I’ve been chronicling my hikes (all 400+ of them) on this blog (annestravels.net) for over 10 years now. I’ve also published 5 travel books. People say to me all the time, “It must be a dream job!” It is a dream job, but just like any other job, it has its upsides and downsides. So I thought I’d (humorously) present 10 Great Things about Being a Hiking Guide Writer and 10 Not-so-great Things about Being a Hiking Guide Writer.
10 Great Things about Being a Hiking Guide Writer
1. You have to visit all kinds of strange, beautiful, and amazing places… and then you get payoff in form of information for your blog and books
2. You learn to spell things like “Chiricahua”, “Snoqalmie”, “Kasha-Katuwe”, and “Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah”… from memory
3. You actually have a good reason to take 100 photos of the Grand Canyon (other than for your Insta stories)
4. You’ve seen more sunsets and sunrises than any of your friends or your friends’ friends. In fact, you’ve probably seen more sunsets and sunrises than all of your friends and friends’ friends combined.
5. You get to live every hike and viewpoint twice – once when you’re there and again when you write about it
6. Your job requires physical fitness, so you can feel good about staying in shape when perhaps you should be working
7. You might just know off the top of your head the length of that trail your friend is talking about
8. Your online community is mostly hiking enthusiasts who share drool-worthy photos and blog posts
9. Your grasp of history is better than that of the park ranger giving the guided tour (better not talk too much!)
10. Many of your travel costs can be counted as work expenses and are tax-deductible.
10 Not-so-Great Things about Being a Travel Writer
1. You always need new content, so you can’t go back and revisit your favorite places as much as you might like
2. You talk about walks in terms of elevation gain and distance mileages and your friends have no clue what you’re talking about
3. “Vacations” are when you work 24/7 instead of just 9-to-5
4. You end up in sketchy situations like being the tallest thing on a mountaintop during lightning storms, camping across the parking area from drug busts, and creeping along snowbanks with a 100ft. drop below you.
5. The financial payoff of your writing might not even pay for Spotify Premium
6. Social media is a must-do-multiple-times-a-day requirement rather than a “when I feel like it” pastime. Plus, you have to be on all the social media sites where hikers gather, not just on the ones that are your favorite.
7. Your hiking companions have seen the view, eaten a snack, and taken all the photos they need by the time you finish taking GPS coordinates, setting up a dozen perfect photos, and are finally sitting down to eat a granola bar while enjoying the view
8. Peoples’ eyes glaze over when you start telling them the names of the mountain peaks you so diligently memorized while writing your latest blogging series on North Cascades National Park
9. Other hikers are disappointed when you haven’t done their favorite hike… even if that hike is 30 miles longer than your longest-ever trek. “How can you call yourself a hiking blogger and not have hiked…???”
10. If you’re not careful, you can get bogged down in the details and what-happens-if instead of enjoying the hike for what it is: A beautiful trail in a beautiful place that you’re privileged to be experiencing for yourself!
This Week’s Featured Product!
A mini-ebook or physical paperback, “Scenic Hikes of the National Parks” covers 14 of my favorite day hikes in 14 states across the west.
