Trailhunger.
Boss at the Canadian border after completing a long-distance trailContinental Divide Trail · Canada

The human carrying the pack · 01

Meet
Boss.

Hi! My name is Rod Clemen - trail name “Boss” - and at this point hiking isn’t a hobby, it’s a full-body infection.

Start at the beginning

Mexico → Canada · 2018

It started with one very long walk.

Back in April 2018 I set out on what, at the time, was the biggest thing I’d ever tried: a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.

I spent basically all of 2017 obsessing, planning, training, dreaming… and then I actually did it. Mexico to Canada. Five months of mountains, deserts, snow, dirt, and a version of life that felt more real than anything I’d had before.

When I got home, it hit me hard: this isn’t just “something I like doing on vacation.” This is the thing. I’d already hiked in the UK and Ireland and knew I enjoyed long walks, but living outside for months confirmed it - I really, REALLY love hiking.

I love the rhythm of it. I love waking up and knowing that “go north” is the whole to-do list.

Boss resting high above a mountain valley with his backpack and trekking poles
Carry home. Eat. Sleep. Walk.A complicated plan, simplified.

Trail ledger

Every trail · Every mileAll the hikes. One running total.
7,400+Miles hiked
16+Shoes worn out
414+Days on trail

Why keep walking? · 02

The simple version of life.

Coming back to “real life” after that kind of freedom is rough. Right now I’m actually between jobs, which means I technically have the time to go hike - but I can’t afford to just disappear onto a long trail. That’s the worst combo.

I miss the simple version of life: carry your home on your back, eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re tired, watch the world change one step at a time.

No meetings. No fluorescent lighting.
Just trail.

A very incomplete life list · 03

Past
hikes.

Some were months long. Some were shorter. All of them count - and all of them made the next trail seem like a perfectly reasonable idea.

  1. 01Pacific Crest TrailUSA
  2. 02Continental Divide TrailUSA
  3. 03Arizona TrailUSA
  4. 04KungsledenSweden
  5. 05PadjelantaledenSweden
  6. 06Skåneleden SL1Sweden
  7. 07Via TransylvanicaRomania · ongoing
  8. 08Coast to CoastUnited Kingdom
  9. 09The Lake DistrictUnited Kingdom
  10. 10The Wicklow WayIreland
  11. 11The Ring of KerryIreland
Boss smiling beside the Wyoming state line marker on trailWyoming · Somewhere northbound

The responsible phase · 04

Work. Save. Plan. Repeat.

Right now I’m in that classic thru-hiker phase: work, save money, stack gear, plan the next one, repeat. Long-distance hiking is amazing, but it’s also not cheap - getting to these trails, taking time off, and living on the move all costs real money.

In my perfect fantasy timeline I win the lottery and just wander forever. Minor flaw: I don’t actually buy lottery tickets. Tiny logistical issue.

That’s why I made this site. I want to share where I’ve been, what I’ve seen, and why I keep doing this. If it gets you stoked enough to lace up and go touch some actual nature, even better. Also, full honesty: it helps me remember where the hell I’ve already been.

/Boss

See what is calling next