I am a modern traveling bard | Music and art on long-distance trails

When I’m walking all day.
The threads of my mind begin to fray.
I start looking for a place to lie down.
Down on closed cell foam.
Tonight this will be my home.

It’s funny to think about what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I was a kid I wanted to play basketball in the NBA. Now I rarely watch sports. When I was a teenager I wanted to teach music. However, I quickly realized that I preferred creating music to teaching it.

Throughout my twenties, I really wanted a family. I wanted to be a husband and father. That’s the last thing I want, although it would be nice to have a partner. Turns out all these things I thought I wanted to be were far from what I was supposed to be. What I became in my thirties and what I am today is a modern-day traveling bard.

I carry instruments on my back for thousands of miles as I walk across the country, singing songs and sharing original stories. I’ve always known about the history of the bards. I never thought I would be until 2018, when I carried a junior folk guitar on the Pacific Crest Trail.

I will go there because my feet tell me I can.
I will walk anywhere by road, by path, by sand.
I wander while my heart beats with true passion.
I hear thunder and lightning from nowhere.

I think about things.
My mind goes round and round.
Then I start singing.
The mountains echo the sound.
I wonder why I can’t stop this line of thinking. It’s all hunger and all the food I should have brought.

Have your cake (the band) and eat it too

There’s a band called Cake (the third best band of all time, in my opinion). They don’t prepare a set when they play live, opting to play what feels right to them. They try to capture the vibe of the audience and play whatever they want.

I treat my walks like a live tour. My place is the path. I’ve amassed an extensive repertoire, allowing me to play music for hikers at camp that only enhances the energy already there, like the soundtrack to a really good movie.

There’s nothing better than sharing songs with new people, especially when a particular song or performance can mean something special to a complete stranger. It’s a way to connect with people the best way I know how, and that is through music.

I originally started hiking with an instrument for myself and other hikers. I’ve learned that locals also appreciate listening to new music. Whether it’s at a trailhead, a grocery store parking lot, or a trail angel’s house, playing for the locals allows me to complete a network of trail connections.

Music and art thrive on the trail

I’m definitely not the only long-distance hiker who carries instruments. Ukuleles are popular, but I have also met hikers carrying various hand and mallet drums. Small instruments like mouth harps, harmonicas, and ocarinas are a good lightweight option for those who still NEED music but don’t want to commit to carrying a heavy instrument. I’ve heard of hikers carrying violins and even a plastic trombone.

Guitars are becoming more and more popular. I’ve seen hikers with small travel guitars and even a 3/4 guitar, which is crazy. I myself carried a junior folk guitar on the PCT and a carbon fiber outboard guitar on the CDT. I opt for the lighter ukulele for the Appalachian Trail.

From what I understand, there will be many instruments and other works of art on the Appalachian Trail. I’m so excited to meet all the creative hikers this year. There will be many jam sessions.

One of my favorite types of artists that I encounter along the way are painters. I’ve met a few different hikers who carry watercolors. The watercolor is really great. I met a hiker on the CDT who was carrying canvases and oil paints. We sat together in the toaster house. I played songs about the Pacific Crest Trail while he painted a beautiful view of Knife’s Edge at Goat Rocks. I’ve made a lot of memories over the years, but that one will stay with me. Beautiful. Pure. Real.

Kennedy Meadows South 2017 Hiker Trash Talent Tour

Applause was heard at Kennedy Meadows.
I had completed the SoCal section,
I took time off to prepare and listen to new greetings.
And he took time for some much-needed reflection.

I met the moon under the soft moonlight,
Then he met the sun under the bright rays of the sun.
Atlas and happy feet, both pure delight.
Brett, Boushie and Whitney were there for days.

While everyone was watching a movie,
I was thinking about the moon in the dark,
With a beer in his hand, a little drunk.
While everyone was watching a movie,
I was writing poetry and feeling pretty cool.
Two hikers approached the spot I had chosen to park.
While everyone was watching a movie,
I met Bullet and Luna alone in the dark.

On the porch right before the talent show,
I was drinking coffee in the sun,
Cigarette in hand, sitting crouched.
On the porch right before the talent show,
A bird flies by; it may have been a crow.
And breakfast… yes, we are all happy to have dinner.
On the porch right before the talent show,
I met Sol and saw his big smile shine.

Kennedy Meadows on the Pacific Crest Trail, heading north on my first hiking attempt: 700 miles into and about to enter the Sierra Nevada. For some reason, the group that ended up there with me (some I’d already met) were all artists in some capacity: a narrator, an actress, singers, a comedian. Naturally, we put on a talent show on the porch of the general store. Obviously I sang songs. Almost everyone participated. There was even a hiker singing Tuvan throat.

I think it’s important to realize that everyone is an artist in their own right. Art is how we connect. It is the language of emotion. The language of empathy. The way anyone feels most comfortable expressing themselves, even if it’s just to themselves, is their art. Everyone, regardless of their preferred medium, is a great artist.

Guitar Lake strummed dark chords and storm clouds;
Still, we continued climbing Mount Whitney.
The sky turns blue, the mountain sheds its shrouds;
At the top of the peak, I drink coffee.

As we leave Crabtree behind and ascend,
Forrester yeats slush – no way to forward it.

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