You should really look into thru-hiking and ultralight backpacking - I can't think of anyone whose lifestyle is better suited for it! Incredible way to experience the outdoors and physically and mentally challenge yourself, plus a great exercise in gear/lifestyle optimization.

My 2025 was a pretty down year - big mix of personal tragedies, work/financial/family stress, and a subsequent overall decline in mental/physical health and well-being. Using that as a reason to turn things around and hopefully make 2026 better, starting with cutting out alcohol ~99% and making a more concerted effort to track/monitor goals.

Also had plenty of positives this year, like finally having time to travel internationally again, big wins for family and friends, and watching my kids grow.

I would love to see more accounts of your travels - somewhat selfishly, it's always a bummer to get to this yearly post and only read passing mentions of all these cool trips/experiences (especially since you're only posting every few months now). Maybe a quarterly travel/cruise/adventure recap?

Looking forward to the gear post! Despite the dip in posting, thanks for all the years worth of content.