pickett's second Field Journal and what it means for the growing world of Journeys Of The Crew.
Before Memory Changes It
Rusty Pickett never began keeping journals for anyone else to read. He wrote because memory has a way of shortening the hard climbs, softening the mistakes, and changing a journey into a better story than the one a fellow actually lived.
Rusty Pickett Never Told Me What Year It Was
When I first started writing Rusty Pickett, I never assigned him a year. The journal simply needed to feel old. Then I began noticing how seemingly innocent details—a water filter, trail mix, a sleeping pad—quietly anchored him in a much more modern world. Join me behind the scenes as I share how a careful edit moved Rusty back to around 1895–1905, one object and one word at a time.
Three Wet Matches and a Bad Decision
Most survival books teach skills. A Wild Guide tells stories. Each journal entry is written as though it came from the well-worn field notebook of wilderness traveler Rusty Pickett, where practical lessons emerge naturally from long days, changing weather, and hard-earned experience. In "Three Wet Matches and a Bad Decision," a cold October rain reminds Rusty that impatience can be more dangerous than the weather itself.
The Book That Became Many Journals
A Wild Guide began as the field journal of a single wilderness journey. Then Rusty Pickett needed mountains, deserts, forests, rivers, and more room to live each adventure honestly. Here is why one proposed guide became a collection of complete field journals.
Why I Still Carry a Paper Map
A GPS can tell you where you are. A paper map asks you to figure it out. Discover why I still carry a paper map, and how learning to read the landscape became one of the guiding philosophies behind Journeys Of The Crew.
A Journey Doesn't Tell You Its Name
Every Rusty Pickett journal begins with a blank space on its cover. The journal number is known. The date is known. The title isn't. Some things can only be named after the journey is over.