Rusty (Troy) and I (Ren) met in May 2017 at a hiker hostel, called The Place, in Damascus, Virginia where I was working as a caretaker. The Place is the oldest hostel on the Appalachian Trail, and is located directly on the AT’s 2190-mile path. Troy was thru-hiking the entire AT that year and stopped in Damascus for the town’s annual Trail Days Festival. His trail name was “Rusty” and I went by “Girl Hobo.” (How we acquired those names, however, is for another story.)

I had my own Appalachian Trail plans, to hike north from Damascus to Pearisburg, a 160-mile journey. But as we got to know each other over the few days of the Festival, we decided to hike north together. For anyone who’s done any long-distance hiking, spending every waking hour with another human, eating food out of the same pot, and sleeping in the same tiny tent can make or break a relationship. But for me and Troy, it just brought us closer together.

A year later, we tied the knot (literally, with a hand-fasting ceremony) at The Place, on May 17, 2018, and have been together ever since, traveling as far north as Newfoundland, and as far south as Argentina. Recently, we finished building out our Ford Transit van, and are now on the road full time, heading west to visit the National Parks, and getting in some trail miles as we go.

Of course, we both love to cook and eat, so we’ve tried to adapt our favorite recipes to life on the road in a tiny van. Some recipes have worked out really well. Alas some, haven’t. We’ve also picked up new recipes from other “vanlifers” and learned other “van-hacks.” Now, we’re trying our hand at a real blog to try to share some of what we’ve learned with friends, family and anyone else interested in how to live this vagabond life.

So, we hope you’ll read our posts, comment a lot, and share them with your friends. Be sure to subscribe to our blog too for regular updates sent to your inbox.

Be well and safe travels,
Girl Hobo & Rusty