And So It Begins

I guess I should start off with a little more about myself. My name is Wyatt Dooley and I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that lives on the coast of California. I was even more lucky to have grown up in a family that surfs. To tell you the truth I didn't like it when I was really young - I never had a wetsuit that fit me right and with the cold water of Northern California not wearing a wetsuit wasn't an option.  I had other ideas anyways. I wanted to fish and snowboard instead. However, by the time I was eight, things rapidly changed and I was out in the water surfing and it became the only thing I ever wanted to do.

Ever since I could remember, the outdoors was the place I wanted to be. It wasn't just surfing that I enjoyed but I wanted to camp, backpack, hike, kayak - anything to get me outside. My parents, family, and friends helped fuel this. We went for camping trips in the redwoods, very hot and dry camping trips in Baja, and backpacking trips to amazing high mountain lakes.

These trips only made me want to travel more and it was around eighth grade I told myself I was traveling after college. After graduating in 2014 from UCSB, I kept hold of my goal and here I go! Lets see how long I end up traveling for.

High mountain lake in Northern California. photo: Karen Stuff

Cold mornings at higher altitudes. photo: Karen Stuff

Chet and Karen, my two friends who I will meet up with in Mexico.

Yeah... I had classes on the beach.
photo: Patrick Fitzpatrick

UCSB graduation in front of Storke Tower.
photo: Bob Miyasaki

Missing UCSB and all of my friends.
photo: Lauren Perkins

While I don't have a lot of experience in creative writing (lots of essays and scientific writing), I will try my best to make it entertaining to read. Also just to let you know, I'm not sure how detailed my posts will be since I will be writing them from an Iphone. While I'll have the convenience of a laptop for now, I won't for much longer. Some posts may only be photos or just a small blurb of what has been happening. Hopefully I can make them longer somehow.

Anyways after graduating, I was working for Fish and Wildlife, and between work I was packing. I will be heading to Kauai for a few months and then meeting some friends in Mexico and head into Panama. For the trip I ended up buying an internal frame backpack that will fit in the overhead compartment of a plane. Lets say making everything fit in one pack for seven months isn't easy. I found myself constantly packing and repacking. In the end you end up taking what's actually important with you. You ask yourself questions like is it more important to have a couple of extra shirts or a couple of extra pairs of underwear? Should I leave the sleeping pad and hope that I can hang my hammock everywhere I need to? Luckily I will be in primarily tropical areas, we will see what happens next year when I will be in multiple climates.

All of my belongings traveling with me.

Bummed I can't take my guitar too :(

Not only do you ask yourself questions such as the ones above, but you question yourself with how far you can push the TSA at the airport and what are you willing to leave behind if you can't take it. I haven't yet figured that out yet but I'll let you know when I get there. Some of the questionable things I'm taking are a camping stove, fuel bottle and rope. No worries I checked TSA regulations and it's fine to carry them on. However, the TSA website doesn't always uphold to their rules from what people say. I'm really hoping I don't have to leave anything behind because I really do need everything I have packed.

Also while packing I found getting vaccinations are bit of an experience in itself. I had to go to the doctor to get prescribed the vaccine mefloquine for malaria and typhoid fever. It was also recommended that I get a yellow fever vaccination. I'm glad I got a second opinion though and didn't end up getting in (thanks Ann for the help). Apparently from reading up on it, it one of the gnarliest vaccinations that you can get. Some of the more serious side effects are nerve problems, coma, and organ failure. It's the highest risk vaccine out there supposedly. But thankfully it's more important for parts of Asia and Africa, not Central America. Felt like I dodged that one.

After going to pick up the prescription, there were plenty of curious people asking me what I was there for. It seemed to calm the tenseness of the pharmacy. When I first walked in, the pharmacists and assistants were madly running around and packing drugs while customers were frustrated and yelling at them. I could only compare it to the DMV.

One man with heavy stubble, faded Levis and an old blue flannel was plenty curious and talkative. The air around him was heavy with the smell of cigarettes and pot. He couldn't help but tell everyone around him he was getting the flu shot and was terrified of needles. He kept saying things like "they are here to put a f!*king lawn dart in me, I should have smoked an entire blunt before I came in here!" Needless to say he was stoked I was going to get "harpooned" with him. I think that calmed him a little bit. When asking me what I was getting lawn darted for, I told him I was traveling to Central America. With his nervous voice he told me I was nuts with all of the cartels down there. Told me I could lose my head. With that he gave me a thumbs up and headed out of the pharmacy.

Well that's all I have to update you on. Heading out tomorrow morning for SF.