I'm Peter Donovan, the founder of The Wandering Camper!
I've spent the last decade of my life travelling the world, finding peace, solitude, and adventure in some of the wildest places on earth!
I've had some fun, and learned quite a few things along the way.
I've learned that hiking, camping, canoeing, and enjoying nature, whether alone or with a close group of friends, are my favorite things to do on this planet.
Who I Was Then
I dropped out of business school in my early 20's, much to the dismay of my parents, to work on a software project with three of my best friends in a 2-bedroom walk up Apartment/Office/Server Room/Cafeteria in San Bernardino, CA.
After 18 months of 18 hour days, we eventually sold the company to a private equity group from the Bay Area and thought we had hit the jackpot!
Unfortunately, no one prepares you in your 20's for a payday like that and I soon found myself hanging with the wrong people and making some of the worst decisions of my life, both personal and financial.
Sports cars, casinos, luxury vacations, fancy watches...
You name it, I probably wasted money on it. That went on for a few years and I thought the gravy train would never end.
But it did.
It wasn't all gone, but enough had slipped away that I realized I could no longer sip Mai Tai's by the pool all day for the rest of my life as I had once envisioned.
Far from it.
I finally settled down and went to work for an accounting firm owned by a friend of my father's. I was punching the clock, sitting in meetings, staring at spreadsheets under punishing fluorescent lights, and wondering if it had all been a dream.
That's when I learned about the FIRE movement, and people my age, with a lot less in the bank, walking away from the jobs they hated and finding happiness doing what they loved.
Only, I didn't know what I loved.
Everything I had ever done that I thought I "loved" involved spending lots of cash. And that was no longer an option.
Who I Became
One day I listed to a podcast about someone who had quit their job, sold their condo, and spent the next year hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Back then, I couldn't even show you on a map where the Appalachian trail was, but it sounded AMAZING!
It's funny how one podcast or book can really change the way you see the world if you come across it at the right time in your life.
I decided I was going to take what I had left in the bank, which I was fortunate to still have, and find a way to make it last AS LONG AS I COULD, doing something like the lady from the podcast had done.
I sold my sports car I was still hanging on to for some unknown reason, all my furniture, and even that fancy watch that was still sitting in my nightstand drawer.
I broke my apartment lease, and turned in my notice at work.
I bought a small used Winnebago for cash and hit the road. No idea where I was going, or what I was going to do when I got there.
And that is how I've lived the last 10 years of my life, never looking back.
Who I am Now
Over the last ten years, I've learned to camp, fish, hunt, hike, kayak, canoe, mountain climb, and cook just about anyTHING anyWHERE.
I can tell you how to start a fire in rain, how to change a tire on an RV in a snow storm, and the type of bear spray you WILL NEED in the Smoky Mountains.
But more importantly, I can tell you how I found myself and my true calling, just by listening to nature.
Now I'm using this website to chronicle what I've learned over the years and share it with others.
I didn't know what I was doing the first time I camped, and many times found myself intimidated by something I later learned, didn't have to be that difficult.
You don't have to hit the road for ten year like I've done to find your calling. Even one night camping can have a profound impact on your mental well being. I know it does for me.
And it shouldn't be stressful. It's supposed to be fun.
It's supposed to be enjoyable and relaxing, not a struggle.
So let's hop in the Winnebago, and continue this journey together.