My hotel room looked like a typical two story motel you can see in films – everything looks and feels familiar because of TV-shows and movies but I‘m not fully realizing that I‘m here after all…

My first morning in the Land of Freedom started with two hours of American TV and its’ very entertaining commercials (Do you need a mortgage? Lawyer? Medical treatment? Indoor smoke-free grill?) – I never watch TV at home… who under 40 still does that instead of netflix?). In the breakfast room was a machine that could dish out food from ice cream to burgers… I have no clue how that works, but here’s proof:

A very friendly shuttle driver named Warren dropped me at the airport and we connected over climbing and mountains – he spent the last half hour before flying with me which helped against the boredom that slowly rose. I planned so much for the next five days that it will make up for one travel day mostly spent sitting on my ass at the airport! Right before I left, I had to use the toilet and I was instantly reminded of New York 10 years ago… WHY ARE THE TOILET DOOR GAPS ARE SO BIG??? WHY??? There was a lady locking eyes with me, while…you know.

A cute little cruiser with a super charming steward who talked very fast brought me to Page, AZ in just under an hour. It‘s a small town with flat buildings sitting on top of a mesa surrounded by brushes and red rocks, called Navajo sandstones. The Navajo (or Diné) reservation is close and some of the tourist attractions (like Upper/Lower Antelope Canyon) are on Native American land.

My glamorous dinner – it really couldn‘t be more American – consisted of deep fried chicken wings with wedges and Buffalo sauce – and a huge bud light – sitting in a SUV on a Walmart parking lot listening to country music. Yeah!

I swear I did my shopping at the organic store though and paid like 3$ for a cucumber…does it have superpowers? 🧐 Food and groceries cost much more money than I expected – I‘m only going to eat cold food as I don‘t want to fuel up my cooker before flying again next week…

After waking up stiff like a log after 4,5 hours of sleep on the stone floor of the airport, I needed coffee. The machine swallowed my coins without serving coffee. The airport cops just shrugged their shoulders when I told them about it, so I went to town with the tweezer of my first aid kid – how well prepared he he – and retrieved lots of euros stuck in the slot which paid for a coffee and lunch later 🙃

I thought a lot about budgeting and although I‘m no math-brain I made an overview of how much I‘m allowed to spend every week – if you do a longer trip far away I advise you do the same – just try to pin down some weekly and monthly numbers, so you know your limits and any surpluses after spending your daily/weekly budget.

After weighing and repacking (the monster is at 14 kg after all… not too bad!), standing in five (!) different security and/or check-in queues and making last calls to close friends, I made it into the plane.

The flight went by fast and as usual, I had the window seat at the wing which creates the coolest photos IMO! Almost all the other seats were taken by an international assembly of Jehovas‘ Witnesses with „Love can’t fail“ badges on their chests and big smiles plastered on.

We passed dark seas, glaciers, endless ice fields and rocky deserts. I could watch the landscape forever without getting bored. As soon as the plane descended, the Captain warned us: it has 45 (celsius) degrees in Phoenix… but in the end I had two minutes of unfiltered desert air between going from one climatized building to a climatized car to the hotel with an air conditioned room.

I always have this paranoid feeling that my luggage will end up somewhere else, but it all worked out fine, border control was a breeze and quite the opposite of what I expected. In general everyone is super friendly and helpful!

Why am I still awake? Pleased about today and wired about the next adventures tomorrow I guess…

To celebrate my departure my friends and I had a fun BBQ in our backyard. After grilling and devouring steak, veggies and yummy cheese we drank like it was the last day on earth – I knew that it will be a while until I get to drink German beer again 😋 also getting drunk helped with dancing to a mix of „Go West“, Blümchen (a German 90s techno star) and various woodstock tunes.

Next morning I got up early and left (with a bit of delay as two friends were cuddle monsters and wouldn‘t let go of me 😅) to a hitchhiking spot in Berlin.

After hitching two rides (each in under 10 minutes waiting time) I arrived early at the airport of Frankfurt am Main and used the remaining time to call friends, put together Spotify playlists and get familiar with my compass and maps…

My last worry is my monster backpack… it‘s huge and too f*cking heavy. Getting stuck in restroom doors at gas stations was awkward but that‘s nothing compared to having too much weight on my back while I‘m trying to hike 15-18 miles every day. Of course I‘ve tried to „ultralight“ everything but I blissfully ignored my calculations and failed. Guess it‘s time to throw things out and get the monster wrapped and checked-in soon.

I’ll spend the night at the airport and replace breakfast with intermittent fasting as a black coffee starts at 6€ here and I‘m a poor (and in the meanwhile smelly) dirtbag. Sorry airplane neighbors but I had to throw out the deodorant for packweight reasons.

Good night!

With less than a month to go, I’m starting to feel very excited! I’ve been preparing for this trip since +1 year and saving money even longer. At the moment, I’m trying to figure out the last details and although I feel fairly confident, I’m nervous. I’m sure you know that feeling when you start to worry about everything?

Did I train enough to master the weight of my backpack? Did I calculate my costs accurately? Did I make the right choices regarding my gear and shoes? Did I think about everything I’ll need once I’m en route?

I have a social and financial backup (thank you my dear friends) and I think this is important.

However it is still me who is on the other side of the pond (I’ve only ever been once to the US, 10 years ago, a 4 day trip to NYC… ) and spending most of my time in the wilderness in solitude. That’s why I need to be self-sufficient and prepared for the situations where something goes wrong. I try not to freak out to much about mountain lions (but in my mind I do…🐆) and sprained ankles or water shortages.

My planning started once I’ve narrowed down my dream goal “South-Western USA” to three destinations: exploring slot canyons on the state border of Arizona/Utah, hiking a (shorter) long-distance trail and visiting Yosemite NP. Here’s a chronological overview of how I prepared for the trip:

1 year ago aka “the research phase”

Roughly planning the outlines and length of my trip, researching hiking trails, climbing destinations, cool places and communities to visit in California, Utah and Arizona

9 months ago

Booking flights, obtaining a VISA waiver, getting medical check-ups and advice on vaccinations, choosing the “must do’s” along my route, researching the chosen trails in detail (such as the route, permit deadlines, experiences of other hikers…)

7-8 months ago

Creating a budget plan and gear list, making appointments for medical check-ups (dentist, gynecologist,…), getting new contact lenses, changing my health insurance to a world-wide plan

4-6 months ago

Shopping for new gear and learning how to use it (a new backpack had to be broken in, a water filtration system…), applying for trail permits and ordering topographic maps, letting my potential employers know that I’ll be traveling for two months (which is easier as a freelancer but it also means no income during that time)

2-3 months ago

Specific training (running, hiking with a heavy backpack, climbing…), informing my bank that I’ll be traveling and using my credit card abroad (to avoid any issues), booking hotels, campsites and organizing sleeping places along the route, reading more hiking & travel blogs, learning about survival essentials, buying a bear canister

1 month ago

Printing out tickets & permits, getting familiar with the GPS app I use on my phone (Osmand), last check if my gear is complete

1 week before departure

Checking in flights, organizing a good bye party