dirtbagging

For those of you who have lived in your car, or lived in a super cheap apartment, and climbed 'full time', or as close to it as possible-how did you pull it off? What did you do for work? How do you have enough money to buy gear when you need it, eat, and keep a roof over your head? What kind of jobs did you/do you look for? I am sure there are questions I have that are not coming to mind here, but specific advice and/or anecdotal stories would be greatly appreciated.

I'm guessing behind every full time climber is an AMAZING (or stupid) woman.

I've never made a career out of dirtbagging, but I've lived out of my car for months at a time.

The first thing to do is take care of any on going exspenses such as car/loan payments so you aren't stuck trying to come up with those on the road. You can live pretty damned cheaply if you don't have these types of commitments. Also, buy into health care; you might qualify for travelers insurance which is super cheap.

One thing I would recommend is having experience at a large chain. That way, wherever you go, you're trained for a job. I've always just traveled until funds ran out, but, if you want to make it a career, being able to walk into any wal-mart and say you're trained is a nice bird in hand.

Other money saving tips:
1. Minimize the driving. Drive to a place and stay there for a while.
2. Refuse to eat out.
3. Drink water only-PBR counts.

If you have a rack, gear isn't a huge exspense. Ropes need to be replaced occasionally. I can always go into a shop and find something I "need," but I've gone a long time without buying a piece of gear and done just fine. Work a summer camp job and pro-deal if you're needing alot.

Cheers,
Evan

Living out of a car or better yet small truck is a great experience.

As has been pointed out it is best to be clear of any monthly payments.

Work seasonally rafting is a good summer job and a lot of places will have training in the spring some even provide housing for the season. Most of the work is on weekends so you can climb on the weekdays.

Resort work is an option get into something near where you want to climb again they often have housing.

Start saving now while you are working full time the more you have when you hit the road the better.

It's not that you cant ever eat in restaurants just not too often. Keep the truck stocked with non perishables eat fresh produce when you can and give yourself one meal a week in a restaurant.

TucsonAZ wrote:I'm guessing behind every full time climber is an AMAZING (or stupid) woman.

Get out there and you'll work it out.

Some areas are easier than others to live super cheap. Your money goes a long way in some spots like WY or if you go to the valley and don't drive you can live there for months on ~2/3 dollars a day.

Most important things will be getting all your debts cleared before you leave. After that be open to climbers who have been doing it and learn what works for you.

Be safe and stay on your toes. I've had lots of fucked up people try to rip me off and fuck with me while dirtbagging.

Get out there and see what it's like. For me dirtbagging evolved into traveling around the world and living a life I could never have dreamed of as a poor kid...

Someone should write a book on this topic "The Glorious Dirtbaggers Bible". This book could include budgeting and planning tools, and a list good bivy spots, cheap eats, etc etc. ..

There are so many good ideas out there.

How about "A Transients Tale: How to live off the fatted calf and waste your life away" I'm sure you could sell millions.

Luke Hanley wrote: There are so many good ideas out there.

Luke Hanley wrote:Someone should write a book on this topic "The Glorious Dirtbaggers Bible". This book could include budgeting and planning tools, and a list good bivy spots, cheap eats, etc etc. .. There are so many good ideas out there.

High risk dirtbagging for quick cash, and travelling to far away places: Running of goods, poaching, dealing. Just do intermittently, lay low and don't get caught.

Medium risk, harder work, okay cash, make your own hours: Dealing in small item antiques, collectibles, guns, and knives, coins, and/or handyman under the table jobs. Digging for buried treasure.

Low risk dirtbagging, pretty much just for food to survive: retrieving wilted heads of lettuce, and dented up cans of food, day old bread etc... from grocery store dumpsters, and thrown out end of night pizza in pizza joint dumpsters.

All sounds doable to me. ; )

One career that can be very dirtbag friendly is teaching. Depending on what state you live in, you can often get an alternative teaching license just by completing college level coursework and submitting transcripts. If you are careful and use local community colleges the expenses are quite affordable.

The point is that as a teacher you can have summers off consistently (2 months off or more) making a great opportunity to live in your vehicle, while receiving paychecks and benefits. Don't forget thanksgiving, spring break, and christmas. If longer chunks of time off are desired, you might consider short seasonal work in any outdoor rec-oriented job (ie raft guiding, rock guiding), fire fighting or even traveling and working on farms.

Lot's of stuff to write about here...I'll try to keep it in a nutshell though...

Some of the most accomplished climbers I have met while living as a jobless dirtbag are teachers and nurses. That means, my advice to you is either go to/back to school because unfortunately, in my opinion, most people who don't have a few screws loose in their head need a dependable source of income to make it work long-term.

If you want to get the most amount of climbing in per dollar , sell the car, car insurance, gasoline, and maintenance. This means you'll be living out of a pack on foot.

TIPS FOR LIVING OUT OF A PACK:
Whisperlight w/white gas - cheapest
Climb in venues where you can get away with eestablishing a basecam
Get used to being social - hitching rides with people.
Eat basic ingredients that are durable - rice, broccoli, eggs, potatoes, onions, apples/canned fruit. Meat and cheese is expensive
A lightweight bugproof tent will improve quality of life - BTHink BD Firstlight.

That's all.. let me know if you want more ideas and I'll think some up for ya.
B

That's

On Friday, I start a 3 month sabbatical from New York City - living ON the Mohonk Preserve and NOT in Camp Slime or poaching a spot somewhere....

Happiegrrl is thrilled to announce.....she is the new seasonal caretaker for the Coxing Kill(Split Rock) section. I get to live in a cabin across the road from the swimming hole, rent free, in exchange for opening/closing the parking lot gate, doing daily sweeps around the swimming hole/Everly Farm historic area, the parking lot, and the graveyard on the trail headed out to Lost City.

How am I able to do this?
1) I have a service business(companion animal care) that I hired assistants to do the labor, with the full intention of developing it to a place where I was doing the back-office work, which can be done anywhere, so long as I have an internet access point and a PO box.
2) Hire GOOD assistants that the clients trust
3) I volunteer doing trailwork at the Gunks, and am there every weekend. I talk to the rangers every day I am there, and in doing so, get past the "big news" small talk like who fell of what, and other such topics, and into the realms of actual stuff.... So that when the previous occupant of the cabin mentioned it soon to be available....I POUNCED!
4) Being a responsible/personable person that the people who run the place would be comfortable having in such a position.

So, my animal care service brings in income, even as I am away. Plus, I have an online shop selling hair accessories, at TalismanShops.com And there's always the ClimbAddict shop, which actually costs me money...(But lots of new designs added in the last month - check it out!) And......I'm subletting my apartment, or at least hope to - haven't got anyone yet.

It's sort of Luxe Dirtbagging! The cabin has no electricity or running water, though it does have a propane heater which I can fire up when it starts to get cold.

I am going to put off buying a car, even though it would be SO much more convenient.... I also know that I would be IN that car, driving into town, if I had one. Without a car, I am going to have a slower pace. Climbing is just a few minutes walk away, to Lost City, and 30 minutes from cabin to the Trapps Bridge! Of course, I will need to get rides into town once or twice a week to run errands. I have been hiring a girl to give me rides between the train station/cliffs each weekend for the last 3 years, and she is willing to do this "errand shuttle" now - at least as long as her own schedule can accommodate.

I am going to get a cel card for my computer, so I can get internet access without having to go to town. There's no signal at the cabin(this is a good thing, of course), but I get 5 bars on my cel phone in front of the Gerdie block....you'll see me there, hunting and pecking away.... I figure I can hopefully plug in at the Mountain Deli or the EMS shop and will also buy a solar panel to recharge with. I can also use my friends car jack while on the errands runs. So, my electricity (also need for camera battery recharge/cel phone recharge) should be adequate.

Bought a solar shower to wash off by the cabin, but I can just bathe in the swimming hole tpoo - collllld....brrrr! Once in a while, I can give myself a treat a get a shower in town.

I will buy a bike, and....see just how gruesome it is to try those hills(I wonder if I will EVER be able to bike from Mountain Deli to Trapps Bridge, sort of doubt it) but unless I end up getting a car, my expense are really very low. Food, Teddy food, errand shuttle payment, cel phone and broadband costs. I'm SHOULD actually save a good bit of money on this stint! I MAY be able to buy a rig and travel the southwest for winter, if I am careful.

Not you standard dirtbag route, but I'm not complaining! I was open, I kept putting it out there to the universe that I wanted out(of NYC) and though it often felt like I was totally wasting time - look how the stars have aligned!

By the way - I'm available for climbing. Anyone headed to the Gunks for autumn and in need of a belay, send me a note(allow for enough time to porcess, since I won't have internet access daily, and also won't have access to last minute/day before planning.

TucsonAZ wrote:I'm guessing behind every full time climber is an AMAZING (or stupid) woman.

I recently gave someone a ride from Boulder to Seattle who was dirtbagging. When he needed a computer, he would buy a laptop from Walmart or Costco and then return it right at the end of the return policy period(I believe 15 days for walmart and 60 for costco) He would just backup everything to a flashdrive.

My suggestion to your dirtbag quest is to examine it as a period of limited time where time is the most valuable treasure you will ever have because it is.

I hung out with many a dirtbag in Zion in the late 90s and early 00s. I was attending Southern Utah University and I had a 3/4 time job as well. I still managed to get a good bit of climbing in as well. I took time to observe the dirtbag monkey in it's environment. My observation of many of the dirtbags (not all):

They spent more time trying to get a deal than they would have just working a few hours and paying the premium.

They spent a lot of time loitering, spraying, and lounging while waiting for the right weather or who know what. A not uncommon scenario: I would leave sunday night to go back to work and school, return friday to see that the skids had spent 5! days staging for a route that they could have done in 1 day.

Some of them climbed fewer pitches and routes that the climbers who actually had jobs. The climbers who got the most done back then were the locals who lived in Springdale and worked 1/2 or 3/4 time jobs.

If the goal is to be a dirtbag, move in to a car, mooch off others, spend little, spray lots. A climbing bum is still a bum. It used to drive me crazy when I did not have a partner pre-arranged and I had to wait at the coffee shop until noon some times to get a dirtbag to shake off the cobwebs in order to get out on the stone.

If the goal is to climb a lot, be disciplined. Create a schedule. Don't wait around for the right weather, get it done. Don't succumb to the coffee shop lounging crowd, it will suck much of your life away. Watch out for overuse of controlled substances. Paranoia is the destroyer. Pick your partners carefully; in this regard, I reccomend getting partners who do have jobs. Time constraints can really help a send.

One of the best dirtbags of that age was John Varco. He lived like a monk in a shitty minivan, took scheduled rest days, got up early, climbed a ton, never smoked dope, only drank good scotch on rare occasions...

Take this time in your life very seriously. It will seem like a few minutes ago (5, 10, 15 years from now) when you wake up and realize your dirtbagging days have come to an end and you will hope you took advantage of this time.

Nate Brown

Great analysis Nate!

One of the best pieces of advice given to me: "Sometimes what you want isn't really what you want."

Meditate on that if you're thinkin' about the dirtbag thing. It can get lonely out there....

amen nate!

Ah, yes. But to dirtbag for just a little while; everyone needs a good dirtbag now and then