Long-time reader, first-time poster. My senior canine partner Cuz and I just finished our first week camping in Craggy Wash near Lake Havasu City, AZ. We drove out from Louisville, KY starting February 9th. I had hoped to make the RTR, but had a few hiccups selling my home that delayed us a couple of months. We are in a Four Wheel Camper mounted on my Nissan Titan. I purchased both in late 2016 after discovering this website and Bob's YouTube channel among others. Really grateful for all the wonderful information both here and on YT.
I was a career non-profit worker in the Louisville (my hometown) area until I fell ill with Lyme disease at age 51, after multiple tick bites on a backpacking trip with my son at Mammoth Cave NP in 2011. I was misdiagnosed for about six months until I finally saw a tick-borne disease specialist and was properly diagnosed with Lyme disease, Bartonella (another tick-borne disease) and toxic mold illness (which may have predated Lyme and suppressed my immune system). All of these illnesses are far more common than most understand (Lyme is the fastest spreading infectious disease in the US).
After almost a year of intense treatment and leaving my job with the American Red Cross due to severe neuro-cognitive impairment, I started to recover some of my physical strength and decided to tackle some bucket list goals sooner rather than later. In the latter half of 2013 I backpacked the Appalachian Trail from North to South and attempted to raise awareness about the facts of Lyme disease (YT channel is called JourneyThruLyme). In 2014 I battled through a relapse and then in the spring of 2015 I started another public awareness effort I called my Trek For Truth (YT channel and website with that name) and backpacked and bikepacked from the Atlantic to the Pacific finishing near San Francisco in October.
In 2017 and 2018 I became severely ill again and the idea of hitting the road on four wheels began to take hold. I cashed in my remaining retirement benefits (much of which had already been drained via medical and trip/living expenses) and purchased my rig. My hope is living full-time with Mother Nature will both nurture my soul and my body. My buddy Cuz and I are loving it so far! The desert has always been a special place to me. Over the past 15 years I backpacked across Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce NP's, and the peddled across Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. I am really looking forward to exploring Arizona, New Mexico and other western states in the years to come.
My trail name is Unitic, but most know me as Logan. Many thanks for all the knowledge and hard earned experience shared here and I look forward to meeting many of you all (y'all in Kentucky-speak) down the road. Cheers!
I was a career non-profit worker in the Louisville (my hometown) area until I fell ill with Lyme disease at age 51, after multiple tick bites on a backpacking trip with my son at Mammoth Cave NP in 2011. I was misdiagnosed for about six months until I finally saw a tick-borne disease specialist and was properly diagnosed with Lyme disease, Bartonella (another tick-borne disease) and toxic mold illness (which may have predated Lyme and suppressed my immune system). All of these illnesses are far more common than most understand (Lyme is the fastest spreading infectious disease in the US).
After almost a year of intense treatment and leaving my job with the American Red Cross due to severe neuro-cognitive impairment, I started to recover some of my physical strength and decided to tackle some bucket list goals sooner rather than later. In the latter half of 2013 I backpacked the Appalachian Trail from North to South and attempted to raise awareness about the facts of Lyme disease (YT channel is called JourneyThruLyme). In 2014 I battled through a relapse and then in the spring of 2015 I started another public awareness effort I called my Trek For Truth (YT channel and website with that name) and backpacked and bikepacked from the Atlantic to the Pacific finishing near San Francisco in October.
In 2017 and 2018 I became severely ill again and the idea of hitting the road on four wheels began to take hold. I cashed in my remaining retirement benefits (much of which had already been drained via medical and trip/living expenses) and purchased my rig. My hope is living full-time with Mother Nature will both nurture my soul and my body. My buddy Cuz and I are loving it so far! The desert has always been a special place to me. Over the past 15 years I backpacked across Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce NP's, and the peddled across Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California. I am really looking forward to exploring Arizona, New Mexico and other western states in the years to come.
My trail name is Unitic, but most know me as Logan. Many thanks for all the knowledge and hard earned experience shared here and I look forward to meeting many of you all (y'all in Kentucky-speak) down the road. Cheers!
