This web journal/blogger site began all the way back in 2006 with a post simply titled, "Updates." Over the subsequent 17+ years, I've continued to post about my various "wanderings and scribbles". Sometimes this was an entire summer's worth of daily posts from Pacific Crest Trail, sometimes it was a run report after completing a 100-mile mountain race, and sometimes it was about my adventures seeking out quirky geographic peculiarities or oddities.
What do all of these things have in common?
The simple answer is that they all represent a ceaseless need that I have to explore--particularly in remote places (hence the Melville quote on this site's banner). I'm not entirely sure if this need is something that came as a result of the circumstances surrounding my life between 2005 and 2007, or if it instead has been with me all along, and my experiences during those years simply woke it up. But, deep down, I do think I've always had some sort of need to wander and explore...
"For as long as I have known, I have had an unyielding pull to the faraway, the remote, and the inaccessible. At my very core, I have an almost instinctual fascination with peculiar and often quirky locations and geographic oddities—places that presumably go unseen and unnoticed by most. Yet if I were asked why it is that I am so captivated by these otherwise strange and seemingly random points on a map, I am not sure I could give a sensible answer other than to say that I just am, and that I have always been."
"So what exactly is that little voice in our heads—the one that whispers to us from beyond the map, compelling us to seek out and set foot on the hidden and secluded fragments of the world? What drives those of us with that insatiable need to wander, explore, and ultimately carry out treks to the faraway, the remote, and the inaccessible?"
...As to why these two passages are in quotations--well, it is simple: both passages are taken directly from my new written collection titled, Treks to Nowhere: Explorations of Unseen Geographic Oddities.
It has taken me almost 20 years, and countless nudges from friends and family to actually turn these collections of web journal stories and random thoughts found on this wee-little bloggers site, into something more substantial--something I can literally hold in my hands.
Just two days ago, after over a year of editing, proof-reading, and refining, I finally clicked "submit" on the Amazon Publishing site for my collection. The proverbial finish line has been reached. Getting this collection together is something I'm incredibly proud of, and it many ways it felt like completing a dissertation. That finish line always just felt so far away. So, please join me in this celebration!
If you would like a copy of this collection, you can purchase it through Amazon directly at the following link in both paperback or hardcover editions. Making this collection available was never about making a profit, so for each edition, I will only make about 30 cents over the cost of the book (about 1% of each sale). The only reason I did this (and didn't simply set it to zero) was because I want to be able to donate 1% of every sale to charity. Both versions are printed in premium color using the heavier weight paper (meaning they are a bit more expensive that standard color). I felt it was more important to have higher quality over lower cost.
The link to purchase is here: https://amzn.to/46AJBrB
You can also visit the Treks to Nowhere website here: www.trekstonowhere.com. Through this website you can watch some narrated video versions of some of the chapters (via youtube).
Audio versions of many chapters are also available via podcast format here: Treks to Nowhere Podcast
I won't drone on here, and simply end by again saying thank you to every one of you that encouraged me to work on this collection. I really like telling stories and sharing my adventures with all of you.
-John
FYI: Treks to Nowhere contains 36 chapters, each highlighting a unique geographic oddity. Featured locations include (to name a few):
- Mt. Wasilewski, Antarctica
- Harding Point, Arizona
- Tiny Island, Nunavut
- Schoff's Rock, New York
- Province Point, Vermont
- Cape Bay Peninsula, Australia
- Grímsey, Iceland
- West Ruggedy Cave, New Zealand
- Jesus Rock, Michigan
- The NH/ME/QC Trifinium Point
