If you are a regular around here, or if you have just browsed around recently, you have probably seen my post from last week about moving to the USA. As part of the move we are going on a family holiday and spending some time doing much needed R&R for a few weeks, so Outdoors Father is going on a break, a summer break.
This site has been running since the end of 2014 in some version or another and for the last year I have been posting weekly, not skipping a single week. I tend to write long strings of thoughts, usually resulting in very long, (hopefully) well researched and highly explanatory posts, each taking hours – if not days – to complete. This site makes me no money (as you can see from the complete absence of ads or any affiliate links to any retailers), it is hard to justify the amount of time I spend on it. My family is requiring some real quality time with the upcoming move and travel, especially as I am the only real nomad in the house, and I can’t justify the many hours this site takes at the moment. With my attempt to keep this site free from ads, any affiliations with any retailers or sponsorship from any brands (they all tried…), I ended up making it a liability in my life and so it has to be the first thing to be put on hold.
Recently I also made an attempt to start my own gear brand, an attempt that has come to a sudden and nerve wracking halt due to manufacturing issues; this has led me to an even greater need to take a break from the internet space. I have been missing too much time from my new son’s first days and my daughter is making it very clear that I work too much (she sees writing here as work, too….). My over sharing of my new venture through this site meant that the last few weeks were filled with putting out fires, customer support and trying to keep my integrity in the eyes of the ones who trusted my new venture. As much as I appreciate the votes of confidence, it is also very emotionally demanding and I need some distance to clear my mind.
Really hard to say ‘no’ when your daughter just wants to spend time with you
All of the reasons above, along with the transition to the USA, means that I will be stopping writing weekly posts here for a while, in the hope to come back to it, rejuvenated, in a couple of months. This also means less presence on social media, and less screen time in general.
I am going to be travelling, hiking, running, climbing and so many other things that have become missions to satisfy my writing here instead of goals for themselves. From photography to gear reviews to what can I say about… (fill in the blank) on the site, every trip lately has become a potential piece, a potential post. This break is to get the chance to be active again without the association with writing, but going outdoors for the sake of it.
I might still write from time to time, it might be little snippets or just some great pictures I’ve taken along the way, but the big, in depth articles are on a break for a while.
I will still be reachable on email and through the contact form, and the best way to keep in touch is to just join the mailing list as I will continue my monthly email in some format or another. You can easily just join here:
I hope you will enjoy your summer break as much as I plan on doing and I will see you again on the other side of summer on another continent!
Summer break, here I come!
P.S: the site now has a search bar (you can find it above) and I hope to finish a few more guides that have been sitting around, so stay tuned and keep an eye on the download section.