The Dirtbag's Guide to Life: Eternal Truth for Hiker Trash, Ski Bums, and Vagabonds

Forget picket fences. Live your best life. Sleep in the dirt.

In the spirit of classics like Rolf Potts' Vagabonding and Alain de Botton's The Art of Travel, The Dirtbag's Guide to Life is an indispensable resource for building your own life of adventure.

Both a celebration of an under-appreciated subculture and a practical how-to guide, the book explains how to make adventure your lifestyle, drawing on the example of "dirtbags" - people who've organized their lives around outdoor pursuits like climbing, thru-hiking, trail running and surfing on the lowest possible budget.

Asserting that a life of adventure should be accessible to everyone, Mathis distills the real world experiences of hundreds of the the most dedicated dirtbags to identify and address the key challenges to building the type of life you want, whether you're a weekend warrior or a professional explorer:

- How to effectively manage your money to support your current aspirations while also planning for the future

- How to make your career something that supports your passion rather than a barrier to doing what you want

- Ways to incorporate important relationships into your journey

- What to do with the responsibilities you've accumulated

- How to live intentionally and make your life meaningful through the process

...and much more.

Whether you aspire to quit your job to travel the world, plan to someday hike the Appalachian Trail, or just want to fit in a bit more mountain biking on the weekends, The Dirtbag's Guide to Life is an essential, inspiring, and consistently entertaining resource.

Praise for The Dirtbag's Guide to Life

"I see the "how on Earth do you make this happen?" question in various groups all the time. I'd love to just get this guide out there in response!" - Heather "Anish" Anderson. 2019 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and author of Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home

"Gosh I love your book! It resonates so much." - Kathy Vaughan, Team UltraPedestrian and co-author of 98 Days of Wind: The Greatest Fail of Our Life

"If you're not a full-on dirtbag this book is for you. If you're interested in what it means to be a dirtbag, this book is for you. If you know someone that lives a weird dirty traveling lifestyle, but don't understand why, this book is for you. If you already are living like a dirtbag, this book is for you.

If you have any sense of travel or adventure, you're going to get something out of this guide.

About the Author

Tim Mathis was raised by working class parents in small-town Ohio, and has since spent years traveling extensively in North and South America, Oceania, Europe and Australia. He's thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and the Camino de Santiago, and with his wife Angel, he co-founded Boldly Went, a podcast and event series that collected stories from hundreds of outdoor adventurers and athletes. He's written for Trail Runner Magazine, Grit City Magazine, The Oru Kayak Blog, The Race to Alaska Podcast, and has been featured on The Art of Manliness Podcast. He is also the author of I Hope I Was Wrong About Eternal Damnation: An Absolutely True Memoir.