Wowza thank you so much for even glimpsing my humble request. I am just one young woman with a dream to write!
In 2017, with 18 years under my belt, I set off alone on my first-ever backpacking trip, a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. It completely radicalized my perspective on the world and my place within it. Growing up there was an increasing discomfort and unease beneath my surface, a sensation that there had to be more to life than the traditional path that is so often praised as the only one. So when I found out about the Appalachian Trail, it just made perfect sense, it was my calling to a different way of not only seeing life but living life (a conclusion that I didn’t come to without any resistance).
After that hike, I was hooked, on backpacking, the lifestyle, the natural world, and long-distance endeavors. I continued to chase that high when I rode my bike across the country the next summer, in 2018. Wanting to share and document my experience but too oblivious to start a blog, I teamed up with a third-party business to write on their website. I became frustrated with working to meet someone else’s deadline, and it became clear that we had different ideas on issues such as article length and timelines.
Preparing for my thru-hike, I lived on people’s blogs, continually searching for information and different perspectives. I have always admired blogs and their creators greatly for creating their platforms and sharing their perspectives and gifts with the world. I always aspired to do the same. Yet, creating a website, much like Rome, doesn’t happen in a day. It takes a lot of dedicated time, effort, and patience, more than I ever had until recently.
You see March 2022, I was on my way to California to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail, when a snowmobiling pit stop turned into a broken leg (tibia plateau), skull and wrist. I initially had nothing but time on my hands. I was able to develop healthy routines but still creating my website remained a distant fantasy. Far too soon, I rushed to try to return to my normal life, getting a job and leaving my parents not two weeks off of crutches. In September, I began to fantasize again about having my blog and about writing a book about my experience on the Appalachian Trail. It wasn’t until November of 2022 that I had the time to take a break from everything and focus my intentions on doing so.
My hope for 2023 is to continue to produce content and maybe even break even on the initial costs of having a website. Below are my total costs as of now, broken down into monthly costs to give you an idea of how I would use any money donated. Any additional money I receive that exceeds the amount of website costs will be put aside to eventually reinvest in necessary maintenance/updates.
| Cost of Domain Name | Cost of Website Hosting | |
| 1 Month | $1.50 | $3.00 |
| 6 Months | $9.00 | $17.00 |
| 1 Year | $18.00 | $34.00 |
Thank you again for any consideration in throwing a buck or two my way to support or for considering the other ways (below) in which you could support.
Ways to Support
Buy Me a Coffee
This is the most direct way to help me finance the costs of having a website and of encouraging me to continue to pursue my dream of writing.
Subscribe to My Blog (and share the posts!)
When you click subscribe, you will automatically be sent an email every time I post new content. This way we can make sure that we stay in touch. Don’t worry though, if I ever become to bothersome you can always unsubscribe.
Follow Me on Social Media
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Affiliate Links
There will eventually be scattered links throughout Trekking Home that if you click on them and make a purchase, I may receive an itty bitty piece of compensation at no cost to you. There will be disclaimers present on the specific pages as well.